What Is Rhabdomyolysis? Teen Suffers Deadly Illness From Exercising Too Much

A 17-year-old Texas boy was reportedly diagnosed with a life-threatening illness after exercising too much in the gym. Jared Shamburger, who recently joined the gym, suffered from Rhabdomyolysis.

The teenager received a gym membership and said he became “super-duper sore” after lifting weights for 90 minutes last week.

“Everything hurt,” Shamburger said. “It hurt to the touch. It was swollen.”

The teen, from Houston, said that right after joining the gym he tried to “go hard fast” to compete with his dad and older brother, both of whom had been into bodybuilding for years.

“I gotta catch up to them and get as big as them,” Shamburger told the ABC-owned news station KTRK.

The soreness, however, didn’t subside and his mom Judy Shamburger researched the symptoms. She decided to contact the doctor immediately.

“The mama bear in me kind of took over and I called the pediatrician and said, ‘I really think my son has rhabdo,'” mom Judy said, referring to rhabdomyolysis.

The teen was hospitalized for five days with the deadly condition, which causes muscle tissues to rapidly die and release a damaging protein into the blood.

“If he hadn’t caught it, if he hadn’t told me, if we had just gone out of town about our way,” his mom said. “I can’t even imagine. And I don’t want to, about what could have happened.”

Early diagnosis of rhabdomyolysis and proper treatment can lead to successful recovery. Rhabdomyolysis can be caused by many things including injury, infection, long-lasting muscle compression, and extreme muscle strain.

Symptoms of rhabdomyolysis include muscle pain in the shoulders, thighs, or lower back; muscle weakness or trouble moving arms and legs; dark red or brown urine; abdominal pain; nausea or vomiting; fever; dehydration; and lack of consciousness.

Shamburger is expected to make a full recovery and also plans to return to the gym. His family warned others to seek medical attention if muscle pain, weakness and severe swelling persists after exercising.