A 30-year-old office worker surnamed Choi made a New Year's resolution to get in shape and joined a gym. Motivated, he watched YouTube videos and spent hours following the trainer's high-intensity workouts. After several days of repetition, he developed colored urine and severe muscle pain. Tests revealed that Choi had rhabdomyolysis, a condition in which the building blocks of muscle melt away and are lost through the blood.
Rhabdomyolysis occurs when people exercise too much without considering their athletic ability or physical condition. A striated muscle, which is a skeletal muscle in the area of movement, such as the arms and legs, changes from solid to liquid states.
There are two main types of causes -- traumatic and non-traumatic.
Traumatic causes include muscle damage caused by accidents. Non-traumatic causes include overexertion, infections, and drug and alcohol abuse, and the risk of occurrence is especially high when exercising in hot and humid environments, when exercising without hydration, and when the amount of water in the body is reduced due to alcohol consumption.
Typical symptoms include persistent muscle pain and swelling in the affected area after exercise, brownish-colored urine similar to cola, low-grade fever, and generalized weakness.
When muscle necrosis occurs in rhabdomyolysis, myoglobin, potassium, calcium, and other substances are released into the blood from the damaged muscle cells, and fluid therapy is used to normalize these levels and promote their excretion through the kidneys.
If the condition is not severe, it can be treated with fluid therapy alone. However, if the diagnosis is delayed or the patient is taking nephrotoxic drugs, it can lead to severe acute kidney failure that requires hemodialysis, so it is essential to visit a hospital for examination and treatment if symptoms appear.
The best way to prevent rhabdomyolysis is to exercise according to your physical condition without overdoing it and to reduce muscle fatigue as much as possible by warming up so your muscles are not surprised. Other ways to minimize muscle fatigue include stretching before strength training, drinking plenty of water, and getting adequate rest.
"If you have severe muscle pain and your urine is colored like cola after exercising, even if you've had enough rest, you should visit a hospital for an accurate diagnosis," said Choi Hye-min, professor of nephrology at Myungji Hospital. "If it's just muscle pain and you ignore it, it can lead to serious side effects such as acute kidney failure, so you need to be extra careful."