Most men are all too familiar with the searing, and thankfully short-lived, pain that comes with impact to their testicles. Ongoing and nagging pain in your testicles, however, is an entirely different matter and may stem from a more serious problem.

At The Y Factor, our experienced team of urologists, led by Dr. Russel Williams, specializes in men’s reproductive health, including genital pain.

Here’s a look at some of the more common causes of testicular pain and why you should never ignore the problem.

Diabetic neuropathy

As the number of diabetes diagnoses continues to mount in the United States, many people are left struggling with nerve damage in a wide range of areas, including their feet, eyes, and even their testicles.

If you have diabetes, you have difficulty regulating the levels of glucose in your bloodstream, which can result in nerve damage, especially in areas that are far from your heart and that contain delicate blood vessels and nerves, such as the skin surrounding your testes.

Epididymitis

This condition is caused by inflammation in your epididymis, which is the tube that stores and provides passage for your sperm. This condition is typically caused by sexually transmitted infections, and we can easily resolve the issue with a course of antibiotics.

Inguinal hernias

This type of hernia develops in your groin area, more specifically near your inguinal canals, which are located near the base of your abdomen. When fat or a piece of your intestine pushes through your abdominal wall near one of your inguinal canals, it can cause testicular pain and swelling.

Kidney stones

Kidney stones not only cause pain in your kidneys, the pain can radiate to your testicles in what we call referred pain. One way to distinguish this type of testicular pain is that it’s accompanied by pain on one side of your abdomen.

Testicular torsion

We consider this event an emergency, and it occurs when your testicle wraps itself (or twists) around your spermatic cord. As a result, your testicle loses its supply of blood, which can lead to irreparable damage in the tissue.

The pain that comes with testicular torsion is severe, and you should seek medical help right away.

Varicoceles

If you have overly large or twisted veins in your testicles, they’re called varicoceles. In many cases, they don’t pose any problems, but some varicoceles can lead to pain, especially after exertion.

Trauma

Getting back to the first source of pain we mentioned — trauma — if the impact was severe enough, you may have ruptured your testicle or developed severe bruising. If you experience an impact to your groin that leaves you with painful and swollen testicles, it’s a good idea to seek our help straight away.

The bottom line is that pain of any kind is your body’s way of signaling a problem, and it’s a signal you shouldn’t ignore. If you’re experiencing ongoing testicular pain, contact one of our offices in Houston, Tomball, or Webster, Texas, to set up an appointment.