5 Causes of Painful Testicles After Exercise
Health ConditionsMen's Health

5 Possible Causes of Testicular Pain After Exercise

5 Possible Causes of Testicular Pain After Exercise
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Updated on August 6, 2025
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The testicles are extremely sensitive. Even a slight injury, infection, or other issue with the scrotum or the surrounding area can cause significant pain. So, if your testicles are hurting after a workout, you’re not alone.

If you experience sudden severe testicular pain or also develop fever, chills, nausea, or blood in your urine, seek medical assistance right away. These may be symptoms of a serious condition called testicular torsion.

Several causes may lead to pain in your testicles after exercise. Learn about the underlying reasons for ball ache after a workout, plus what to do about them.

1. Injury

Injury is a common cause of testicular pain after working out.

 The testicles are tender and sensitive, so even minor trauma can lead to pain.

The trauma doesn’t need to occur directly to your scrotum to cause pain in your testicles. Injuring abdominal or groin tissue around your testes can also lead to pain, bruising, or swelling in the area. Testicular trauma can also lead to a condition called hematocele, where blood builds up in a testicle.

Testicular injury is widespread if you play soccer, football, or basketball, according to a study of 28,844 emergency room visits due to sports-related injuries.

Visit your doctor to determine the best treatment for your injury. According to Cleveland Clinic, some at-home remedies may include:

  • Icing the area or applying a cold compress
  • Taking warm baths
  • Taking over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to reduce inflammation
  • Lying down and placing a rolled towel under your scrotum
  • Wearing a cup or athletic supporter

Not everyone is a suitable candidate for NSAIDs. Talk to your doctor if you’re considering NSAIDs or if these steps don’t relieve the pain in your testicles.

2. Inguinal Hernia

An inguinal hernia, or hernia in the groin, is another potential cause of pain in the testicles after working out. This occurs when part of your intestine pushes through a weak point in your abdominal wall near your groin.

You may feel pain or swelling in the groin that may extend to the testicles. Exercises involving heavy lifting, bending over, or straining, like weightlifting, can trigger this pain and swelling. However, even just coughing can mean you feel the inguinal hernia more.

Other symptoms include:

  • Bulging, burning, and aching around the pubic bone
  • Groin pain, weakness, or pressure
  • Heaviness or dragging in your groin
  • Swollen testicles

While not inherently dangerous, an inguinal hernia can lead to more severe conditions, so it’s best to have a doctor check it.

If your hernia bulge turns red, purple, or dark and you have symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, fever, sudden pain, or an inability to pass gas or stools, these could be signs that it’s cutting off your blood flow to the intestine. Doctors refer to this as a strangulated hernia. Seek medical care immediately, as this complication can be life-threatening.

3. Infection and Inflammation

Pain in the testicles after working out can be a symptom of epididymitis, especially if you only feel it on one side. This condition involves inflammation of the epididymis, a coiled tube behind the testicle.

While this type of infection usually develops due to intestinal bacteria traveling to the epididymis from the bladder, some people may acquire a type called noninfectious epididymitis due to strenuous exercise, particularly weightlifting.

You might force urine from the bladder into the epididymis if you strain while lifting a heavy weight.

Epididymitis pain may start by feeling more intense at the rear of the testicle before spreading to the whole testicle, the scrotum, and sometimes the groin.

Other signs and symptoms of the condition include:

  • Swelling
  • Redness and heat near the infection
  • Limping, as the pain may be severe enough to affect how you walk
  • Fever and chills
  • Burning pee
  • A buildup of fluid in the scrotum
  • Discharge from the tip of the penis that’s clear, yellow, or white

If you experience testicular pain and swelling, consult your doctor immediately so they can diagnose and treat the underlying infection with antibiotics.

Without treatment, epididymitis can spread from the epididymis to the testicles, leading to an infection called orchitis. If the two areas develop an infection at the same time, doctors refer to it as epididymo-orchitis.

4. Testicular Torsion

If you notice severe, sudden testicle pain, it may be a symptom of a dangerous condition called testicular torsion. This occurs when the tube supplying blood to the scrotum twists and cuts off blood flow, sometimes as a result of an injury. Though rare, it can lead to testicle loss without immediate treatment.

Although the injury may happen while you’re being active, no single physical action causes testicular torsion. It can occur when you’re sitting down, standing still, or even sleeping.

Testicular torsion often occurs because a person’s testicles swing freely in the scrotum, which is a deformity known as “bell clapper.” A direct injury might also lead to testicular torsion.

