On September 16, nine lacrosse players at Tufts University were hospitalized with a rare muscle condition after a demanding workout with a Navy Seal graduate. Over a week later, three of the players are still in the hospital.
The 45-minute workout was led by a former Tufts student who had recently graduated from the Navy Seal's Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training program, according to CNN. After the workout, 12 of the players were diagnosed with a "potentially lethal medical condition" called rhabdomyolysis, as the university explained, and nine were hospitalized.
"Approximately 50 team members participated in the workout. All have been evaluated by medical professionals, with a total of nine requiring hospitalization for rhabdomyolysis (rhabdo)," Patrick Collins, Tufts' Executive Director of Media Relations, said in a statement today via CNN. "Three remain hospitalized."
It's not clear what condition the three injured players are in.
From CNN:
Rhabdomyolysis or rhabdo – a rare condition that can be life-threatening – happens when muscles break down, possibly even disintegrate, after a strenuous workout, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
The broken-down muscle fibers can contain large amounts of elements such as potassium and phosphate that can be released into the bloodstream, causing complications with the kidneys, the Cleveland Clinic says.
"The most common symptoms are feeling like prolonged kind of muscle stiffness and discomfort and weakness," Dr. Shruti Gupta, an associate physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital who specializes in kidney disease, told CNN affiliate WCVB in an interview while explaining more about the condition. "Usually we see these cases more in isolation and so it's puzzling for it to happen in particularly … people who are athletes."
Tufts has postponed team practice until investigators can figure out how this could have happened.
Previously: Toxic "microdosing" candies cause horrifying health emergencies
