David Lippman and his mother, Rita had quite the scare earlier this year. David, a 19-year-old SUNY Geneseo student, was working out with a trainer.
“I told them, I hadn't worked out in a while. But, I didn't take that too much into account. I just got pushed a little too past my limits,” said Lippman.
In the days after, David noticed he was more than just sore.
“My arms just started to balloon up,” recalled Lippman.
That plus brown urine and Lippman knew something was wrong.
At ECMC, Lippman learned he was dealing with Rhabdomyolysis.
“It's basically a breakdown of your muscle tissue,” said Dr. Michael Manka.
It can cause kidney failure. It can be deadly, if it goes untreated.
“It is easily treated once a patient comes to a hospital. You can be treated with IV fluids,” said Dr. Manka.
Rhabdomyolysis can be triggered a few different ways. A common one is over exertion.
“The key is to build up your endurance. Don't go from not exercising to all of a sudden doing a 30 mile bike ride or doing three hours of a spinning course,” added Manka.
People exercise to stay healthy. But, as David Lippman learned, going from 0 to 60 can cause health problems.
“I definitely never thought it was something that would have me in a hospital bed for almost a week,” said Lippman.
