Scientists Reveal The Most Intense Pain A Person Can Feel — And It's Not What You Might Expect

A study has identified what researchers believe is the most intense pain a person can go through, and it is not something most people would guess right away.

Many people assume that everyday accidents like biting your tongue, slamming your finger in a door, or touching something extremely hot are among the worst types of pain. While these moments can feel awful in the moment, they did not even come close to ranking among the top ten.

Even painful annoyances like stepping on a sharp plug or stubbing your toe did not make the list either, which might come as a surprise to some.

For a long time, kidney stones have been widely seen as one of the most painful medical conditions a person can experience.

In fact, earlier research showed that more than 78 percent of women and almost 89 percent of men said kidney stones were the worst pain they had ever felt in their lives.

However, a more recent study published in 2020 has challenged that long-held belief and offered a different perspective.

Childbirth was among the most painful experiences, not didn't rank at number one Abraham Gonzalez Fernandez/Getty Images

In this study, researchers surveyed over 1,600 people who suffer from cluster headaches. They asked participants to compare that pain to other serious conditions, such as broken bones, stab wounds, and migraines.

The results showed that cluster headaches were rated as the most painful condition overall, with an average score of 9.7 out of 10 on the pain scale.

If you have never experienced or even heard much about cluster headaches, that is probably a good thing.

According to the Mayo Clinic, cluster headaches are not typical headaches. They are described as a very painful type of headache that happens in cycles, known as clusters, where attacks occur repeatedly over a period of time.

These cluster periods can continue for weeks or even months, which makes the condition even more difficult to deal with for those affected.

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Common symptoms include sharp and intense pain behind one eye that can spread across the face, head, and neck. The pain usually affects one side of the head. Other signs include restlessness, a blocked or runny nose on the side that hurts, and changes in skin color on that side of the face.

In the study rankings, childbirth came in second place with an average pain score of 7.2, while pancreatitis followed in third with a score of 7.

Kidney stones, which many people assume are the worst, were placed fourth with a score of 6.9.

Other conditions that scored above five on the pain scale included gunshot wounds, gallstones, slipped discs in the spine, migraine attacks, fibromyalgia, and bone fractures.

Interestingly, heart attacks were rated at around 5 out of 10, which is lower than many might expect given how serious and life-threatening they are.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 805,000 Americans experience a heart attack each year, and heart disease remains one of the leading causes of death in the United States.

Cluster headaches can last from days to months Ekaterina Vasileva-Bagler/Getty Images

Even though cluster headaches are considered extremely painful, they are not life-threatening conditions.

They are also very rare, affecting roughly 0.1 percent of people worldwide, according to the Cleveland Clinic.