Sharp wave of pain in left testicle, what could be the cause?

[dexterk]

I began feeling sharp wave of pains in my left testicle. First time i experience this was over 5 years ago, the doctor's diagnosis was to my playing basket ball. I may have strained my self in the process, were his words. Now four years of net playing any sport the pain is back again. It comes a goes but still i remain conscious of my left testicle because it appears as there is pressure. I do not feel any pain now, i have no poblems in urinating nor do i feel any pain then.

Please can you help me.

[Stephen Liroff, MD]

Testicular pain can be a difficult symptom to trace down. It can be related to a hernia, a sprain involving the abdominal muscles, a varicocele or  a structure within the scrotum such as a rapidly enlarging spermatocele,  rarely a testis tumor, residual from mumps orchitis (testis inflammation from mumps in the past), to give you a few, but certainly not an exhaustive, list of possibilities. It is certainly difficult to advise you without examining you but a varicocele sounds to be a likely possibility. An inguinal and  scrotal ultrasound with maneuvers to increase abdominal pressure should be diagnostic of this and may reveal other local findings that may help to nail down the cause. You may experience some improvement/relief by wearing a scrotal support if you are not already doing so when you play sports/work-out and wear jockey type underwear day to day.
S.A.Liroff, M.D.