Groin and Testicular Pain

Groin pain can have local causes or be due to referred pain. Referred pain means the cause isn’t at the site of the pain. Groin pain may be caused by musculoskeletal problems or by disease processes, which may also cause painless swelling of lymph nodes in the area.

In all cases a good case history by your therapist is essential for diagosis and catching a potentially serious condition early.  Find out more about this at the bottom of this page.

Many musculoskeletal causes can be treated with osteopathy, and some of these causes are listed below.

Hip problems

These especially those related to arthritis in the elderly, and problems with the sacro iliac joint (on either side of  the triangular bone at the base of your spine) can cause referred groin pain. Sacro iliac problems will often cause pain with walking or rotating the pelvis (your hip bones), as well as pain to either side of the lower back.  Problems with this joint are common after pregnancy and are due to instability in the structure.

A shortened & irritated psoas muscle

This often accompanies hip problems, especially when advanced. This muscle connects all your lumbar vertebrae and discs with the top of your femur (or thigh bone) and is responsible for swinging your thigh forwards. It also runs across a fluid filled sac called a bursa, in the area of the groin.

Bursitis

Bursitis means inflammation of the bursa (see previous paragraph).  A bursa provides some cushioning between muscle tendons and other structures such as bone beneath them, but it can get irritated by friction or compression. Psoas infection and bursitis can also result from gastrointestinal and gynecological disease, so we will need to ask you questions about this aspect of your health.

An inguinal hernia

These may also cause groin pain, perhaps following straining when lifting or even coughing. Local tenderness and a bulge may be visible.

Strained adductors

Adductors are muscles along the inside of your thighs and may also cause pain in the groin where they attach to bones in the area.

Ovarian cysts and endometriosis

In such cases a woman will often have other symptoms relating to her periods.

Men - beware!!

Testicular pain can sometimes accompany pain just above the groin. Here, over tight lower abdominal muscles (internal obliques) can irritate the muscle to the testes together with the genito-femoral nerve, which serves this muscle.

However, there are other causes of testicular pain which require urgent attention, including prostate problems, stones, mumps, torsions, cysts & cancer. 

Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in males aged 20 to 35, and is often painless.  These are two very good reasons why all men in this age group should regularly self examine themselves for lumps.  Early detection is vital for good results.

 Learn how now!