Stretching to Relieve Testicle Pain

I found this case study and thought it interesting.

I bring this up because for the past few weeks I’ve had pain in my right testicle and, more recently, the areas around it. The nut pain became bad enough that last week I went to the ER to get things checked out without having to wait a long time to find out if something really bad was going on. An ultrasound showed everything basically ok. I have "small bilateral varicoceles." A urinalysis came back fine with no signs of infection. I was referred to a urologist.

The first I had this kind of thing was about a year ago, the summer of 2022. I hadn’t been PEing. Back then, I noticed that my right nut would begin to ache when lying on my stomach in bed. I’d roll over and ignore it. That went on for several months, then relatively suddenly the right testicle pain started bothering me at other times. I remember at its peak I had a hard time bending over to pick things up off the ground. That went for several days. One night while lying in bed I did some stretching of the pelvic area and lower abs (inlcuding the iliopsoas muscles mentioned in the link above). During that I also used my fingers to massage the right side along the lower inguinal area and down along the right side of the CC. When doing that with my fingers there seemed to be some tight areas that were painful in a stinging way when massaged. The next day, my right nut hurt even more than the day before. Then, a day or so later it all completely went away. No more pain. Back to normal. Problem solved. Apparently the stretching and/or massage solved the problem, which surprised me given the intensity of the pain.

Everything there was ok until a couple months ago, when I again noticed that I had some right nut pain when lying on my stomach. I probably should have started stretching again, but I didn’t. About a month ago I noticed a fullness or odd sensation around my right nut when wearing snugger underwear to exercise, sort of like I couldn’t get the right testicle situated to avoid a pressure or tugging type sensation.

The more constant pain began not long after I palpated the right testicle in an effort to determine what may be going on. There was no pain while feeling it, but it started soon after. I felt a slight ridge on the testicle itself. The head of the epididymis is rather large and hard, bigger than the left side, and bigger than I remember it being before. I felt an extra vein or several along the right "cord." That extra vein feels hard to me, like a rubber band. Thrombosed? Hard to say. Not out of the realm of possibility given my history with such things.

I’ve been fairly miserable since. The pain felt in the nut itself is still there, but more recently there is also a more stinging type pain that feels like it goes up the cord but also around the right side of my scrotum and toward my anus. Muscles in the perineum area have become tight. I’m speculating this is in response to the pain.

I’m continuing to stretch, which may be helping some but hasn’t rapidly solved the problem like last year. I notice that my right hip adductor muscles are tight compared to the left. This is consistent with a left AIC pattern (search on left AIC for more info).

One improvement from recent stretching is that my nut pain doesn’t increase when lying on my stomach. That may be a step forward. Also, prior to stretching I noticed that pressure on the external inguinal ring caused pain to shoot from there up toward my right hip. I can now press on that area without such pain.

Several friends have also had issues with nut pain. One has a pretty severe varicocele that may or not be the cause of some problems. He has recently had moderate pain in the perineum that a urologist immediately decided was prostatitis. The urologist prescribed an antibiotic before even getting culture results (which eventually came back negative), and the antibiotic wrecked the guy’s stomach. No impact on the pain. I advised stretching, which helped some. So did warm bath soaks. His problems remain to some extent but have diminished.

Over a decade ago another friend developed severe nut pain. A varicocele was found, and surgery was done to deal with the veins. That didn’t help at all. It was so bad that he asked the doctor to castrate him. The doctor said that wouldn’t help, that he’d still have "ghost pain." He eventually did some stretching, which pretty much solved the problem. I spoke with him today, and he said when he feels twinges of it starting again some stretching settles it down.

While I don’t know exactly what I presently have going on, and can say that so far stretching hasn’t quickly solved it this time, stretching has helped me in the past. It also helped a couple friends, one some and another more. And the guy in the case study linked above had really bad nut pain for a year that was quickly helped by stretching. If you’re dealing with nut, prostate or other pelvic pain, try stretching.

It’s sad how pathetically the allopathic medical establishment addresses this kind of thing, which seems to be very common. They’ll do tests, prescribe antibiotics that most likely won’t do any good, and then do surgery, which again may not do any good. They’ll admit that they can’t explain half or so of the causes of testicle pain but won’t advise stretching or massage techiques that may actually help.

Just as an aside, have you tried wearing a ball stretcher or rings to keep a mild stretch?

No, anything like that would probably be painful at this point. Stretching muscles around the pelvic region seems to be helping some. I’ve been stretching 3 times per day. First thing in the morning, around mid day, then again just before going to sleep. There has been some improvement.

As for a ball stretcher, mine already tend to hang pretty low at times. My left nut is usually a little lower than my right nut, which is the most common pattern. Lately with this right nut issue sometimes the right nut drops down lower than the left. There is something odd going on with the cremaster muscles, perhaps due to the pain.

Update:

After 4-5 months of being practically debilitated at times, I think/hope that I’ve finally solved the problem with my nut pain. It became quite bad. I would not continue living with this the way it was. Cut off the epididymis or the entire nut if necessary. Though, as I’ve read, even that sometimes doesn’t work.

