Dear Men, let’s talk. Have you ever felt a sharp shooting pain around your testicular area and it feels like you have just been kicked on your balls whereas, in all honesty, no one even touched you?
Or yours might not even be sharp shooting pain. You might have been feeling all sore down there, and you are wondering what the problem could have been
There are some reasons why you might tend to feel sore and have pains all over your testicular region, and the essence of this article is to draw your attention to these reasons.
According to Dr. Jamin Brahmbatt who is a Medical doctor as well as a co-director at the PUR clinic, he said that testicular pain is so common that there is every tendency for every guy to experience this pain at one period or another in his lifetime.
Most guys immediately begin to think of testicular cancer when they feel pain in their testicles. Though they are not wrong, however, they are a million other reasons why one could feel pain within his testicular region and only one of these reasons is testicular cancer.
In fact, according to Dr. Jamin Brahmbatt, records show that testicular cancer is actually very painless. What you might be experiencing is a lump felt within that region and not pains. Another misconception about testicular pains is STIs.
When you have STIs, what you would feel is a burning sensation while you are urinating, although depending on the level of the infection, you may be having some form of pain around your testes.
So after debunking the popular reasons why you are having painful urination, what the could be causing your balls to begin to ache? Well, here are some reasons for the pain and also why you may need to get them checked out.
1. Testicular Torsion
You probably didn’t see that one coming right? Well, this particular disease condition occurs when your testicle becomes twisted. Testicular torsion is caused when the cord which attaches your testicle(known as the spermatic cord) to the body gets twisted hence cutting off your blood supply to your testicle.
Dr Micheal P. Zahalsky who specialises in urology compare the condition to picking an apple. According to him, he said when you want to pick an apple, you would need to twist the stem before the apple can be plucked, this is what happens with testicular torsion. The spermatic cord is twisted till the testicle die off. Hence, you will feel pain around your testicular area.
In case if you are wondering how this came to be, according to Mayo clinic, testicular torsion can happen in a number of ways. It could happen when you are working out, having sex, or even sleeping. It could happen in a good number of ways such that it is a bit difficult to pinpoint the cause and activity that caused it.
However, whatever the reason or the cause, you should visit your doctor once you begin to feel this pain or once you start suspecting that it is testicular torsion. In some cases, if reported on time, your doctor might manually unwise the testicle, however, in other cases, you might need surgery to get that fixed.
2. Kidney stones, constipation, hernia or general stomach problem
Well, the nerves that give supply to your balls come from a host of different places in your abdomen, and one of such areas could be your stomach, your kidneys, or your general digestive tract.
Once you begin to feel constipation, it would be difficult for you to pass out feces and poop. Hence, a buildup of pressure coming from the inability to poop could be pressing on those nerves hence the pain you feel within your testicle.
Another reason could be that you just might have a kidney stone that had been floating around your entire system or it could be that you have an upset stomach hence you are experiencing referred pain.
You could also be having a hernia, or probably you recently had a hernia surgery which could cause severe inflammation causing you to have pains down there. All these causes described above fall under the category of referred pain.
This means that in the actual sense of it, your balls actually have no problem whatsoever but because of all the nerve connection that passes through the affected area to your balls, hence the reason you feel pain in your testicle.
3. Did you have a vasectomy?
Vasectomy is a surgical method used for birth control. Vasectomy means the surgical tying of the duct that carries sperms from your testicle to your urethra. It is sporadic for a vasectomy to cause intense testicular pain; however, it is not impossible.
As a matter of fact, according to the American Urological association’s guidelines, intense or chronic scrotal pain usually occurs in just 1 or 2 percent of men who get the procedure. According to experts, they are not sure what causes the pain; however, the best possible cause could be the damage to the nerves that supply the testicle.
According to Dr. Brahmbatt, this information is not meant to scare men who want to have a vasectomy; however, it is best that one should be aware of this kind of complication that can occur. The good news is if this happens during a vasectomy, there is a corrective surgery that can be done to reverse the nerve pains, however, that would mean another surgical procedure.
4. Ever heard of a hydrocele?
If you take a look at the anatomy of the testes as well as the structure, you will notice that the testes are basically just balls that are dangling upon a couple of string-like cords, no other support.
Those cords are more or fewer blood vessels, nerves, and tissues that allow the testicle to dangle. For every male, there is some form and level of fluid that surrounds the testicle as well as the cords, which is just normal.
However, according to Dr. Jamin Brahmbatt, fluid level, and balance can just become whack. You just might end up with too much fluid in the sac, and when this occurs, it leads to the condition known as Hydroelectric.
According to Mayo Clinic, this hydrocele in itself isn’t painful but what will cause you pain is if the scrotum becomes heavy and swollen. If you notice swelling in your balls, it is time for you to visit your doctor for a checkup.
However if it actually is hydrocele, the issue would resolve on its own within 6 months. However, if it doesn’t go away on its own, then you might be needing surgery.
5. Varicocele
A varicocele occurs when there is an enlargement of the veins that are present in your scrotum. Have you ever heard of spider veins? Then think of varicocele as what happens when you see huge spider veins on your balls.
According to Dr. Jamin Brahmbatt, varicocele is not likely to cause pains, but they do cause discomfort, and the look they give is just awful, almost looking like you have a bag of worms underneath.
The symptoms of varicocele depend on the stage at which it is. If you have what is known as grade 3 varicocele, you will see the most massive spider veins, and it is very noticeable. Stage 2 is not as severe as stage 3. You will still notice the veins, but it won’t be as bad as the way stage 3 would be.
Stage 1 is the least severe of them all, and you might not even be aware that you have grade 1 varicocele. When you have grade 3 or sometimes grade 2 varicocele, you will experience discomfort due to the build-up of pressure in the veins.
If it is very severe, you might need surgery so as to divert the flow of blood from the malfunctioning veins to the ones that are still functioning properly. If you are experiencing pain, you will need to see a doctor fast else you might just lose your testicle.
Great article as always, can’t wait to see more.