What You Need to Know About Rhabdomyolysis: Insights from the University of Iowa Incident

Do you know what Rhabdomyolysis is?  You may have first heard about it from the infamous Iowa football workouts in the winter of 2011.  Twelve to fourteen football players were hospitalized following three days of intensive workouts.  So what is rhabdomyolysis? Well its a "breakdown of muscle fibers that leads to the release of muscle fiber contents (myoglobin) into the bloodstream. Myoglobin is harmful to the kidney and often causes kidney damage." (Medline Plus, 2013).  



Recently, Bret Contreras posted on this topic with all the available research.  His very comprehensive overview of all the research is excellent for understanding the symptoms and return to exercise guidelines.  It's imperative to understand how rhabdomyolysis presents, is diagnosed, and treated to be a competent strength coach.  

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