A Pennsylvania woman named Alyssa shared her horrific story of experiencing rhabdomyolysis after a single workout left her hospitalized with kidney failure. It happened because she pushed herself beyond her limits by doing 300 squats in one workout session. That happened on a Tuesday, and by Friday, her urine had turned black, and she was suffering from severe pain and was unable to bend her legs.
The story was shared on the woman’s personal TikTok account, which goes by acavallaro7. It got around one million views, with many commenters expressing shock and fear upon hearing what happened to her.
The Pennsylvania woman claimed that her condition happened because her workout caused her damaged muscle tissue to break down and release substances into the bloodstream, which then damaged her kidneys. Alyssa spent a week in the hospital and was diagnosed with kidney failure.
Her creatine phosphokinase (CPK) level, which was a blood marker used to assess muscle damage, was 133,000. Meanwhile, the woman noted that the Mayo Clinic stated that the upper end of the normal range for women is approximately 200.
Alyssa said that her body no longer felt the same after the incident. She also refused to do any heavy exercise, preferring to do low-intensity exercise to avoid the same incident. The woman now shares her story in the hopes that others who might suffer the same thing could know what to look for and quickly head to the hospital to get help.
Pennsylvania Woman’s Story Leaves TikTok Users Horrified
TikTok viewers who saw her story were horrified and remarked that they never knew something like this could happen. “See, this is exactly why I don’t exercise,” one user wrote.
Others were angrier at the Pennsylvania woman’s personal trainer, who was pushing her so hard that she suffered kidney damage. Another person said that doing 300 squats was absolutely not feasible for a human.
One user even said that they knew another person who suffered the same thing. “My friend that does CrossFit has gotten this. He has 60-70% kidney function now,” the commenter wrote.
The video also raised discussions about CrossFit, with some commenters remarking that the CrossFit community was toxic. One user even said that one CrossFit community they were familiar with created a mascot and named it Rabdo.
It’s very unfortunate that the Pennsylvania woman had to experience such a thing. However, it seems that her message managed to reach quite a lot of people who now understand the danger of pushing yourself too hard. As always, it’s best to listen to your body.
