The most important condition to rule out for men who present with acute and sudden onset of testicular pain would be torsion of the testicle.
Torsion means the blood supply to the testicle is cut off due to twisting of the spermatic cord. This is a urological emergency as the testis can die and this condition is potentially salvageable if the torsion has not persisted for more than 6 hours.
Other common causes in a 20 year old male would be orchitis or epididymo-orchitis which is infection of the testis or both the testis and epididymis.
The other common cause would be varicocele which is enlarged veins that allow for blood circulation from the testis. Varicoceles are present in up to 15% of men.
Pain in the testicle should not be ignored and a trip down to the urologist is recommended as a man’s fertility and sexual function can potentially be at risk if the underlying cause is not treated promptly.
