I want to talk a recent personal experience in this article. Have any of you ever heard of a condition called Rhabdomyolysis or Rhabdo for short? Well, this past week and a half I became very familiar with it, and I would like to write about it in hopes of educating others. Now, before I get into this, I train Jiujitsu as well as Crossfit, and I also run competitively. I am not lying when I say training is my life. Also, please refrain from any crossfit bashing comments. I know many people in the Jiujitsu community are anti-crossfit, however it is something I enjoy, love, and plan on continuing to do. No one has the right or place to bash anyone else’s workouts. You don’t like it? Then just don’t do it, but ignorant comments are never necessary. So let’s first talk about what Rhabdo actually is…
Rhabdo is a condition where muscle tissue breaks down. It essentially dies and the fibers are released into the bloodstream and filtered out into the kidneys. The problem is the kidneys have a really hard time flushing out all the fibers and they can become clogged up. This can result in kidney failure if not treated promptly and correctly. What happens is when the muscle is damaged it releases a substance called Myoglobin. This breaks down and can cause serious damage to the kidney cells. Now, if you have heard of this condition you may assume right away it results mainly from Crossfit workouts, but that is actually not true. It can result from a variety of situations or anything that involves direct trauma to the skeletal muscle. Any type of extreme, strenuous workouts especially without the proper hydration can result in this condition. Actually, a lot of marathon runners experience Rhabdo. Other factors can cause this Rhabdo as well, such as genetic diseases, drugs, specific medications etc.
Symptoms of Rhabdo include:
• Muscle pain, especially in the shoulders, thighs or lower back
• Muscle weakness or trouble moving arms or legs
• Abdominal pain
• Nausea or vomiting
• Fever, rapid heart rate
• Confusion, dehydration, fever, or lack of consciousness
• Dark red or brown urine; reduced or no urine output
The symptoms can affect one part of the body or the entire body. To find out if you actually do have Rhabdo, blood and urine tests are performed. They look for elevated enzymes within the blood including Creatine Phosphokinase(CPK), SGOT, SPGT, and LDH. The blood tests that looks for Creatine Kinase is a major factor because it is a product released from muscle breakdown. Urine tests look for Myoglobin, which is released by damaged muscles. Some complications involving Rhabdo include abnormality of electrolytes in the blood. Because of muscle injury, the contents of the muscle cells can be released into the blood causing very high levels of potassium in the bloodstream, which can result in irregular heartbeat, cardiac arrest, and kidney damage. There is also something called Compartment Syndrome which can happen after fluids are received in the body, and causes extreme compression of nerves, vessels and muscles. If you do have the Rhabdo, you will be admitted to the hospital for treatment, which includes IV fluids.
Now my training schedule is extremely rigorous. I train Jiujitsu about 4-5 days a week(mostly competition and advanced style classes), Crossfit about 2-3 times a week, and I get my runs in typically on the weekends. My body definitely takes an extreme toll. I always do my absolute best to take care of it to the best of my abilities though. I consider myself healthy and fit and I thought I was doing everything right. Well, the other night I ended up in the hospital getting fluids in my body all night because I was told I had Rhabdomyolysis. Let me explain what happened.
I had been going through my week of training as usual. One night after I had done a typical workout involving kettlebells and chest to bar pullups, I felt fine. Actually, I felt great because I always do after I finish a good workout. The next day though, I knew something was really wrong. My arms would not extend pass a certain point. I had such pain in my bicep area, but I thought maybe I’m just sore; definitely not uncommon for me. As the next couple days passed, the pain was not subsiding and my muscles seemed swollen. I could not figure out why this was happening or what was going on. Finally, one night I was showering and I noticed my right arm was almost misshapen and my whole elbow area was blown up. I talked to a couple people who suggested I go get it checked out ASAP, so I threw on my hoodie and went into the hospital.
When I got to the hospital and checked in, the lady asked what brought me in. When I told her I thought it may be Rhabdo, she just gave me a very confused look. I knew she had no idea what it was. When I was brought back to get my vitals and such, the next lady asked me what was going on. Once again, I said Rhabdo. She looked at me and said “no, you don’t have Rhabdo.” I awkwardly laughed because she was not a doctor nor had any blood been taken yet so I guess she thought she was a psychic. I finally got taken back to a bed, where the nurses came in and started taking blood. After a decent wait, she came back in and told me point blank my blood levels were highly elevated and she needed to start putting fluids in me. Lo and behold, it was Rhabdo. She hooked up an IV, and I just laid there while the bag slowly dissipated. When she came back in, and it had finally emptied I thought I would be free to go. No. She said I needed another. So once again, she hooked me up and I laid there staring at the clock and I knew I was going to be there all night. Essentially, a big factor in Rhabdo is dehydration. I guess I just wasn’t hydrating enough for the amount of training I was performing.
I asked my nurse a question that had been sitting in my mind all night. “What if I never came in?” She told me if I would have continued training the way I had, without proper hydration and just let it go, there was a good chance I would be in much worse condition which typically results in Dialysis. I held back the tears I felt in my eyes, and as soon as she left I broke down. I am 26 years old. The words Dialysis shouldn’t even be in my near future. Right then, was a huge wake up call for me. Training is my life, but looking back now I can admit, I was definitely overtraining. I had people telling me that, but I had ignored them. I just figured I was working hard, but didn’t realize that sometimes you can just push past your limits. I’m sure some of you can relate to me when I say it is so hard to rest from something that is your passion and life.
After I was released, I had to rest. I had no choice in the matter, and I was so bummed out. I can’t explain it and some people think I am crazy but I go into a really irritable state when I don’t train. I get restless, and moody. I don’t know what to do with myself. I feel lazy and bored. It really is terrible for me to be honest. Some people love rest, but I hate it. The gym is my home and if I’m not there, I feel out of place. I mean, who honestly enjoys missing trainings and practices? It sucks. Finally after almost a week of rest, I went to get my blood taken and checked again. As I sat there, all I could think was what if it hasn’t gotten better? Finally, the doctor came back in and told me my levels have come down and I was free to train again. As you can probably imagine, I did a little victory dance in the hideous robe they make you wear, because I was just so happy.
I plan on easing my way back into training. At least, I am going to try. I don’t want to have to this happen again. It is another experience in my life that I have become stronger from. I learned something new about my body and realized that it is okay to rest. In fact, it is necessary. I do want to just say THANK YOU to my family, teammates (both Jiujitsu and Crossfit) and coaches for the constant support and for reminding me of what is important. I am sorry for being a grump the past week, but I am ready to get back out there and get even better now. I hope everyone out there can take away some education from this, and if you EVER have any symptoms of Rhabdo, please get to your doctor and get it treated. Typically, it can be reversible, but your kidneys are no joke and nothing to mess around with. Irreversible damage to them is the last thing anyone would want. Train smart everyone and stay hydrated!
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