Varicocele: 3 Simple Home Remedies for Pain Relief
A varicocele is enlarged testicular veins. Varicocele is caused by blood pooling in the testicular veins. It is the leading cause of male infertility, but can also be asymptomatic. About 10% of men with the disease experience symptoms of aching and pain. These pain symptoms can be mild or for some very severe.
I have had many clients whom have missed work and stopped exercising because of varicocele pain. It really can become a debilitating condition. Varicocele pain is a signal that your testicles are being damaged by varicocele toxic blood pooling. Pooled blood is toxic and damages the testicles.
Conventional treatments are expensive and often accompanied by high risks and unwanted side effects. Surgery for example is not recommended for pain treatment, and can actually cause permanent or recurrent pain to develop!
Luckily, there there is a simple way of treating varicocele pain naturally at home. There is much debate, but can you really cure your pain at home?
1. Cooling for Pain Relief
Pooled blood also means that the main cooling mechanism of the testicles (counter current cooling) malfunctions. This causes excessive testicular heat exposure, which damages the testicles and can halt both sperm and testosterone production.(1, 2, 3)
What to Do
- Wash the scrotum for 20–30 seconds with cold water, 1–2 times per day.
- Do not over-cool the testicles.
2. Yoga Inversions: Enhance Blood Drainage
Some specific yoga can promote testicular blood circulation.
Like other forms of exercising, yoga can also help improve fertility.(4, 5)
Yoga poses have been shown to improve blood flow to the testicles.(6)
In particular, inversions are the best way to drain and reduce varicocele swelling.(7)
What to Do
Some of the best poses yoga poses that you can perform are:
- Bridge pose: Hold for 10 breaths, rest for 10 breaths, repeat 5 times, perform daily.
- Supported shoulder stand: Hold for 30–50 breaths, repeat 3 times per day, perform daily, and on an empty stomach.
3. Varicocele Underwear
Scrotal support underwear can help reduce varicocele swelling and minimize varicocele symptoms.(8)
Proper underwear must be cooling and provide scrotal support (not compression) (9)
What to Do
- Be a STUD, get underwear with breathable crotch fabric.
- Briefs provide protection against scrotal sagging.
- Normal supporters should be avoided, because they provide a mix of over-heating and compression that is unhealthy for men with varicoceles.
