What can be done to help guys that have been struck in the groin?

[laraWM]

I was asked this question by some students, and I didn't know what to answer.

A colleague told me that I should tell them to "man up", that I should not let them overreact and that they'll be fine.

I don't dare telling us as I don't know how it feels. I mean I don't know if they overreact but from what I've seen I'm pretty sure they are unable to stand again before several minutes. I do trust them when they say they can't move because it hurts them really bad.

Is there something that can be done to help reducing the pain or to recover and to stand again faster?

My colleague is right

I'm right, tell me how to help

I'm right but nothing can be done

Updates

+1 y

So many good opinions, thank you all. I feel better that you guys support my behavior and so I'm going to continue ignoring my colleague advice.
But I still feel sorry nothing can really be done to recover faster.

[Anonymous]

I used to play Co-Ed waterpolo and it happened a lot in my sport it wasn’t really encouraged to strike the groin like the guy below me said but there is a saying in waterpolo that anything underwater is legal. Couple that with the fact that it’s a very close contact physical sport, most of us girls are weaker then the guys who were very fit from waterpolo workouts and the fact that the guys all wore revealing speedos and you can see how it could happen often. In practice against my own teammates when we got very close I did not aim for the groin. However, in games with other teams I did occasionally aim for it. I found that if a guy is controlling me, punching/clawing etc generally kneeing/punching/grabbing his package usually gets him off of me and allows me to get away (If I am able to aim there)


In the heat of the moment I don’t have time to comfort them but believe me they aren’t over exaggerating. The guys on my team are very fit tough guys but that area is just sensitive. I mean it even LOOKS sensitive in their speedos.


If an opponent gets hit I usually ignore it as it’s somewhat part of the game. If a teammate gets hit in the middle of the game I’m usually too busy moving around as the game never really pauses. However, if it happens at a period when the game pauses and I notice one of my guy teammates groaning and holding himself down there under the water I’ll go swim over to him and massage his back/shoulders while asking him if he is ok. Sometimes I’ll rub the lower back or legs. This I find is acceptable because in practice we are already touching each other all over being physical anyways so I am very comfortable touching my teammates. I typically also let them know that I think they are still strong and say some encouraging words. It’s really important to me that the guys don’t get hurt or demoralized because their strength is actually really important for the team and we couldn’t win without it. On my team we only had 5 guys on the entire team too so they were really important. I NEVER tell them to man up as this would just completely demoralize them for not being able to control their reaction and like I said we really really needed the guys to be feeling well to win with the gender imbalance.


I generally find that if the guy is your age and you are very close and comfortable with touching them that it’s very much appreciated to go out of your way to comfort them. One time at halftime at the very end of a period one of my guy teammates after having a girl get past his defense and go around him he got out of the water very quickly and immediately went to his knees on ground massaging his parts moaning and groaning. I got out of the water and went over to him and sat down next to him and massaged his lower back and shoulders as he recovered and said some comforting words. I got him an ice pack. Later when he was a bit better I asked what happened and he said this girl trapped him against the wall and had kneed him there repeatedly. He really appreciated my compassion and my words of encouragement so later me and that guy became really close friends and always had a pretty close flirty type bond. I love to comfort my teammates because we are very close but if it’s a stranger I think I’d just leave him be and offer your sympathies.


What I do with the one guy I got really close with is we have him work on his defense a lot so he can avoid strikes to his groin he also works out a lot so his strength can help him protect that area better by overpowering his opponents. Perhaps you can teach your guys better ways to protect themselves? (In the sports that groin strikes happen a lot)

[laraWM]

Thanks for advice but if I understand well, you strike male players in the testicles on purpose?
I don't think I will use this as an example. I mean in our case it happens only by accident. Thankfully students are not attacking each other, we are teaching them to play fair

[Opinion Owner]

@laraWM Yeah lol don’t give them that as advice. I’m just sharing my experiences for context

I just do it on purpose because because it’s a very rough sport and some of my opponents are very fit men and they often overpower me, dunk me underwater, claw at me, kick me underwater, grab at my suit etc. when you are getting dunked underwater and overpowered by a stronger man it’s my only option. The guys usually have a toned stomachs and stuff too so punches there are ineffective and their speedos are very revealing. So when I’m getting controlled and shoved underwater etc by a stronger man who is also fighting very rough and dirty my response is to aim for the balls. The girls on the other team have no qualms against doing it to my male teammates. If they are stronger than me and are going to play rough then I play rough back. If I didn’t do it against guys it would be harder for me to defend myself. Does this make sense? Girls also play equally dirty against each other. It’s just kind of expected and if my opponent is stronger than me I need every advantage I can get.

It’s sort of expected in the sport I practice with the guy im really close to a lot and when I practice with him I try to teach him how to avoid strikes there better. I was just trying to demonstrate that it hurts guys a lot and that it’s better to comfort them instead of just telling them to “man” up.

