Recently, the term "night runners" has become very popular in urban areas. Many people, too busy with work or study during the day, have no time to exercise, so they take advantage of the evening. Running under the night sky, drenched in sweat after intense physical activity, gives them an incredibly refreshing feeling. However, over the past month, several hospitals in Hangzhou have admitted multiple patients who suffered from rhabdomyolysis due to improper exercise. Experts warn: exercise should be gradual, and what suits you is the best.
A 30-year-old man named Mr. Sun, tall and slim at one meter eighty, works as a software engineer at an IT company in Hangzhou. Recently, night running has become a trend among his colleagues. After work in the evenings, his coworkers would gather to go for runs together. Seeing his colleagues enthusiastically exercising every night, he couldn't resist the "loneliness" after half a month and finally took the plunge — buying a set of athletic wear and a pair of running shoes, joining his colleagues' running group.
"After work in the evening, I ran along with everyone. Maybe because I wasn’t used to exercising, I was out of breath after just a short distance. But I thought I couldn’t let my colleagues look down on me, so I gritted my teeth and toughed it out." Mr. Sun said he ran nearly three thousand meters that night.
That night after the run, he felt obvious soreness in his thigh muscles and even experienced cramps while sleeping. In the middle of the night when he got up to use the bathroom, he noticed that his urine was the color of soy sauce. By morning, he couldn’t urinate at all. Panicked, he hurried to the emergency room. Tests revealed that he had electrolyte imbalances (high potassium, low calcium), abnormal liver function, and a creatinine level in his urine routine of 800 ummol/L. After a consultation with kidney specialists, he was ultimately diagnosed with acute renal failure and exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis, requiring immediate hospitalization for treatment.
Medical staff treated him with calcium supplementation, acid correction, fluid replacement, and hemodialysis. During about two weeks of hospitalization, he also received ongoing diuretics, acid correction, liver protection, anti-inflammatory treatments, and intermittent hemodialysis. His condition gradually improved.
According to experts, exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis is skeletal muscle damage caused by excessive exercise, mostly seen in young people. Clinical symptoms include muscle pain, swelling, weakness, and brown-colored urine, and in severe cases, it can lead to acute renal failure. Experts explain that some patients usually lack exercise, and suddenly engaging in intense workouts causes their muscles to be unable to handle the stress.
Experts remind that even young people should exercise gradually and within their limits, and avoid sudden overexertion. Especially with exercises like long-distance running, squats, and pull-ups; if symptoms such as reduced urination, darkened urine color, or body swelling occur, consider the possibility of rhabdomyolysis and seek medical attention immediately. (By Yijia)