According to statistics, the most painful condition in the world is Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). On the pain scale, it scores a 42 out of 50, which is higher than childbirth or the amputation of a finger. It is a nerve disorder where the brain continues to send pain signals, even long after the original wound has healed.
Some conditions are short but intense (like kidney stones), while others are chronic and debilitating. Remarkably, many of these pains are caused by nerves that short-circuit.
Here are the 10 conditions that test the human pain threshold.
1. Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
Formerly known as post-traumatic dystrophy. It can develop after a simple bruise or surgery on an arm or leg. The nerves become deregulated and continuously send extreme pain signals to the brain. Patients describe it as if their limb is on fire, while it feels cold to the touch. Even the softest contact, such as a sheet or the wind, is unbearable.
2. Cluster Headache
The nickname is chilling: suicide headache. These are attacks of extremely intense, boring pain around one eye. The attacks often come in clusters (periods) and can last for weeks. Women who have experienced both childbirth and cluster headaches often describe the headache as worse. During an attack, patients sometimes bang their heads against the wall in sheer agony.
3. Kidney Stones
A classic in pain lists. When a small crystal gets stuck in the ureter, the body tries to squeeze it out with powerful contractions. This causes a colicky pain that is compared to giving birth, but without the pauses between contractions. People literally crawl across the floor in pain.
4. Trigeminal Neuralgia (Facial Pain)
This is a disorder of the trigeminal nerve in the face. The pain is described as electric shocks shooting through the jaw, cheek, or eye. Simple things like brushing your teeth, talking, or even a gust of wind can trigger an attack that feels like lightning striking your face.
5. Shingles
Caused by the same virus as chickenpox. If your immune system is low, the virus can flare up and inflame a nerve pathway. This produces a burning, cutting pain followed by blisters. Wearing clothing on the affected skin is often impossible. In some people, the nerve pain lingers for years (postherpetic neuralgia).
6. Burns (Second and Third Degree)
Burning is one of the most traumatic pains for the body. Second-degree burns are especially painful because the nerve endings are left exposed (in third-degree burns, the nerves are sometimes destroyed, which paradoxically makes the acute pain less, but the recovery all the more painful). Changing the bandages is a daily ordeal for patients.
7. Childbirth
Although it is a natural process, it scores very high on the pain index (between 30 and 40). It is the only pain in this list that has a purpose. The pain is caused by the stretching of tissues and powerful muscle contractions. Without modern pain relief, this is the most intense physical experience of many women’s lives.
8. Gout
A form of arthritis where uric acid crystals deposit in a joint, often the big toe. These crystals are as sharp as needles. A gout attack occurs suddenly, often at night. The joint becomes red, hot, and so sensitive that even the weight of a sheet is too much. It feels as if the joint is constantly being poked and sawed.
9. Acute Pancreatitis
An inflammation of the pancreas, often caused by gallstones or alcohol use. The pancreas literally begins to digest itself with its own enzymes. This causes a piercing, constant pain in the upper abdomen that radiates straight through the body to the back. Patients often need to be hospitalized under heavy sedation.
10. Endometriosis
A condition that is often underestimated as “just period pain.” In endometriosis, tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus. During the cycle, this tissue bleeds, but the blood has no way to exit. This leads to inflammation, adhesions, and cysts. The pain can be so severe that women faint or become unable to walk.