Most Testicular Pain can be treated
At times, testicular pain actually does not originate from the testicles; rather, it comes from the abdomen or the groin – the fold between the inner thigh and the abdomen. The testicles produce sperm, and these glands are extremely sensitive. Any minor injury can cause discomfort. On many occasions, testicular pain requires medical attention. Severe or sudden pain in the scrotum or testicles accompanied by wounds, painful swellings after an injury lasting more than an hour, nausea or vomiting can require emergency medical attention.
A painful scrotum accompanied by fever, lumps, sudden redness and/or warmth, bloody urine, sudden urethral discharge and chronic pain, and/or mumps should be considered emergencies and immediately reported to the doctor. Failure to seek required medical attention for these cases may lead to severe outcomes including erectile dysfunction (ED), death of tissues necessitating the removal of the testes, chronic pain and even infertility.
Diagnosis of the Causes of Testicular Pain
Diagnosis of testicular pain may require a detailed history and a physical exam to be conducted by a medical practitioner. It may also require laboratory tests and imaging studies depending on the evaluation of the practitioner. Laboratory tests may include and are not limited to: urinalysis and blood work. If the patient has penile discharge, a urethral swab may also be necessary.
In some cases, scrotal pain may be a result of a testicular torsion – a medical condition that causes the testes to twist and cut off any blood supply, leaving the tissues damaged. When this condition occurs, immediate medical attention is required to prevent this damage. Males aged between 10 and 20 are the most vulnerable to this condition.
In deciding how to treat testicular pain, a history of typical causes is required which may include previous testicular surgery, history of vasectomy and orchitis or epididymitis. It is vital that central and local pain be differentiated when deciding on how to treat this pain. Usually, at The PUR Clinic we do this via injecting a local steroid and anesthetic into the painful spermatic cord. This should relieve the pain, but if its relieved temporarily, then it is an indicator that the spermatic cord is the source of the pain and not the brain. Patients with such conditions are eligible for targeted microsurgical denervation. Our team has pioneered the techniques and technology used for this procedure. In addition to many other safety measures we offer at The PUR Clinic, we can also preserve the vas deferens in cases where the patient is still interested in reproduction.