Orchialgia
Basics
Description
- Chronic scrotal pain of at least 3 months duration arising from any intrascrotal structure and negatively affecting quality of life
- Pain may be intermittent or constant, unilateral or bilateral, direct (infection, obstruction, tumor, or trauma) or referred. In many cases, pain is idiopathic.
Epidemiology
Incidence
- Majority of patients present in mid- to late 30s.
- Affects up to 6% of postvasectomy patients (1)
Prevalence
Up to 0.4% of men, overall (1)
Etiology and Pathophysiology
- Trauma
- Infection
- Epididymitis
- Prostatitis
- Urinary tract infection
- Postvasectomy
- Other abdominal, scrotal, or testicular surgery
- Nerve entrapment
- Torsion or posttorsion
- Urethral stricture
- Hydrocele
- Testicular tumor
- Radicular pain
- Vertebrogenic
- Ureteric calculi
- Indirect inguinal hernia
- Aortic or common iliac artery aneurysm
- Retroperitoneal tumor
- Psychological
- Sexual abuse
- Stress
- Depression
- Vitamin B12 and/or testosterone deficiency
- A small 2016 study showed that 76% of men with chronic testicular pain were deficient in either vitamin B12 or in testosterone (2).
Pathophysiology
- Poorly understood
- Afferent innervation via somatic nerves in the genital branch of the genitofemoral and ilioinguinal nerves implicated in chronic pain
- Referred pain may be due to entrapment neuropathies involving the pudendal nerve, aneurysms, obstruction of the pelviureteric junction, or other disorders.
Risk Factors
- Vasectomy
- Other scrotal or abdominal surgery
- Bicycle riding
- Horseback riding
- Long periods without postural changes
- Heavy lifting
- Intercourse
Commonly Associated Conditions
- Low back pain
- Clinical depression
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Citation
Domino, Frank J., et al., editors. "Orchialgia." 5-Minute Clinical Consult, 33rd ed., Wolters Kluwer, 2025. Medicine Central, im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/816860/all/Orchialgia.
Orchialgia. In: Domino FJF, Baldor RAR, Golding JJ, et al, eds. 5-Minute Clinical Consult. Wolters Kluwer; 2025. https://im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/816860/all/Orchialgia. Accessed October 15, 2024.
Orchialgia. (2025). In Domino, F. J., Baldor, R. A., Golding, J., & Stephens, M. B. (Eds.), 5-Minute Clinical Consult (33rd ed.). Wolters Kluwer. https://im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/816860/all/Orchialgia
Orchialgia [Internet]. In: Domino FJF, Baldor RAR, Golding JJ, Stephens MBM, editors. 5-Minute Clinical Consult. Wolters Kluwer; 2025. [cited 2024 October 15]. Available from: https://im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/816860/all/Orchialgia.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
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T1 - Orchialgia
ID - 816860
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ED - Baldor,Robert A,
ED - Golding,Jeremy,
ED - Stephens,Mark B,
BT - 5-Minute Clinical Consult, Updating
UR - https://im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/816860/all/Orchialgia
PB - Wolters Kluwer
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DB - Medicine Central
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