My pain wasn’t the severe screaming kind, but a lower intensity constantly annoying grind that wears you down as it ruins your life. I couldn’t walk normally or exercise. I completely stopped exercising early on. Driving a car was painful, and even riding in one as a passenger wasn’t much better.

I tried loose underwear and more supportive underwear. Loose was good at times because when sitting still I could situate things to get the pressure off of the nut. Supportive was better at times because it would help prevent clunking when moving around. Which to use was a toss-up. Overall, there was no best solution. Pressure on the inflamed epididymis in particular was painful. Best was lying in bed, which I did a lot of - very bad for health. I’ve gained fat, lost muscle, and am weak.

The pain was primarily in my right testicle, though often radiated up into the right side of my chest and sometimes into my neck. Imagine Vise-Grip pliers lightly applied to your testicle. At times, more was involved with a different sharper stinging/zinging type of sensation around the right side of my scrotum, and sometimes the perineal muscles got into the act with tightness and spasms felt around and into the prostate. Occasionally I had the "golf ball up the ass" feeling that I’ve read some describe from prostate issues.

I was seriously fucked from this problem. What to do? Doctors were of no help. All they offered was an antibiotic and then advice to take NSAIDs, which I can’t because I’m taking a blood thinner. One urologist’s response to that was to stop taking the blood thinner so I can take an NSAID. Yeah, right. I saw 2 different urologists about this. Both knew nothing and cared even less.

After my initial post here I had another ultrasound done, which showed actual inflammation of the right epididymis. Epididymitis often doesn’t show in untrasounds, as in they aren’t good for diagnosing it. I already knew the epididymis was swollen from palpating it. BTW, lightly palpating the testicle didn’t hurt while doing it, but would increase the pain for days afterward. The urologists and their assistants who have examined me couldn’t feel that there was swelling, but I have a lifetime of experience with my balls and am familiar with how they feel when I"ve examined them. Something wasn’t right. The right epididymis was larger, had hard spots, and was obviously having an issue.

My problematic right nut was also riding oddly. It was often hanging more forward than usual and also rotated somewhat sideways, like twisted 30ish degrees. Sometimes it would also drop down lower than my left nut, which is backwards for me. It was not acting normal. WTF?

I had been doing some basic stretching since shortly after this started. At times, I thought stretching helped a little, but the problem persisted. The symptoms and type of pain had me thinking there was likely something else going on that stretching couldn’t fix. BTW, 2 weeks of Bactrim had no effect, and also thankfully no serious side effects.

During this, I’ve researched and read a lot about nut pain in general and epididymitis in particular.

What doctors like to call "chronic epididymitis" is a relatively common problem for men. It is not well-studied, surprisingly overlooked, and seems to be a catch-all diagnosis for "I don’t know what’s wrong because med school and the drug salesmen haven’t told me about it." Nut pain comprises a significant percentage of ER and urologist visits. The current medical wisdom for nut pain is to first check for torsion in cases with rapid onset (which makes sense), but beyond that is to suspect a bacterial infection and treat empiracally for such. That’s what they did with me. Beyond that, perhaps investigate for lower back problems, etc., which is what my first urologist told me he would do before even determining that my epididymis was actually swollen. BTW, he felt it and said it wasn’t. The ultrasound a few weeks later showed it was.

About a month ago I had to drive an hour, wait several hours, and then drive an hour back home. During the wait I did a long session of stretching in a chair and also out in the parking lot with a foot elevated by stepping up on the curb. I hit muscles that I hadn’t before. I expected a painful drive home afterward, but surprisingly the pain had diminished. I’ve continued doing similar stretching, and so far seem to be mostly cured. I went from misery for months to mostly ok almost immediately with the right stretching. My best guess is something tight was pinching a nerve or maybe the vas deferens itself. I don’t know exactly what. Nor do I know which stretch in particular is the key for me. There are several that I have been continuing, and I’ve since added more along those lines.

I suspect this is an issue with my right hip or something on that side. Several months ago I noticed my right hip popping loudly each time I’d squat (bodyweight), which had never happened before. I read of one guy who had chronic nut pain finding that he had a torn labrum in his hip. His surgeon said that he has seen a lot of men experiencing nut pain stemming from such things.

There is a subreddit r/chronicepididymitis with many dealing with this kind of thing. Finding and doing the right stretches has helped many. There are also some pelvic floor muscle PT specialists that can help with nut and prostate pain. I’m not saying stretching will cure everyone, only that it’s something to consider. And even then, you have to find what exactly works for your particular situation. I think I finally have, knock on wood. Time will tell.

Ddaaammmn, Hobby. Good that you’re doing better, but that sucks.

Are you going to add those stretches to your regular fitness/PE routine?

Ive started testicle massaging wher I cup them and squeeze them as I extend upwards. Then gently yet firmly press them together in a pulsing manner 36 times slightly rubbing them with small.circles.

Ive read some taoist docs that show some benefit.

Its actually helped relieve the blue ball effect from semen retention because im trying to only nut every 15 days.

Ive also had PF issues in the past but hanging has almost eradicared those issues. My opinion is traction is beneficial for the ab and pelvuc floor area. Oddly the 13 to 15 lb area is a weight that I beliwve sees results. The penis and the connective structures is an amazing organ.