If you or someone in your family has had torsion before, it becomes more likely. More than 6 in 10 people with testicular torsion are between 12 and 18 years old.

Symptoms include:

  • Sudden severe pain in one testicle
  • Swelling on one side of the scrotum
  • One testicle being higher up in the scrotum than the other
  • A visible lump
  • Red, purple, brown, or black discoloration
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Abdominal pain
  • Passing more urine than usual
  • Fever

If you suspect torsion, seek medical attention immediately. Testicular torsion can’t fix itself. You’ll need a surgical procedure known as orchiopexy. In this procedure, a surgeon untwists your testicle and repairs the deformity by stitching the testicle to the inner wall.

5. Post-Vasectomy Pain

A vasectomy involves a healthcare provider surgically sealing the vas deferens, which are the tubes the carry sperm from the testes to the penis.

Some people notice pain after the procedure due to higher pressure in the areas surrounding their testes, such as the epididymis and vas deferens.

Overdoing exercise after surgery may lead to bleeding and pain inside the scrotum.

 Doctors advise slowly building back to strenuous exercise after a vasectomy to ensure the surgical wound fully heals. If you’ve recently had a vasectomy, you might need to rein in the intensity of your workouts.

At first, focus on standing and walking for longer periods. Stick to picking up loads weighing 10 pounds or less, and avoid activities including martial arts, contact sports, mountain biking, or powerlifting until around a month after surgery. You may also need longer than a week off from work if your job involves lots of exercise or heavy lifting.

While some residual discomfort is normal after a vasectomy, the pain should feel better as you recover. If you still feel pain three months after the procedure, you may have a rare syndrome called post-vasectomy pain syndrome (PVPS). Other symptoms might include:

  • A tender, painful scrotum
  • Pain or pressure after you ejaculate
  • Dull, aching discomfort in one or both testes
  • Pain or tenderness at the site of the surgery
  • A swollen epididymis
  • Painful sex, known as dyspareunia
Visit your doctor if you experience severe pain, swelling, discharge, or painful urination.

They may recommend pain medications, physical therapy, nerve block injections, cold or heat therapy, or further surgery to treat PVPS.
However, visit your doctor if you experience severe pain, swelling, discharge, or painful urination.

Seek emergency care if you experience fever, redness, swelling, or pus from the incisions.

The Takeaway

  • Often, your testicles may hurt after exercise because of injury or trauma. Painful testicles after hernias and vasectomies can also occur due to straining and increasing pressure on the testes.
  • In rare instances, epididymitis can develop after forcing urine into the testicles from the bladder.
  • Testicular torsion is a severe condition in which the testicles become twisted. It requires emergency treatment.
  • Speak to a doctor if your testicles hurt after physical activity and you’re unsure of the cause.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Testicle Pain: When to See a Doctor. Mayo Clinic. December 7, 2023.
  2. Testicular Pain. Cleveland Clinic. July 24, 2023.
  3. Testicle Pain: Causes. Mayo Clinic. December 7, 2023.
  4. Jain R et al. Epidemiology of Testicular Trauma in Sports: Analysis of the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System Database. Journal of Emergency Medicine. July 9, 2024.
  5. Inguinal Hernia (Groin Hernia). Cleveland Clinic. April 26, 2022.
  6. Inguinal Hernia. Mayo Clinic. Apr 24, 2021.
  7. Epididymitis and orchitis. Harvard Medical School. July 17, 2023.
  8. Testicular torsion. Cleveland Clinic. February 2, 2023.
  9. Vasectomy. Mayo Clinic. March 07, 2025.
  10. Vasectomy. Cleveland Clinic. April 16, 2025.
  11. Post-vasectomy pain syndrome. Mayo Clinic. Sept. 09, 2022.
  12. Post-vasectomy pain syndrome: Diagnosis and Treatment. Mayo Clinic. Sept. 09, 2022.
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Christopher Wolter, MD

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Christopher Wolter, MD, is an assistant professor in urology at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona. He has been in practice since 2008, specializing in the areas of urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, urologic reconstruction, urologic prosthetics, post prostate cancer survivorship, erectile dysfunction, neurourology and neuromodulation, and overall functional considerations of urogenital health.

Dr. Wolter has been heavily involved in urologic education. He spent the last 12 years heavily involved in resident education and leadership for his department, including the last eight years as urology residency program director. He currently serves as the director of urologic education for the preclinical and clinical rotations for the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine Phoenix, Arizona, campus.

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