The article discusses the significant challenges in accurately measuring pain in medicine, exemplified by Madison Evans' 15-year struggle with unrecognized endometriosis pain. Medical professionals often dismiss patients' pain or rely on potentially biased subjective scales. The article highlights the ongoing research to discover biological indicators of pain, known as biomarkers, which could revolutionize pain assessment and lead to better treatment for chronic pain sufferers, particularly among marginalized groups who are frequently underestimated in their pain experiences.
Measuring pain, one of the most fundamental tasks in medicine, remains one of the least accurate.
Relief only came at age 30 when a doctor listened to her descriptions of the pain and diagnosed endometriosis, a chronic condition that affects 1 in 10 women of childbearing age.
Researchers are now on a quest to find objective biological indicators of pain that will enable doctors to quantify it as they do heart rate and blood pressure.
Studies have shown that these efforts are undermined by biases that have led the medical community to consistently underestimate the pain of women and minorities.
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