Imagine working out so hard that
you physiologically blew up and broke down all at once. Rhabdomyolysis is a
potentially fatal condition in which the muscles are worked out to such an
extreme they break down and die, leaking the protein myoglobin into the blood
stream. The kidneys attempt to clean out the blood stream, but this protein is
so foreign it overloads the kidney. If your lucky only part of your kidney will
become damaged, all the while your blood can’t save your muscles locally,
because they are trying to prevent you from dying. The swelling increases
immensely and fasciotomy is needed. It’s a process where your muscles are cut
open which will release the pressure from the swelling.
You would
think that after this someone would stop doing what caused this, but there are
countless cases of people going back and doing it all over again with the great
chance of Uncle Rhabdo coming after them again. Who are these people? These are
the misinformed athletes of crossfit that culturally pushes hard every day.
They don’t have easy days.
Until the emerging of crossfit Rhabdomyolysis
was reserved for the elite ultra runners, marines, and other extremist.
However, there is a lack of education on this topic to those taking up this new
extreme sport and that needs to change. Personally, I don’t think this should
deter people from doing crossfit, because it is a very good workout and will
indeed make you a stronger and healthier person. I only suggest you listen to
your body and know its limits and know that you don’t need a visit from Uncle
Rhabdo to know you are doing something right (or wrong).
Robertson, E. (2013, September 25). Crossfit's dirty
little secret. Retrieved from https://medium.com/p/97bcce70356d
I agree that a lot of injuries associated with CrossFit seem to stem from lack of education and knowledge of the limits of oneself. Although not physiologically related, are CrossFit instructors and gym owners educated in Rhabdomyolysis and other potential injures associated with CrossFit? How would one educate a CrossFit participate about where the line is between over-training and not training at an optimal level?
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting to me because I happened to just read an article about fatigue. In this article it theorized that fatigue can be caused from physiological changes in the body or by the amazing regulatory capabilities of the brain. Either way, it claims that fatigue is the body slowing down due to abnormal and dangerous changes. This article claims that fatigue could be due to leaky calcium channels which lessen the ability of muscles to contract, or it could be the brain knowing the body could be over-worked and therefore shutting down. My point is that it is hypothesized that the body slows down either way when it knows it may be past its limits. I wonder how Rhabdomyolysis really ever happens if the body is smart enough to slow down when it is in an extreme situation?
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