Testicular Pain After Sit-ups

Doing situps and other abdominal exercises not only is important for toning your abdominal muscles, it also can help improve your balance and stability and make it easier for you to go about your normal activities. However, in some cases situps can cause testicular pain and indicate a groin injury. See your doctor for treatment.

A man is doing sit ups. (Image: Wavebreakmedia Ltd/Wavebreak Media/Getty Images)

Testicular Pain

Your testicles are very sensitive, so even a minor injury can cause testicular pain. Infections, hernias, torsion and fluid in the testicles also can result in testicular pain. Some causes of testicular pain can be serious and may lead to infertility if you don't treat them on a timely basis, so speak with your doctor to determine the appropriate treatment for your condition.

Osteitis Pubis

One potential cause of testicular pain after situps is osteitis pubis, which is an inflammation of the pubis symphysis, tissue that connects the two halves of the the pelvis. Situps can bring on this pain if the inflammation is located near the front of the pubis symphysis, according to an article published in October 2001 in "American Family Physician."

Nerve Compression

If you train your abdominal muscles too much, you can cause compression of the ilioinguinal nerve, which passes from the scrotum through your abdominal muscles. Your ilioinguinal nerve also can be injured due to direct trauma. However, compression of the ilioinguinal nerve is not very common. Your doctor may recommend local corticosteroid injections or surgery, depending on the type of pain involved.

Considerations

A variety of problems can cause testicular pain, and distinguishing between some of them can be difficult. Diagnosis requires the services of a trained medical professional. Other potential causes of groin pain include sports hernias, groin disruption and fractures. Although these are not necessarily linked with situps, they may need to be ruled out.