Muscles hurt extremely? This could endanger your life

An intense workout ended in a week-long hospitalization with a life-threatening case of rhabdomyolysis. Madina Alam was diagnosed with the condition after her arms swelled up. Her creatine kinase levels reached 80,000. The article details the warning signs and dangers to the kidneys and heart.

Madina Alam, 34, was hospitalized for a week after being diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis following an intense fitness workout. Her creatine kinase levels reached 80,000, 400 times the normal level. The syndrome occurs when damaged muscle tissue breaks down and releases proteins into the bloodstream, which can overload the kidneys and cause acute kidney failure, as well as fatal cardiac arrhythmias. Treatment includes intravenous fluids and electrolytes. Alam urges exercisers to listen to their bodies and recognize warning signs such as extreme swelling and pain disproportionate to effort. The article also mentions the death of a runner in the New York Marathon from the same syndrome, but does not provide her name.