Ankle Sprain, Painful And Hot. Did The Sprain Trigger Gout? Should I Get An X-ray?

Posted on Wed, 13 Jun 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 Answered on

Sat, 14 Jul 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi Dr. i sprained my ankle quite badly yesterday, the pain eventually went away, during the night it woke me and felt very painful and hot it was better when i took it out from under the blankets, couldnt help think that it reminded me of how my partner feels when has an attack of gout, did the sprain trigger this gout, i have never suffered with gout before? or should i get an xray?

Answered by Dr. Pavan Kumar Gupta (23 minutes later)

Hello and thanks for the query.
Your pain in ankle seems to due to the sprain.
It generally happens this way.After a sprain,you feel more pain after the rest.
It doesn't look like GOUT as it generally affects the big toe.
Just do some local icing and may take some anti inflammatory like ibuprofen 400 mg three times a day for three days.
No need for any x-ray at the moment.
Just wait and watch.
If it recurs again in the night then you may consider getting tested for an x-ray and serum uric acid.
I hope to have answered your query however you may revert to me for any other query.
Best of luck
Thanks

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar