Health risk If the muscles literally dissolve after a workout

Rhabdomyolysis: Excessive exercise brings three young women to the hospital

Millions of Europeans regularly visit fitness studios. Actually, the training is healthy there and promotes muscle growth. However, you can overdo it with the sport, as a case from Scotland shows. There, three young women have landed in the hospital due to their extreme training with severe muscle pain.

Sport can also be unhealthy

Sport is good for your health: Regular exercise can, among other things, help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension or heart attack. In addition, athletes suffer less often from obesity or obesity. But if you overdo it, sport can be very unhealthy. This is also shown in a case from Scotland, where three women had to go to hospital because of their excessive training.

Exercising is popular and actually healthy. But you can also overdo it. Like three young women who had to go to hospital after intensive training with extreme muscle aches. (Image: Peter Atkins / fotolia.com)

With extreme muscle pain to the doctor

The fitness industry in Germany is booming as well as in other European countries.

Exercising with weights or the new trend sport kettlebell are not only popular with "typical" bodybuilders.

Three young women from Scotland also wanted to strengthen their muscles with such training. Instead, they developed extreme muscle aches and had to be treated for medical treatment.

Waste from dead muscle cells can cause life-threatening discomfort

The journal "BMJ Case Reports" reports on the case of three young women from Scotland who received medical treatment for signs and symptoms of physical rhabdomyolysis in 2016.

"Rhabdomyolysis means - directly translated - decay of skeletal muscle," it says on the Internet portal "Deximed.de".

"This means that the contents of muscle cells, such as electrolytes (such as potassium and calcium), myoglobin (a muscle protein) and other proteins leak into the blood," the experts explain.

"The sudden and large secretion of" waste "from dead muscle cells can lead to many different changes in the body, from minor problems to life-threatening symptoms."

Typical symptoms include pain, swelling and weakness of the affected muscles and the excretion of large amounts of muscle protein in the urine, so that the urine appears reddish or tea-colored.

Some patients also experience fever, weakness, nausea and vomiting.

A common complication is acute kidney failure. Although most patients recover, for some, the disease can be severe due to acute / chronic kidney damage.

Unusually large muscle strain

There are a number of possible causes of rhabdomyolysis. This can lead, among other things, to injuries or infections to the disease.

Genetic defects, lack of oxygen in the muscles or certain medications or drugs can trigger the disease.

And even after extreme physical exhaustion, this can happen:

"People who have been subjected to great physical exertion can develop rhabdomyolysis," says Deximed.de..

This happens, for example, in connection with a marathon or strenuous training sessions with relatively untrained people or with unusually large muscle loads.

This was also the case with the patients described in the journal "BMJ Case Reports".

Twelve liters of infusions per day

The Scottish women, ages 18-24, all had the same gym and intensive physical training.

They had severe muscle pain and swelling, significantly reduced freedom of movement in the affected muscles and, in two cases, dark-colored urine.

The patients were apparently fortunate, because early diagnosis and treatment are very important for the prognosis. They were immediately admitted to a clinic by the family doctor and hospitalized.

As the clinical picture in patients with rhabdomyolysis is characterized by significant fluid loss, which increases the risk of acute renal damage, the primary therapy consists of an intensive intravenous fluid supply.

Up to ten to twelve liters per day may be required. This treatment must be done as soon as possible. The later the fluid supply is started, the greater the risk of kidney damage.

The three women from Scotland all recovered without any consequences for the kidneys and were discharged from the hospital after one to six days.

Do not overdo it with the training

According to health experts, there is an increased risk of rhabdomyolysis in intensive crossfit training or working with kettlebells.

But other exercises that are unfamiliar to the body, often repeated and exaggerated, increase the risk of the disease.

Therefore, it is generally advised not to overdo it with the sport, to take time to rest and very important: always enough to drink during physical activity. (Ad)