Gout flare up after playing football

[Keith Taylor (GoutPal Admin)]

after starting to take allopurinal regularly again a few months back i've been pain free and its been great, last week though I played football and woke up the following morning to a slight bit of pain in my big toe.  Is this likely to be because I've damaged the joint and will always suffer some sort of pain after sport or is it likely that its just that I was using the joint in a different way to how I have for a long time and might of just dislodged some crystals that hadn't dissolved ?  I know i've made it sound quite basic buts thats how i understand it  !!  It only lasted about a day and was by no means unbearable pain, I'm just curious to see if anyone else has any experience of this

thanks in advance

[Keith Taylor (GoutPal Admin)]

I have noticed that I get flare ups sometimes after playing football, colchicine usually helps but it seems to take longer and longer now. I am in the middle of my longest attack so far at 7 days and im taking colchicine every 4 hours, the diareah is getting harsh. I think I may have to start taking the allopurinol.

[Keith Taylor (GoutPal Admin)]

@gouty – sorry I missed your post earlier. If you had gout for a long time before you got it treated, then permanent joint damage from uric acid crystals is a possibility, but I would have thought that you would see this in other joints also – especially if you play football. Your second option is more likely, though to assess this properly, you should review your last 6 months uric acid tests results (if you do not have them, it’s a good idea to make a note of them every time your doctor tests you – be sure to get the exact numbers, not just a worthless low/normal/high assessment).

@Ryan – I agree that allopurinol is your best option – you really do not want to risk the aforementioned permanent joint damage.

[Keith Taylor (GoutPal Admin)]

All forms of strenuous exercise increase uric acid levels in the body.

In my experience, the best thing to do is to take apple cider vinegar (ACV) soon after you finish and then take further doses every 3-4 hours later until the 'gouty'  feeling diminishes.

Definitely keep taking allopurinol and combine with ACV, baking soda etc when allopurinol isn't enough and additional support is needed.

[Keith Taylor (GoutPal Admin)]

I actually got gout in college while playing college football, (high protein diet) the morons thought it was a bad case of turf toe and I played a half a season on it in abject pain. it travelled to my knee and I ruined the joint by playing on it. I still play but it sucks that nobody caught it in time.

Btw I learned something you all may find valuable. if I drink Orange and Pinapple juice each morning and evening It really helps. I tried not drinking anything other than lots of water and honestly I had the longest attack I have ever had, after almost 2 weeks I drank some OJ and felt way better.

I may go on the allopurinol just because the attacks are ridiculous now.

[cjeezy]

I would think if your UA was below 6 consistently because of Allopurinol, then exercising and playing football should not bring on an attack.

[zip2play]

ryan,

The combo of a high protein diet and heavy football training in big hot dehydrating suits in the Summer heat is a good recipe for gout. The allopurinol iis your answer.

[GoutPal HelpDesk]

Gout and Sports Update

As this topic is popular with gout sufferers who care about exercise, may I direct you to 2 more relevant places?

1. Keith has updated Gout and Exercise to reduce Uric Acid to include new evidence to show that aerobic exercise for 45 days can reduce uric acid.

2. I have grouped new exercise discussions for gout sufferers into the Gout and Exercise Forum. So please join those discussions and add your own questions, experiences, and opinions about playing sports with gout.

Please remember if you want personal help with any aspect of gout, the new place to ask is GoutPal’s Gout Forum. So we look forward to chatting with you about sport and your gout.

[Author]

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