New Delhi, June 7 -- The pain started at 19. Jabbing sensations in the pelvis. Persistent headaches. A constant low-grade malaise that Andy L., a philosophy student at the University of Southampton in England, described in his journal as feeling like two people traveling in different directions. For years, blood tests came back normal. Doctors found nothing wrong. And yet decade after decade, the suffering continued, sending him through nearly 100 medical consultations before a single specialist asked the question that finally changed everything.

His case, reported this week by The Washington Post, is singular in its detail. The systemic failure it describes is not.

Chronic pelvic pain in men is the most commonly diagnosed urological co...