Testicular Pain? You May Have

Epididymitis

A painful condition caused by inflammation and resulting in pain or swelling of the scrotum, testicles, or epididymitis typically affects men who are between 19 and 35 years of age, and is commonly the result of a sexually transmitted infection.

Understanding Chronic Epididymitis

What is Chronic Epididymitis?

Chronic Epididymitis is a pain or discomfort of at least 3 months of duration in the scrotum, testicle, or epididymis. When patients have chronic epididymitis, the pelvic floor often becomes guarded and spastic and the nerves that innervate the genitals become inflamed.

Symptoms of Chronic Epididymitis

The onset of pain caused by epididymitis is usually gradual, growing worse over time and those symptoms should be treated before they get worse or develop into larger problems.

Testicular Pain Is Not in Your Head

What Causes Chronic Epididymitis?

With Chronic Epididymitis, there is no longer an active infection, however, due to the presence of the original infection the epididymis remains inflamed despite antibiotic treatment, the pelvic floor muscles become guarded and spastic and the pelvic nerves that innervate the genital area have become irritated. Chronic anxiety and stress may also increase the severity of epididymitis pain or contribute to recurring pain flare-ups most likely due to subconscious clenching of the pelvic floor muscles. Other factors can contribute to a flare-up of Epididymitis:

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    Pelvic Floor Hypertonia

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    Recurrent Bacterial infection

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    Sexually transmitted infections such as chlamydia or gonorrhea

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    Reflux of urine into the ejaculatory ducts

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    Spread of tuberculosis or prostate infections

Epididymitis

Risk Factors

Epididymitis is the direct result of epididymis becoming inflamed and there are a variety of risks that can cause this painful inflammation and the symptoms that accompany it.

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    Not practicing safe sex

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    Having an enlarged prostate

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    Illnesses such as tuberculosis

Is Your Pain From Chronic Epididymitis?

Diagnosing Epididymitis

Diagnosing chronic epididymitis and the issues that are causing it requires an in-depth examination of both the nerves and muscles within the pelvis, learning of your medical history, and getting a full picture of your symptoms and lifestyle.

Here’s what you can expect when you are a patient at Pelvic Rehabilitation Medicine:

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    Step One – First, our providers will ask questions about your medical history and listen to your symptoms to get a full picture of what is going on with you.

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    Step Two – Next, an external exam of your hips, abdomen, and posterior sacrum.

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    Step Three – Next, your pelvic nerves are evaluated externally with a soft cotton tip.

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    Step Four – Next, with your consent, gel is placed on a gloved finger and an internal exam is performed to allow us to evaluate the nerves and muscles within the pelvis. There is no speculum required as we are evaluating the pelvic floor muscles and nerves not the organs.

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    Step Five – Sometimes patients will need Imaging to help us understand if there is an associated cause of the pelvic nerve and muscle pain and dysfunction found on exam.

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    Step Six – Oftentimes, treatment can be started the same day as there is no down time. Our patients have been suffering with pelvic pain symptoms for 6+ months. We like to get them on the road to feeling better as soon as we can as the longer the symptoms are present the harder it is for us to resolve them.

Treatment Options for Epididymitis

Once a proper diagnosis has been given, we offer a proprietary office-based procedure to treat the pelvic floor hypertonia and pelvic nerve irritation that often coexists with chronic epididymitis. This treatment consists of a series of pelvic nerve and muscle treatments to directly target the spastic pelvic floor muscles, inflammation in the pelvis, and pelvic nerve pain. Depending on the underlying cause of your epididymitis, other modalities may be needed in addition to our treatment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Experiencing the symptoms of epididymitis can be extremely painful, but our team of pelvic pain specialists will listen to you, validate your experiences and symptoms, and partner with you on your rehabilitation journey.

If you are sexually active, it’s important to practice safe sex – use condoms and regularly get tested for sexually transmitted diseases, especially if you have multiple sex partners over a short period of time.

Pain and swelling from chronic epididymitis can continue to worsen over time. There is also the risk of infection spreading to the testicles or other parts of the genital region. If this condition continues to go unaddressed, it may result in reduced sperm count and motility, and can even lead to infertility in some cases. If left untreated, chronic epididymitis may have worsening effects such as unusual penile discharge or flu-like symptoms like fever or chills.

Epididymitis is one of many conditions which can cause testicular pain, and often results from the presence of another condition such as prostatitis or sexually transmitted infections like gonorrhea or chlamydia.

If you are experiencing pain in your testes, it’s important not to ignore it until it gets worse. We recommended scheduling an appointment with one of our pelvic pain specialists as soon as possible. Additionally, severe pain to the testes or scrotum should be considered an emergency that requires immediate medical attention.

With the PRM Protocol, PN patients can experience increased pelvic function and decreased pain.
After the PRM Protocol, 88% of patients stated they missed 0 days of work due to their pelvic pain in the last 3 months.
After the PRM Protocol, 75% of patients stated their pelvic pain symptoms affected them 0 Hours per week while at work.
After the PRM Protocol, 96% of patients did not need to go to the ER for their pelvic pain in the past 3 months.
75% of our patients note a statistically significant improvement in pain and function.

You’ll meet with one of our pelvic pain specialists, who focuses solely on pelvic pain. We’ll start by reviewing your full health history, including a discussion of your symptoms. This will help us to understand what you’ve been experiencing, so we can work to identify the source of your pain.
Next, we’ll conduct a full pelvic exam. Externally, we will look at your hips, abdomen, and posterior sacrum. Internally, we will evaluate the nerves and the muscles within the pelvic area. This full exam is necessary, as it will help our pelvic pain specialists understand the connection between your symptoms, and your nerve and muscle pain and dysfunction. There is no speculum, so the exam is gentle and more comfortable than that of, for example, gynecological exams you may have experienced in the past.
We will discuss our findings with you and come up with a comprehensive treatment plan TOGETHER. We want you to know that your pain is validated and that we are here to work with you on getting you back to the life you deserve.

Experience Relief From Epididymitis.