What types of sports are you mainly teaching?

[Opinion Owner]

@laraWM I guess I was just trying to say that ideally we should be protective over our guy teammates and their parts especially in coed sports Bc the guys are important for the team. If I didn’t have the strength and power of the few guys in my team we would lose.

We had 3 of our guys have to sit out for 10 min once during a game from getting hit in the groin hard repeatedly by the other teams girls. Before that we were up by 4 points. But within that 10 min without our guys they scored 5 points on us. That and I genuinely care about my guy teammates I would never tell them to man up for something they can’t control. I found all of their packages to be very visually appealing lol the last thing I want is for them to get damaged. Guess I’m just trying to say it’s nice that you care lol. Just wanted to show I’ve got a lot of experience with this.

[Opinion Owner]

@laraWM and I guess I also wanted to show that despite seeing my teammates packages revealed all the time and seeing them take hits there often that I don’t think any less of them as a man, a teammate and still think they are equally tough. It’s important to remember that this is a really sensitive area. Even the toughest guys will go down especially if they have a big package. Maybe that could be a lesson to teach them. That men are still masculine despite their vunerabilities. That’s the main message I think I want to get across and that despite their vulnerabilities I still need and respect them as men.

[Opinion Owner]

@laraWM is it ok if you let me follow you or dm you? I actually saw a quote from you that I really liked and I actually want to tell it to my teammates it applies perfectly.

[Loverofwisdom]

Hey so there are lots of ball hits in water polo? That's legal?

[laraWM]

@Loverofwisdom I think it's illegal

[Loverofwisdom]

Wow intense sport

[laraWM]

@Loverofwisdom I guess it is, always in water

[ultimatum11]

@Loverofwisdom agree but hitting someone through water takes 95 percent of the impact away, Still would hurt tho

[laraWM]

@ultimatum11 I guess you're right

[Ez-Bri-Z]

¹resist the urge to laugh
²give them space for a few minutes and just don't say much
³when they recover enough, ask if they are ok
⁴ when fully recovered, then laugh

[laraWM]

Thanks, it's pretty much what I'm doing.
And you're right, some of the students don't resist so well the urge to laugh. I always try to be impassive but it can be challenging when others are laughing especially when it happens to an unbearable student lol.
Thankfully they have always fully recovered

[Ez-Bri-Z]

I mean generally they seem to be ok unless they get hit so hard something ruptures. The way they act you would think that the world was ending.

[laraWM]

I agree, the first time it happened, I wasn't expecting that kind of reactions and I thought he was going to die but now I'm use to it. And all students were able to walk again before the end of the class, so no one was injured

[Ez-Bri-Z]

Lol how many times are guys getting hit in that class?

[laraWM]

Maybe I don't write it really well. "all students" does not mean all have been hit lol.
I mean despite the reactions no one was hit hard enough in the testicles to be injured but it still happened several times this year by accident

[Ez-Bri-Z]

Lol no, you are doing fine with the explanation but still if it is happening more than once or twice in a year

[NamerOfStars]

Never once, not one single time in the history of the human race, has the instruction "man up" been followed by a suggestion that's in the best interest of the man in question. It's just a more polite way of saying "stop thinking, stop feeling, ignore your desires and self-worth, and suffer for the sake of others with no expectation of gratitude". The proper response is a punch in the face, but few are bold enough to do so.

Unfortunately, there's not much you CAN do to help. Don't laugh- although the sight of a big, strong man brought to his knees from a single blow may seem comically unexpected, he IS in a great deal of pain- would you want something laughing at you in that situation? You can offer to bring ice, or something similarly cold; it may or may not help, but he'll likely appreciate the kindness- though he may not be able to at the time. I also make it a point to carry around a nested pair of plastic grocery bags with me at pretty much all times; while it's not directly related to this, it's always nice to have something ready if you need to move something you don't want to touch- or feel you're at risk of throwing up, as a guy in that position might be.

[laraWM]

Thanks for advices.
I guess you're right as every guy here is saying the same as you. So I'm not sure why my colleague said that to me. Maybe he wanted to show he was tough.
Luckily I never saw someone throw up from being hit in the testicles but still it looks like it is quite painful. As a said, some students tend to laugh when it happens but obviously I try to not laugh

[NamerOfStars]

On behalf of others, I appreciate that. Don't let the world make you less compassionate.

[Hawner]

You are correct in not telling them to "man up". That is stupid as hell. The testicles are, literally, an organ that is placed outside the body. It would be like directly punching him in his heart, lung, stomach or brain (or even an eye), without any muscle or bones to protect it, and then tell him "man up, you are overreacting".
Sadly, there is nothing you can do to ease the pain. Just let him recover at his own pace (some can go through the pain easier than others).

