Rhabdo Part II
"Oh...CrossFit..."
"That's why I don't work out."
"Do you think you should maybe quit?"
"And you're sure you're not suffering from an eating disorder?"
These are just a few of the comments and questions thrown my way over the past couple weeks. From nurses, friends, doctors, and colleagues alike. And while I think most of them were well-meaning, most of them left me speechless and upset.
In 2005 Greg Glassman, CrossFit's creator, wrote an article about what we now consider "exertional rhabdo." Early in his article he writes:
"We can dispense with much medical detail with a quick and easy description of rhabdomyolysis as a potentially lethal systemic meltdown initiated by the kidneys in response to the presence of shed muscle-fiber debris and exhaust in the bloodstream. There are several causes and types of rhabdo, classified by the underlying cause of muscle breakdown. With CrossFit we are dealing with what is known as exertional rhabdomyolysis. It can disable, maim, and even kill."
Dude seemed to give zero shits. Zero. At least that's how I took it. And at first glance I was immediately turned off. I had been through too much for someone to casually throw down in writing that rhabdo can "disable, maim, and even kill." As if when signing up for CrossFit...or for life, I was magically supposed to know all my risks.
But I kept reading. I kept researching. I kept skimming through all the horror stories and blogs, too. So when it came to discerning what I wanted to embrace as truth, I had a lot to weigh. Was I going to to take on everyone else's experience with rhabdo as my own? Was I going to believe HuffPost's article, CrossFit's Dirty Little Secret? Was I going to accept the notion that CrossFit causes rhabdo and therefore is something to be avoided? What was my truth?
An article published five years later for CrossFit Journal brought some more light and logic to the equation:
“There is no way to separate the effectiveness of the training from all risk. A completely safe training program is doomed to produce only couch potatoes. The safety of strength and conditioning programs across the board, including CrossFit, is very good, especially when compared to sports like basketball, football and soccer.”
Anything can harm you. We put our lives at risk all the time. Every time we get in the car we have a 1 in 645 chance of dying. Does that mean stay home and avoid living life? I would hope not. The same is true for CrossFit.
So no, I do not consider CrossFit dangerous.
No, I do not think rhabdo should be a reason people don’t work out.
No, I am not quitting.
And your girl cannot go more than three hours without food so no worries on the eating disorder.
My doctor said it best when he told me, “Every single case, just like every single body, is different.” Two people could do the exact same workout and while one person might get rhabdo, the other may not. There are many different variables to take into consideration-- which also makes it so hard to predict.
Again, my intention is to inform, not scare. Yes, everyone who works out is susceptible to rhabdo. It can happen to anyone. Does that mean we avoid working out? No. It means we find really great coaches and we listen to them. It means we drink a little more water before and after our workouts. It means we take the proper rest day(s) so our bodies can heal.
It means we leave the ego at the door...
"That's why I don't work out."
"Do you think you should maybe quit?"
"And you're sure you're not suffering from an eating disorder?"
These are just a few of the comments and questions thrown my way over the past couple weeks. From nurses, friends, doctors, and colleagues alike. And while I think most of them were well-meaning, most of them left me speechless and upset.
In 2005 Greg Glassman, CrossFit's creator, wrote an article about what we now consider "exertional rhabdo." Early in his article he writes:
"We can dispense with much medical detail with a quick and easy description of rhabdomyolysis as a potentially lethal systemic meltdown initiated by the kidneys in response to the presence of shed muscle-fiber debris and exhaust in the bloodstream. There are several causes and types of rhabdo, classified by the underlying cause of muscle breakdown. With CrossFit we are dealing with what is known as exertional rhabdomyolysis. It can disable, maim, and even kill."
Dude seemed to give zero shits. Zero. At least that's how I took it. And at first glance I was immediately turned off. I had been through too much for someone to casually throw down in writing that rhabdo can "disable, maim, and even kill." As if when signing up for CrossFit...or for life, I was magically supposed to know all my risks.
But I kept reading. I kept researching. I kept skimming through all the horror stories and blogs, too. So when it came to discerning what I wanted to embrace as truth, I had a lot to weigh. Was I going to to take on everyone else's experience with rhabdo as my own? Was I going to believe HuffPost's article, CrossFit's Dirty Little Secret? Was I going to accept the notion that CrossFit causes rhabdo and therefore is something to be avoided? What was my truth?
An article published five years later for CrossFit Journal brought some more light and logic to the equation:
“There is no way to separate the effectiveness of the training from all risk. A completely safe training program is doomed to produce only couch potatoes. The safety of strength and conditioning programs across the board, including CrossFit, is very good, especially when compared to sports like basketball, football and soccer.”
Anything can harm you. We put our lives at risk all the time. Every time we get in the car we have a 1 in 645 chance of dying. Does that mean stay home and avoid living life? I would hope not. The same is true for CrossFit.
So no, I do not consider CrossFit dangerous.
No, I do not think rhabdo should be a reason people don’t work out.
No, I am not quitting.
And your girl cannot go more than three hours without food so no worries on the eating disorder.
My doctor said it best when he told me, “Every single case, just like every single body, is different.” Two people could do the exact same workout and while one person might get rhabdo, the other may not. There are many different variables to take into consideration-- which also makes it so hard to predict.
Again, my intention is to inform, not scare. Yes, everyone who works out is susceptible to rhabdo. It can happen to anyone. Does that mean we avoid working out? No. It means we find really great coaches and we listen to them. It means we drink a little more water before and after our workouts. It means we take the proper rest day(s) so our bodies can heal.
It means we leave the ego at the door...
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