Testicular descent is a process that happens mostly before birth, not during puberty. The testicles form inside the abdomen during fetal development and gradually migrate down into the scrotum between weeks 26 and 40 of pregnancy. There’s no exercise, supplement, or technique that can make this happen on your own. If you’re searching this because your testicles seem to sit high, feel absent from your scrotum, or you’re wondering whether puberty is progressing normally, the answers below cover what’s actually going on and what matters.
How Descent Works Before Birth
Testicles start forming near the kidneys, along a structure called the genital ridge. During the first trimester, they move across the pelvis toward the groin. A tunnel of tissue begins developing around week 13, creating a path from the abdomen into the scrotum. The testicles then pause at the entrance to this tunnel for about 10 to 12 weeks while pressure from the developing abdominal wall muscles helps push things along.
Between weeks 26 and 36, the testicles travel through the tunnel and into the scrotum, where they anchor to the back wall. In the final weeks before birth (weeks 37 to 40), the tunnel closes off, sealing the connection between the abdomen and the scrotum. This entire process is driven by hormones and physical pressure inside the womb. By the time a baby is born full-term, both testicles are typically in place.
Premature birth is one of the most common reasons a testicle hasn’t fully descended at birth, simply because the process wasn’t finished yet. In many of these cases, the testicle completes its journey on its own within the first few months of life.
What Changes During Puberty
Puberty doesn’t cause the testicles to “drop” from inside the body. What it does is make the testicles and scrotum grow significantly, which changes how they look and hang. This is what most people mean when they talk about their balls dropping.
The earliest visible sign of male puberty is testicular enlargement, which typically starts between ages 9 and 14. During this stage, the scrotum also grows and the skin thins and darkens. Between ages 10 and 16, the testicles and penis continue growing. As testicular volume increases and the scrotum stretches, the testicles sit noticeably lower than they did in childhood. This progression is gradual, often spanning several years, and the timing varies widely from person to person.
The hormones driving this process are gonadotropins, which signal the testicles to mature. One of these hormones stimulates cells inside the testicle that support sperm production and growth. The other triggers testosterone production. Together, they’re responsible for the physical changes of puberty: genital growth, body hair, voice deepening, and muscle development. You can’t speed this process up with foods, exercises, or supplements. It runs on your body’s internal clock.
When Puberty Is Considered Delayed
If the testicles haven’t started enlarging by age 14, that meets the clinical definition of delayed puberty. The same applies if puberty started but hasn’t finished after five years. Delayed puberty is relatively common and often runs in families. In most cases, it’s simply a matter of the body’s hormonal signals kicking in later than average, and everything proceeds normally once it starts.
In rarer cases, delayed puberty results from a condition where the brain doesn’t produce enough of the hormones that tell the testicles to grow. Without that hormonal stimulation during adolescence, testicular maturation stalls, sometimes resulting in very small testicle size or testicles that haven’t fully descended. When this is the underlying cause, hormone therapy can be effective. Treatment with gonadotropin hormones (rather than testosterone alone) not only triggers the outward signs of puberty but also promotes actual testicular growth and sperm production. In one study, patients treated this way saw a median increase in testicular volume of 10.5 milliliters, a meaningful change from a starting point that’s often well below normal.
Testosterone replacement alone can produce body hair, a deeper voice, and muscle growth, but it doesn’t stimulate the testicles to develop or produce sperm. This distinction matters if fertility is a concern.
Undescended Testicles vs. Retractile Testicles
If one or both testicles don’t seem to be in your scrotum, there are two different things that could be happening, and they’re often confused.
A retractile testicle is one that moves up out of the scrotum temporarily, usually because of a strong reflex in the cremaster muscle, the muscle that pulls the testicle upward in response to cold, touch, or anxiety. You can gently guide a retractile testicle back into a relaxed position in the scrotum, where it stays without tension. This is normal and doesn’t require treatment. However, retractile testicles carry a slightly higher risk of “ascending” over time, meaning they gradually stay in the higher position more often. Annual monitoring is recommended.
A truly undescended testicle (cryptorchidism) is different. It can’t be moved into the scrotum, or if it can be coaxed down, it immediately retracts back to a position above the scrotum when released. One clinical method for telling the difference: if the testicle can be held in the scrotum for about 30 seconds (long enough to fatigue the cremaster muscle) and stays put after you let go, it’s retractile. If it snaps back up, it’s undescended.
Undescended testicles are typically addressed with a surgical procedure called orchiopexy, which moves the testicle into the scrotum and fixes it in place. This is ideally done in early childhood, but it can also be performed later. Leaving a testicle undescended long-term increases the risk of fertility problems and, to a lesser degree, testicular cancer, because the higher temperature inside the body isn’t compatible with normal sperm production.
Why Testicles Move Up and Down Normally
Even after puberty, your testicles move throughout the day. Two sets of muscles control their position. The cremaster muscle, which runs along the spermatic cord, pulls the testicles closer to the body when you’re cold, exercising, or anxious. The dartos muscle in the scrotal skin contracts to reduce the scrotum’s surface area and conserve heat. In warm conditions, both muscles relax, allowing the testicles to hang lower and release heat.
This movement is essential. Sperm production requires a temperature slightly below core body temperature, and the scrotum acts as a thermostat. If your testicles seem to ride higher in cold weather or during a workout and hang lower in a hot shower, that’s the system working exactly as designed. It’s not a sign that anything is wrong.
What You Can’t Do to Speed Things Up
No exercises, stretches, dietary changes, or over-the-counter supplements have any proven effect on testicular descent or the timing of puberty. The internet is full of claims about specific foods or routines that can help, but none are supported by medical evidence. Testicular position is determined by anatomy and hormones, not by anything you can do externally.
If you’re a teenager and concerned that puberty hasn’t started or that your testicles don’t seem to be where they should be, the only effective path is a medical evaluation. A physical exam can quickly distinguish between a retractile testicle, a late bloomer, and an actual medical issue that needs treatment. If hormone therapy or surgery turns out to be necessary, both are well-established and effective when started at the right time.