Rhabdomyolysis: The Syndrome That Almost Ended a Teenager's Life After Working Out by Joy Stephenson-Laws JD [inactive]

Recently, a 17-year-old boy nearly died after a very strenuous workout. Reports say he lifted weights for 90 minutes. “I gotta catch up to them and get as big as them,” he said, according to The New York Post, referring to his dad and older brother who had been bodybuilding for years.

But after his workout, he experienced muscle soreness that would not subside and ended up being a lot more than just your average post-workout aches and pains. “The mama bear in me kind of took over and I called the pediatrician and said, ‘I really think my son has rhabdo,'” the boy’s mother said. Rhabdo is short for a condition called rhabdomyolysis.

Rhabdo is a dangerous syndrome due to direct or indirect muscle injury. It occurs from the death of muscle fibers and release of their contents into the bloodstream. This may result in kidney failure.

“You can prevent rhabdomyolysis by drinking plenty of fluids before and after strenuous exercise. This will dilute your urine and help your kidneys eliminate any myoglobin that your muscles may have released during exercise,” says Healthline. 

Learn more about rhabdomyolsis via phLabs.

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