The traumatic events leading to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in soldiers may be numbing them to pain.

According to European researchers who subjected 12 male veterans with PTSD and 12 without the disorder to standard pain tests, the PTSD victims rated the tests as less painful. MRIs conducted during the experiments also revealed the test process affected different areas of the brain depending on whether the men suffered from the disorder or not.

Men in the study underwent two types of testing. In the first test, the right hands of all participants were all subjected to a fixed temperature of 43 degrees Centigrade (about 110 degrees Fahrenheit), which normally induces intense pain in people. In the second test, doctors exposed each man to an individual temperature designed specifically for him.

The authors believe theirs is the first study to use MRIs to examine the way the PTSD-affected brain processes pain. They now call for additional studies, perhaps comparing people with and without PTSD who experienced traumatic events with healthy people who have not had these types of experiences.

"The addition of a third control group consisting of healthy subjects who have not been subjected to trauma would allow us to observe differences in pain processing related to the effect of trauma or (former) occupation," they write.

Source: Ivanhoe

I must say, I had to change the title of this one from its initial false representation, being "PTSD Victims Don't Feel Your Pain" which is total nonsense from the study itself. The study was tested on veterans only, not a random selection of PTSD sufferers. Soldiers are exposed to severe pain, finding new barriers as such, and when that training is put into action, you become a veteran, thus you push your pain barriers further, especially within operational zones.

So really, what their saying is, that veterans with PTSD have a high pain threshold, not everyone with PTSD. I do believe if they did a study though that wasn't tainted by using only veterans, and instead males and females from all walks of life with PTSD, they would still find some increased ability in all to endure pain longer, as PTSD creates an enormous string of pain upon the mind and body, one that most will never feel, and should feel very lucky for I believe.