Rhabdomyolysis and It's Threat to CrossFit

Since the founding of CrossFit, Inc. in 2000, CrossFit has become a widely recognizable and vastly popular sport among today’s exercise enthusiasts. Simply by watching the athletes participate in the CrossFit Games, it’s easy to see the allure of the sport; strong, fast, and conditioned bodies. However, with all the benefits to the human body that CrossFit has, it can bring just as much harm as well. With the growth of CrossFit, comes the emergence of rhabdomyolysis.

What is rhabdomyolysis?

• Rhabdomyolysis, or “rhabdo” for short, is a condition caused by injury to skeletal muscles resulting in the breaking down of the muscle, leading to the release of proteins, such as myoglobin, into the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, the proteins travel to the kidneys, where the kidneys cannot filter out the proteins, resulting in kidney failure.1

Why is CrossFit at fault?

• The type of rhabdo associated with CrossFit is termed “Acute Exertional Rhabdomyolysis”, which is brought on by the overuse of a muscle or muscle group, without allowing the muscle time to recover and repair itself. Due to CrossFit’s mantra of pushing the body to its limits, and then push more, a condition such as rhabdo, which is normally a rare occurrence in any activity (including athletics), becomes more commonplace and a legitimate threat to the athletes. In other sports, such as football or rugby, the body is given time to recuperate after a workout. Even Olympic lifting provides enough time for rest. CrossFit promotes a constant wear-and-tear on the body, causing rhabdomyolysis to be an issue.1

Signs and Symptoms of Rhabdomyolysis

• Initially, rhabdo will present much like DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). As time goes on, the soreness will turn into a severe pain.
• Muscle weakness
• Dark, tea-colored urine
• Extreme amount of swelling in affected areas2

Before CrossFit hit the scene, rhabdo was a rare coincidence outside of military training. Now that CrossFit has become more popular, rhabdomyolysis is becoming more and more of a household name. This isn’t to say rhabdo is guaranteed with CrossFit, many people will never show signs or symptoms,2 but due to the mindset and culture associated with CrossFit, there is the potential for kidney failure, and possibly even death.

References:

1 Muscal, Eyal. "Rhabdomyolysis." : Practice Essentials, Background, Pathophysiology. Ed. Lawrence Jung. Medscape, 22 June 2015. Web. 02 Sept. 2015.

2 Hallam, Liam. "The Rise of Exertional Rhabdomyolysis in Crossfit, Running and Endurance Sports." <i>Hubpages.com</i>. Hubpages.com, 28 Feb. 2015. Web.