Could significant walking trigger gout in the foot?

[Evan Talk]

I’m a 35yo male, good shape not obese. I have had 4 gout attacks in 7 years. First was in the big toe, a few years later I sprained that toe and got a terrible gout attack in it after. The third time was last year, the same toe once again after a weekend of a lot of golf, walking, and alcohol (I blamed the alcohol more than the other thing).

Well, this past weekend I was at a sporting event and over 2 days I walked about 30 miles. Even the second day my feet and legs were in a lot of soreness pain. But it wasn’t until the day I got back that I woke up with a swollen LEFT foot, specifically in the 2nd and 3rd toe area. I assumed it was gout so have taken a little Colcrys the last two days and ibuprofen. it’s still swollen but not a ton of pain.

Anyway, I still don’t know if it’s gout. Because I’ve never had it in this spot before, so seems odd. But it feels kind of like gout…the only other thing it could be would be a stress fracture I guess. Anyway, the question really is could walking and flexing those joints that much over 30 miles cause an attack? as I said my feet were very sore so at some point. Too much exercise can injure joints and muscles, and we all know injuries in gout prone joints is usually a bad thing. I’m just trying to figure out if this is gout and if it is, what may have caused it.

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Does walking or bad shoes trigger gout problems?

[d q]

Hello Evan,

Can I start by asking are you taking any medication for your gout outside of just pain relief for e.g. Allopurinol or Febuxostat..? If not, why?

Secondly can you provide us with your uric acid test result numbers so we can better understand your risk factor level and how easy it would be to treat?

Lastly, and an immediate answer to your question; any exercise that may mobilise crystals in joints can cause gout attacks. This is not just limited to exercise. It could just be falling over. When crystals dislodge in quantities your immune system responds and this response is the pain you feel. So yes, you could be experiencing a gout attack.

p.s. If gout is left untreated over many years then yes, it will end up in most joints and the consequence is gouty arthritis which is not good.

[nobody]

In addition to the above, excercise has an immediate effect on the amount of uric acid in the blood as well. So moderation and regularity are therefore recommended. 15 miles per day is arguably excessive, especially if you’re not used to walking anywhere as much.

[Author]

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