Man Hobby! I’m going to have to re-read your posts a few times. I went through this exact thing, lasting about a month. ER, ultrasound and everything. Even was the same Right nut. I’ll have to learn about that stretching. The one thing that saved me was getting underwear called "Separatec". They separate your balls from your dong, but more importantly they lift your balls up and out and It seems to keep them away from constant impact as well as maybe helping them drain their blood and fluid. I think I had Vericocele, though the doctor said it was a hydrocele from impact. It was brutal. I can definitely understand your buddy wanting to just get the nuts chopped. Luckily it only lasted like that for 4-5 days. I was on break froom PE at the time, so maybe related to PE, but maybe not. If I wear normal boxers for more than a day or two, I feel the symptoms kinda coming back.

I do at least some of them every day. I’m afraid not to.

When I first had the shorter bout of this pain back in 2022, massaging around the base of the right CC was apparently what solved it. I felt a stinging kind of pain while doing that. Of course, I tried that again this time, but it had no effect. I can see how hanging could help depending on what is involved. Back when I was hanging years ago, OTS with a fair amount of weight was felt way down into the taint area.

Fancy underwear is a band-aid, not a cure. Plus, I generally hate it. Something non-cotton and more supportive when exercising is ok but too constrictive otherwise. I’ve worn boxers for decades and have never had any problems with nut pain until recently. With this issue my right nut was already riding more forward than usual. I tried Hanes "total support" underwear with the pouch like thing. It didn’t help. I have some Adidas and 32 Degree boxer briefs. Same thing. More support = more constant pressure, which was bad. Less support = more banging around when moving, but without the constant pressure.

IMO, if anything, typical PE techniques should help ward this kind of thing off, not cause it. You didn’t say how long ago you first encountered this problem, but presently if you wear normal boxers it will begin to bother you again. I encourage you to try stretching.

What stretching works? That seems to be an individual thing.

I have tight adductors on both sides, the right side being worse, tight hamstring muscles, again the right side being worse, and issues around my right hip. Those are only the most obvious ones. This body has poor flexibility in general. BTW, I have other problems on the left side that haven’t caused any left nut pain. Something is screwed somewhere on my right side. I suspect too much time slouching in a chair at the computer is a primary cause.

Step and stretch. I don’t know what to call it. To stretch the right side, elevating my left foot slightly helped. A curb, stair step or whatever. Left leg slightly bent with foot on the step, right leg rearward and straight with pressure down into the heel, lean back a little and focus on posteriorly rotating the hips (rotating the pelvis so the top points rearward) . Aim to stretch down the front on the right side. Now that I have a better feel for it, I often do this without the left foot elevation. Sometimes while stretching this way I put my right hip up against an outside wall corner and use a Lacrosse ball against the wall to press into my right pelvic area. Hold for a while, move the ball up and so on. Start at low pelvis/crotch/inseam and continue on up into the abs. Or, without the ball I make a fist and use the joint of my thumb to press in.

Figure 4. Cross legs with one ankle on top of the opposite knee. You can do this seated in a chair or on a stool. It didn’t work well for me lying in bed, probably because my low back rounded. I feel the stretch in my hip mostly and also in the adductors. My right side is far tighter than my left with this.

The above, along with some minor variations, are primarlly what I did that gave me the initial relief. I had been doing similar stretches, but I hadn’t been hitting things quite the same way. The day of the breakthrough I spent probably an hour or so stretching. I had nothing else to do then and was killing time. I don’t know how much time or frequency is ideal for stretching.

I’ve since added:

Spread legs. If you have the room, which I don’t, lie on the floor with your butt up against a wall. Put your heels on the wall with legs straight and spread your legs out into a V. I do this seated on the floor with my back flat against the wall. Many have reported this kind of stretching helping with nut pain.

Butterfly. Same basic thing with soles of feet together. This did not seem to help me when done in bed or lying on the floor. Having my back against a wall and sitting up straight works better. I can’t cheat by having my pelvis rotate.

I do the same with legs strait out in front of me.

Hip flexors, etc. I doubt this has helped my nut pain, but years ago it fixed what I for a time thought was a hernia. Lie on your stomach in bed or on the floor. Reach behind and grab the opposite ankle. Lean into the stretch. Also, look up couch stretches and similar. Basic hip flexor lunge type stretches can work also.

For the lower pelvic/perineum area in particular, "happy baby" seems to be a good one, both from personal experience as well as recommendations. Lie on your back and grab the soles of your feet with your hands. Can also do similar with soles of feet held together and pull on your ankles, which is another kind of butterfly.

It’s been 4-5 weeks now since I first got some relief. I haven’t palpated the nut to determine if the epididymis is still inflammed because doing so irritated it before. I’m guessing it probably still is to some extent. From what I’ve read, this kind of inflammation can take months to settle down. I’ve felt some occasional twinges of discomfort at times, but nothing like the pain before. I haven’t resumed exercising yet, but I will soon.

I was wondering if splits would do anything useful. Sounds like you’re heading in that direction already.

Any further improvements, Hobby?