Can herniated discs cause testicular pain and retraction?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am a 48 year old male. Ten days back, I noticed that my testicles has moved up and are receding into my groin. I also have a dull pain in the testicles. This pain is not always there, but it happens on and off. I am worried that this may be a serious condition. Could you please let me know what could be the reason for this condition. Which specialist should I consult in my city? I would also like to point out that I am also suffering from lower back pain for the last couple of months. The pain is in the lower back, right hip, and also both sides of the lower abdomen. I got an MRI last week, which showed herniated disc in L4-L5 region of the spine. The doctor suggested endoscopic spinal surgery. I am yet to take a call on this. I am not sure if the above two conditions are related. Are both my issues related?

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Sorry to hear about your pain. The most important condition to exclude when a testicle becomes high-riding with associated pain would be testicular torsion (twisting and occlusion of blood supply to testicle). Torsion is however incredibly rare in older males and occurs in teenagers and young adults.Epididymo-orchitis or testicular infection does not cause retraction of the testes, but it would also be clinically excluded generally. An inguinal hernia, which is more common in your age group can sometimes lead to movement of testes due to movement in the inguinal canal.Lumbosacral radiculopathy, like nerve problems, pain, or referred pain, is commonly due to compression by vertebral discs. It has been described to present as groin and scrotal pain in some patients. If a nerve outflow tract from the spinal column, which supplies a particular area (like the groin) is compressed or inflamed, then pain or sensory disturbance would be experienced in the supplied area. It is therefore possible that your testicular pain is caused by nerve compression from the disc herniation in your back. One should first exclude other organic causes as mentioned above. A urologist should be able to exclude local organic pathology, if excluded, then the treatment become part of the treatment for disc herniation by your neurosurgeon or spinal orthopedic surgeon.