When ‘Feeling Sore’ Means Something More; Generalized Myalgia in an Otherwise Healthy Female

Calan Sowa, MD

A case report involving a healthy 25 year old woman who induces exertional rhabdomyolysis after trying Crossfit for the first time. While no acute kidney injury is observed, her CK was noted to rise to nearly 25k before plateauing and normalizing. This case serves as a reminder that athletes should perform training under a supervised environment in a structured manner to avoid potential adverse health outcomes.

4 comments

  1. Cal, really clear and nicely done report! Great reminder of a common cause of skeletal muscle injury/rhabo! Dave

  2. Unusual in an otherwise healthy young woman. I wonder if patients like this might have an underlying muscle enzyme deficiency – not necessarily full blown McAdle’s syndrome but perhaps heterozygous myophosphorylase or PFK deficiency. By the way, CK levels in patients with AKI from rhabdo are typically in the >100k range. David

  3. Thank you for this great poster on this important topic! As someone who has engaged in intense exercise in the past, it is useful to realize that this might happen to an otherwise healthy person. Thanks.

  4. nice job – it would be interesting to see if her urine sediment or more sensitive plasma or urine biomarkers of kidney injury would pick up subclinical kidney injury

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