[laraWM]

Thanks, you're right on your last point some guys reactions are quite impressive especially when you're a girl and not expecting it. These guys must have felt excruciating pain. I usually kneel next to them to make sure it doesn't get worse but I feel bad I can't help.
Thankfully they have always fully recovered

[Hawner]

As long as the hit wasn't so severe to cause actual damage (it can happen), they will eventually recover sooner or later. Worse case scenario, they will be slowly walking cowboy style for a while until it has calmed down.
It does help a lot that you are just there. We are very conscious of the vulnerable state we are while on the ground and having our parts in our hands. We could be hit again and there would be nothing we could do about it. Having someone there acting as a guardian of sorts helps us relax and just focus on controlling the pain.

[laraWM]

Thank you.
In fact, it happened to one of my student, he was hit again in the head while he was on the ground.
He was not injured after but I felt very bad for that one so I'm more careful now and stay next to them.

[Anonymous]

Just curious what type of sport/combat sport are you doing that this happens so often?


Like the other guys said it’s best to just let them be and to offer your sympathy. No guy wants to look weak on purpose especially when girls are around. Most of the time it’s real pain. Some guys have lower pain tolerance than others but also some guys are bigger down there and are a lot more sensitive than other guys would be.


If it’s a guy you don’t know very well I would just let him be and show some sympathy. Don’t be cold. Offer to get ice for him. leave it there unless it seems more serious.


If it’s a really close guy friend, sexual partner, boyfriend etc. then if you are able to without causing a scene, while he is down holding himself on his knees sit down with him and rub his back or shoulders. It will come off as really sweet and caring (and you should care Bc if this is a sexual partner these are very important parts that are hurting here!)


Afterwords, let him know that you still think he is strong and tough. If his opponent was smaller than let him know that he just got unlucky. Make an ego boosting Joke that he only went down because his package is so big. Also if a partner you care about is ever in a tournament or fight/spar make sure you always support them and root for them. I always think it’s really sad when girlfriends down root for their boyfriend and root for the girl or some random person instead. Like come on this is your boyfriend! You should want to love, support, and protect him for crying out loud, and if they get hurt be there for them!

[laraWM]

Thank you for the input.
First I just want to say it does not happen that often lol
Then I am performing different sports over the year usually with beginners so accidents happen.

[Opinion Owner]

@laraWM I heard you mentioned students. What do you teach? A type of combat sport? It’s ok lol I hear in sports like Krav Maga and waterpolo it happens legit almost every game or practice because groin strikes are basically encouraged in those sports.

[laraWM]

I'm just teaching sports and I'm pretty sure groin strikes are not encouraged in any sport

[Anonymous]

Telling a guy to “man up” after he has been hit really hard in the balls is more likely to annoy him, because it is unsympathetic, and it is a severe and agonising pain that guys certainly do not “overreact” to. I’ve taken some full force kicks to the groin from girls during sparring sessions, so I know just how devastating it can be, and there’s really not much you can do for a guy in this situation. Just show him some care, compassion and sympathy. And maybe bring him some drinking water or an ice pack for his groin if he needs it. If you are just there to support him, that is probably the best you can do really.

[Opinion Owner]

With your question update, I think your colleague sounds a little heartless to be honest, and you are most certainly right not to say those kind of things (“man up” etc) to a guy who has been hit in the balls 🥺 that is mean and cruel, so it is great that you will be way more supportive. If you just try to support the guy and show him some care and compassion, and ask him if there’s anything you can do, he will appreciate that! 😌 In the past when girls have kicked me in the balls during sparring sessions, I have always appreciated the girls who behave like that, rather than those who just laugh and don’t seem to care one little bit! 😒 So yeah, good for you.

[laraWM]

Thank you, based on all answers, I don't really know why he said that. Maybe he wanted to show he is tough

[Opinion Owner]

I think some guys don’t like to admit how devastatingly agonising and painful it is to be kicked in the balls, especially when it’s by a girl or in front of other girls, so they try to laugh it off and make out like it’s not really that painful. Wrong! The trouble with some sports is that targeting the groin is legal, meaning this is inevitably going to happen, so the very least a guy can hope for is a little care, compassion and concern for any damage there might be and the agony he is in. You cannot do much more than that for him.

[laraWM]

But when you see it happening it is pretty obvious it hurts a lot, reactions are really impressive. I mean no one is going to be on the ground unable to move if he is does not feel great pain. So maybe it never happens to him. I certainly hope for his sake. I feel sorry it happened to you but at least your opinion is more accurate

[Opinion Owner]

Yeah, guys tend to scream out in shock and then fall straight to the ground rolling around in agony and pain while frantically grasping hold of their balls. It is a “really impressive” reaction like you say. Just pure and total agony! 😫 Anyone who says otherwise is either trying to act tough, or they’ve never experienced it themselves. It’s happened to me many times. I do a form of kickboxing that allows elbows, knees and strikes to the groin. Guys have a ‘code’ never to do that, but girls don’t have such a code. So yeah, many such kicks! Thank you for your words “sorry it happened to you”, I appreciate that 😌 and you are welcome to my opinion.

