You might think you’re giving your body a good workout, but going too hard, too fast can do more harm than good to the body.
NL Health Services is reporting an increase in the number of cases of rhabdomyolysis, a condition often caused by intense exercise.
The condition can cause muscle cells to leak into the bloodstream and damage kidneys – putting one at risk of needing dialysis. In some cases, it can be fatal.
Dr. Richard Barter, clinical chief of emergency medicine at NLHS, says rhabdo is nothing new, but more physicians have been contacting him about the condition in recent months.
That prompted him to dig a little deeper into the number of cases being reported. Twenty cases have been identified in the Eastern-Urban zone since October.
So far, no patients have died or had to resort to dialysis.
While it’s unclear why doctors are seeing more cases of rhabdo, Dr. Barter believes social media may be playing a hand in it.
“We do see a lot of activity on social media regarding exercise classes and activities and people posting the number of reps they’ve done or the number of RPMs they’ve reached during a class. I guess that prompts a little bit of friendly competition.”
He says exercise is vital for keeping in good health, but it must be done safely with proper rest and hydration.
If you haven’t exercised in a while, Dr. Barter says it’s key to ease yourself back into your workout routine and no t to push it. It’s important to avoid high-intensity workouts without rest days in between.
