ladbible logo

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

​Teen Diagnosed With Deadly Illness After Working Out Too Much

​Teen Diagnosed With Deadly Illness After Working Out Too Much

But after an intense 90-minute weightlifting session at the gym last week, he found himself in a concerning amount of pain

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

Most of us will be familiar with that uncomfortable aching sensation that takes over your entire body after doing the tiniest bit of exercise. It renders even the most menial of things near-impossible, like opening a jam jar or even just hobbling down the stairs after caning the squats the day before. Yep, definitely been there.

But for one teenager in Texas, the after effects of his workout didn't just involve a bit of soreness here and there, but a potentially deadly illness.

17-year-old Jared Shamburger got himself a new gym membership to join his family members to pump some iron.

He'd felt inspired by his dad and older brother, who have been lifting weights for years.

"I got to catch up to them and get as big as them," Jared said.

"I have to go hard fast."

But after an intense 90-minute weightlifting session at the gym last week, he found himself in a concerning amount of pain.

"It was super duper sore," Jared said.

"Everything hurt. It hurt to the touch. It was swollen."

And, even more worryingly, the pain and soreness didn't seem to be going anywhere.

He added: "The farthest I could move was like to here, and I was like this is not right."

KRON 4

That's when Jared's mum Judy decided to search her son's symptoms online - something that all too many of us have done, only to become convinced that we're dying of some rare blood disease only found in remote parts of the Amazon rainforest, but this time, things paid off.

"The mama bear in me kind of took over and I called the pediatrician and said 'I really think my son has rhabdo,'" Judy said.

Miraculously, Judy's instincts turned out to be correct - as Jared was then hospitalised for five days with rhabdomyolysis, which is a potentially life-threatening condition that causes muscle tissue to break down, releasing a damaging amount of protein into the blood while also injuring the kidneys.

"In extreme cases, it can also cause death," Judy said.

KRON 4

Rhabdomyolysis can be caused by several things, including injury, infection... and hitting the gym just that little bit too hard.

Thankfully, Jared is expected to make a full recovery, and even says he plans to get back into the gym soon.

"If he hadn't caught it, if he hadn't told me, if we had just gone out of town about our way," Judy added.

"I can't even imagine. And I don't want to, about what could have happened."

Well, let's treat that as a lesson for us all not to work out too hard... *Picks up another slice of cold pizza*.

Featured Image Credit: KRON 4

Topics: World News, Weightlifting, News, US News, Gym, Fitness