‘Pain is gain’, goes the popular saying among fitness junkies. If it hurts, it’s working, right? Well, not really. Working out too much and pushing your body beyond its limit can do you more harm than good. It can also lead to death.
Yes, you read that right. If you’re exercising excessively to stay “fit”, ignoring the pain, it can lead to a rare condition called rhabdomyolysis, commonly called rhabdo. In this, overworked muscles start breaking down and release a harmful protein into the bloodstream.
Now, don’t get confused. Working out is not bad, it’s extremely beneficial for your health. But you don’t need to go full throttle in that strenuous spin class for longer than your body can take.
Too caught up to read? Listen to the story here:
A 17-year-old in the United States felt “super-duper sore” after 90 minutes of weightlifting. In another case, a woman, who exercises regularly, went to her first spin class and found the hour-long session difficult to power through, and ended up with sore and wobbly legs. Over the next two days, the pain worsened, her urine turned an unusual dark brown and she felt nauseated.
In addition, dehydration, laying motionless for a long time especially when intoxicated, getting electrocuted etc can also cause such muscle damage.
Again, this does not mean that exercising is bad. It’s the way you’re exercising which is causing the problem.
So what is it that can cause rhabdo?
The co-author of a study which outlines this phenomenon, Dr Alan Coffino says that people who work out regularly as well as those who don't exercise often can get rhabdo.
“Those who are fit typically get it if they push themselves too hard or if they try a new exercise that works a different muscle group,” explains Coffino. He adds that it’s important for people and trainers to realise that strenuous exercises have to be built up and it’s okay if you can’t go beyond a limit.
So, if you’re pushing too hard without being adequately trained, you’re traumatising your muscles.
In this condition, when the muscle breaks down, it releases myoglobin, a protein that can poison the kidneys, into the bloodstream.
If the case isn’t too serious, the patient is just given fluids to rehydrate and released from the hospital after a few days of monitoring.
If it grows and becomes severe, it can shut down the kidneys, and the patient could end up on dialysis. And kidney failure can lead to overload of potassium in your body, which in turn can result in irregular heartbeat and death.
Rhabdo can occur at any age and in both men and women. The key to avoiding it is simple – do not overdo it.
Stay away from the ‘hop-till-you-drop’ mantra!
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