With summer sports such as baseball, soccer, and tennis in full swing, male athletes of all ages need to be aware of the potential for injuries to the scrotum and penis — and how to protect themselves.
It’s a particularly important issue for young men and their parents to be aware of, as many such injuries happen within youth sports.
CU Department of Surgery faculty member Dan Wood, MD, PhD, FRCS, professor of urology, says the good news is that most genital injuries incurred on the sporting field aren’t likely to be serious and typically don’t require intervention besides wearing supportive underwear and allowing time to heal — although he acknowledges they can be quite painful.
The most important thing male athletes can do is wear a protective cup when they play sports, Wood says.
“It’s an easy way to avoid that risk,” he says. “If you do get a blow to the genitals or the testes, it is very painful. It stops you in your tracks, and it might take you off the field. So from that perspective, it's important, but if you wear a cup, it also will prevent severe injuries such as testicular rupture or severe hematoma. It’s a low-hassle intervention to prevent a significant injury.”
Injuries to watch out for
Wood says other genital-area injuries that can happen while playing sports include:
Hematoma — a blood clot inside or on the surface of the testicle that can cause bruising.
“If it’s a small hematoma, then the body will deal with that itself,” Wood says. “It will just resolve and absorb itself. If it's significant, there might be a clinical concern about damage to the testes, or if we need to actually stop the bleeding.”
Epididymitis — inflammation or infection of the epididymis, the tubes at the back of the of the testes.
If you bruise your hand or face, you get a redness there,” he says. “Epididymitis is a similar inflammation in that area of the testes. If it's related to an injury, we expect it to be self-limiting and to resolve itself.”
Testicular rupture — contact causes a testis to become smashed and leak blood and other fluid into the scrotum.
“If it's mild, then it's possible to repair it. If it's really severe, then the testis might be so badly damaged that it won't survive,” Wood says. “Fortunately, Mother Nature was good in her planning and gave us two testes. If one is injured, we have a backup or reserve on the other side.”
Testicular torsion — one or both testicles become twisted inside the scrotum, cutting off blood flow.
“There may be a link between trauma and testicular torsion,” Wood says. “And adolescent boys are more susceptible to torsion than other age groups. If you have a young man with testicular pain that's not resolving within 15 to 20 minutes, they should go see a doctor as an emergency. They should not wait overnight, they should not think about it. They should tell a parent, and they should go to a doctor within a very short space of time. That's an emergency.”
Be a good sport
Another simple way to avoid genital and other injuries while playing sports is simply to be considerate of the other players, Wood says.
“Sports are competitive, and people can get a bit carried away,” he says. “If you're involved in a game, and things are getting a bit heated, don't be tempted to injure another player in that way.”
Check yourself
In addition to protecting themselves from immediate testicular injury, Wood also advocates for young men in their teens to begin performing regular testicular self-examination, looking for lumps and other abnormalities that could indicate the presence of cancer or other issues.
“In adolescent men, it's a good habit to form,” Wood says, “and if you notice something that worries you, please see a urologist.”
