Penile and testicular pain are treatable
See the benefits of pelvic health PT, without any of the risks of pharmaceuticals or procedures.
Male Pelvic Pain
When you feel like there’s nowhere else to turn, Hidden Strength Physical Therapy Studio is there.
What is Male Pelvic Pain?
Pelvic pain in men is often an underrecognized issue, but it can significantly impact quality of life. This type of pain can occur in the lower abdomen, groin, perineum (area between the scrotum and anus), or the lower back. For many men, pelvic pain can also affect sexual health, urinary function, and daily activities.
The pain may be acute or chronic and can result from a variety of conditions, some of which involve the pelvic floor muscles, nerves, or organs.
Common Causes of Male Pelvic Pain
Chronic Prostatitis/ Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CP/CPPS)
Inflammation or irritation of the prostate that can cause discomfort in the pelvic region.
Symptoms: Painful urination, pelvic pressure, difficulty with sexual function.
Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
The pelvic floor muscles can become tight, weak, or imbalanced, contributing to pain and dysfunction.
Symptoms: Pain during or after intercourse, urinary urgency or incontinence, discomfort while sitting.
Interstitial Cystitis (Bladder Pain Syndrome)
A condition characterized by bladder pain and a frequent, urgent need to urinate.
Symptoms: Lower abdominal pain, frequent urination, urgency, and discomfort.
Herniated Disc or Nerve Impingement
A herniated disc in the lower back can place pressure on nerves that lead to the pelvic area, causing pain and discomfort.
Symptoms: Pain radiating into the pelvic area, numbness, tingling, or weakness.
Inguinal Hernia
A tear or weakness in the abdominal wall that may cause discomfort or a bulging in the groin area.
Symptoms: Groin pain, especially during physical activity or lifting.
Pelvic Girdle Pain (PGP)
A condition that affects the pelvis and hips, often resulting from misalignment of the pelvic bones.
Symptoms: Pain in the pelvis, hips, and lower back.
What can PT do for my penile/testicular pain?
You will be surprised how fast you can get rid of your penile or testicular pain with pelvic health PT, even if you’ve had it for years.
1. Soft tissue mobilization
Getting the muscles and fascia in the pelvis and abdomen to be more flexible will allow for all surrounding tissues to do their job with more ease. This can be done through internal release or even by working externally on the spine, pelvis, or abdomen.
2. Awareness
Once you learn how all the muscles around the penis and testicles should feel when tense or relaxed, you’ll have more control to use them how you want to. This keeps muscles from getting too tense for too long, causing less pain.
3. Trigger Point Dry Needling
This all external approach can be extremely fast and effective, going right to the source of the problem. Targeting specific tissues that cause pain resets the mind and body to allow those muscles to fire more optimally.
4. Stretches
Stretching can look like a lot of different things. It could be traditional stretches that will give you a flashback to PE class, or even your own self-release stretches using your own hands.
5. Education
Guidance on posture, breathing techniques, and strategies to reduce muscle tension. If you don’t know why this is happening to you and how you can fix it, it’s very likely to return.
How do I know it’s not prostatitis?
Many men I treat have been treated for months, or even years or decades, under the disillusion that they have chronic prostatitis. But when symptoms don’t go away, not matter what you try, it’s time to think differently
1. You only get a little better after antibiotics
Antibiotics have a slight anti-inflammatory effect to them. When there’s less swelling on the pelvic floor muscles, the muscles are able to relax. This causes less pain.
2. Your symptoms gets worse with stress
You might not even realize the correlation here, but once you take a step back, oftentimes penile and testicular pain worsen when you have significant stress. This could be “good stress” too such as a job promotion, getting married, or becoming a new dad. The body perceives stress and holds onto it, a process called somatization.
3. They can’t find anything else “wrong”
If your urine cultures are coming back negative, and all your scans show the bladder and kidneys are working fine, people with penile or testicular pain can often be dismissed. Dysfunctional muscles aren’t going to show up on any blood test, but they are often the problem.
Why do I hurt after my vasectomy?
Men go to have a “simple” procedure to improve their health and relationship. Getting a vasectomy is seemingly low risk, but are the small percentage of men who have pain after this procedure that leaves their providers scratching their heads. Here is how pelvic PT can help
1. Traction/stretch injury of the nerve
The ilioinguinal nerve runs with the spermatic cord. It gets VERY stretched during the vasectomy so the nerve doesn’t get cut. However, nerves also don’t like to be stretched
2. Scar tissue around the nerve to the testicles
This same nerve can get trapped down with the small amount of scar tissue that occurs from the surgery. Nerves don’t like to be clamped down either (they’re very picky creatures!)
3. Swelling around inguinal canal
Although the acute swelling should dissipate, sometimes men have chronic inflammation int heir low abdomen around the inguinal canal (where the spermatic cord passes).
Contact Us
If you have any additional questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out. I am here to help!