[bowenw]

Unless it's a serious injury requiring medical attention the pain usually subsides in a a minute or two depending on the severity. Many guys would rather not be seen as weak, so if a guy is bent over or writhing, his pain is most likely genuine.

[laraWM]

Thanks, I feel the same, no one is going to be on the ground unable to move if he is does not feel great pain.

[Anonymous]

If they taking part in some contact sport they should wear a cup! If a guy didn't wear one, and he got hit there, not much you can do... You can go fetch him a pack of ice, that could help.

[laraWM]

Thank you, I've never thought that they should wear a cup. As I said they are not attacking each other, it is only accidental hit to the testicles and all students have eventually recovered.
Good point for the ice pack.

[Opinion Owner]

If they were attacking each other than that could be solved by a rule, but since it happens on accident, they need to wear cups!

[laraWM]

I guess you may be right. You may be the clever one here lol, no guy said something about that

[Person234]

@laraWM as a guy cups really aren’t necessary unless it’s a combat sport or sport that involves a lot potential hits that could contact that area.

Cups are really uncomfortable and restrict movement a lot plus they can easily come lose and actually end up hurting that area a lot more than if there wasn’t one. The edges can come lose and dig into the package for example which is really painful. Athletes in sports like football, wrestling, waterpolo or soccer don’t wear them for this exact reason. It really hinders performance and is not comfortable.

For example imagine going on a run or doing a sport like basketball or football with a big cup strapped between your legs which could also potentially damage your junk if knocked lose. Doesn’t sound the most practical does it?

I think in regular gym class people shouldn’t wear one and just be careful. Unless it’s a sport like baseball and you are a catcher or MMA/Krav where hits there are likely then it’s not a good solution. Also guys will never agree to where one for just regular sports anyways Bc we know how uncomfortable it is and how it can damage us.

[Person234]

@laraWM also based on your responses I’m guessing this doesn’t happen nearly enough for that to be necessary anyways.

[Opinion Owner]

@Person234
I've never heard about cups hurting that area. I've had a few bfs who took part in a variety of sport activities, to some they wore cups and to some they didn't, but with they didn't (and I asked them to) they always said it was uncomfortable.

[Person234]

They only hurt when they slide out of place or are too loose which unfortunately can happen a lot especially in sports with lots of running and quick direction changes.

We wear cups under very tight underwear typically to keep them in place but they still can slide pretty easily sometimes. The sides of a cup are hard and when the cup slides out of place these poke into the package and the tight underwear actually forces it into it the area it was meant to protect. When this happens it’s very painful especially if it’s in the middle of a physical activity and you have to immediately stop said activity and readjust everything/just straight up pull the cup out. This is really detrimental to performance as well. The last thing I need when I’m running in a soccer game is for me to have to spend 30+ seconds adjusting or taking out my cup while possibly recovering from the pain it caused me. For some sports they are necessary and good but I hate using them for sports like soccer or football.

The best way to protect them is to just wear compression underwear to hold things a little bit closer to the body. If I take a hit I take a hit but it beats the cup coming lose and causing pain + the general discomfort of having a hard lump between your legs. Not to mention the chafing you can get on your legs when you run with one.

Ofc I’d always wear one in MMA etc. but that’s different.

[Opinion Owner]

@Person234
I've asked an ex to wear one during soccer and he did, for a few times. He stopped because he said it was uncomfortable, but there was no mention of pain/damage to the testicles caused by the cup. Maybe they're are different kinds of cups that don't have the problem you describe.

[laraWM]

I think I'll let them choose to wear a cup or not and not make it mandatory. Anyway I'll never understand the feeling, I guess it depends on the pain tolerance of everyone

[Opinion Owner]

Let them choose, but strongly recommend that they do

[laraWM]

Thank you I think I'll ask the question

[ultimatum11]

nah there cooked. you talking will probably blow by their head

[laraWM]

Thanks

[NathanDavis]

You don't have to do anything at all.

[laraWM]

Thanks, but it is not so easy to see someone in pain. I kinda feel bad I can't help them

[NathanDavis]

It's not a big deal, you laugh it out or walk it out on your own.

[Anonymous]

I would attack your collegue and then as blood and tears came out of their eyes and piss out of their pants i would tell them to man up. if it was a female colleague i would tear one of her nipples off and tell her to put on her big girl panties

[Siegram1836]

I don't know but a groin strike hurts women more than men

[laraWM]

Yes maybe, I guess we'll never know

[CubaPirate]

Mouth to cock resuscitation lol

[Anonymous]

Kiss it and suck on it