CHEAPER TOO! –
Nov. 6, 2025 – We wanted to determine whether the pain medication’s effects were consistent in males and females separately. And what we found is that in both subgroups (males and females), the non-opioid was superior for that first day and night, and then no worse than the opioid for the rest of the post-op period.” The trial that produced both papers, funded by an $11 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, compared patients who received 400 milligrams of ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) combined with 500 milligrams of acetaminophen (Tylenol) against those who got 5 milligrams of hydrocodone with acetaminophen.
The gender-specific analysis was particularly important because women consistently report higher pain levels after surgery, raising questions about whether pain medications work differently for each sex.
“There’s obviously different biological mechanisms, different hormones involved,” said Cecile Feldman, dean of Rutgers School of Dental Medicine and senior author of both studies. “But results confirm that the analgesic effect for both groups is the same.”
The researchers deliberately enrolled equal numbers of men and women from the start, allowing them to conduct robust subgroup analyses. Patients across five universities tracked their pain twice daily for nine days using electronic diaries, rating not just pain but also sleep quality, ability to perform daily activities and overall satisfaction.
