E-Paper
Pune youth suffers from kidney failure due to overexercising
Doctors caution people who indulge in excessive physical activity; advice to be watchful of warning signs
A 27-year-old youth from Akurdi suffered from kidney failures due to overexercising at the gym. Rahul (named changed) suffered from a rare condition named rhabdomyolosis which occurs due to overexertion, according to doctors.
Less than a million people in India suffer from this condition which occurs when the skeletal muscles tears and a protein named myoglobin is released in the bloodstream causing toxicity and further leading to kidney failure.
Rahul, who is a businessman, said, “I hit the gym after many months. On the first day (without guidance of a trainer), I lifted weights of at least 50 kg for straight two hours. Later, after going home, I experienced muscle pain and change in urine colour. The pain was unbearable and so I visited my general practitioner, who referred me to a bigger hospital.”
Dr Avinash Ignatius, head, nephrology at Noble hospital, who treated Rahul said, “Youngsters are drawn towards building muscles in a short span of time and expect results within few days itself. In this case, Rahul exercised for a long span of time (two hours) after a gap of many months and ended up suffering from rhabdomyolosis.”
“When he came to us, both his kidneys had failed and stopped functioning. So we put him on dialysis for two weeks till his kidney functions were normalised,” said Ignatius.
Talking about the condition, Ignatius said, “This condition is developed due to overexertion in the gym. Rahul lifted weights for two hours at a stretch. This released a toxic protein in his bloodstream which was not cleaned by the kidneys and directly affected the functioning of both the kidneys.”
Dr NC Ambekar, founder member of Indian Society of Nephrology, Pune, said, “This condition (rhabdomyolosis) is extremely fatal and people need to be alert if they experience a change in urine colour which turns dark brown. It can happen due to overexertion.”
“This can happen to anyone who does sporadic severe exercise for the first time. This can also affect first-time marathon runners who are not well trained. Hence, people should avoid overexertion and should drink lots of water and be watchful about the warning signs,” said Ambekar.
WHAT IS RHABDOMYOLOSIS?
Rahul (named changed) suffered from a rare condition named rhabdomyolosis which occurs due to overexertion, according to doctors.
“I hit the gym after many months. On the first day (without guidance of a trainer), I lifted weights of at least 50 kg for straight two hours. Later, after going home, I experienced muscle pain and change in urine colour,” said Rahul.
Less than a million people in India suffer from this condition which occurs when the skeletal muscles tears and a protein myoglobin is released in the bloodstream. This leads to kidney failure.
This can happen to anyone who does severe exercise for the first time. Hence, people should avoid overexertion and should drink lots of water and be watchful about the warning signs, says Dr NC Ambekar, founder member of Indian Society of Nephrology, Pune.
