Acute rhabdomyolysis due to body building exercise. Report of a case.

A 40 year old man presented with severe muscle (biceps) pain and rhabdomyolysis following a session of weight lifting. He denied use of anabolic steroids or other drugs. Total serum creatine kinase was 76,080 IU/l. The patient was treated with intravenous sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate, and mannitol. He did not develop renal failure and his symptoms resolved after two weeks. Cases of rhabdomyolysis associated with other forms of excessive physical exertion are commonly reported, however cases associated with weight lifting are reported relatively infrequently. Probably many cases in this setting go unrecognized and are diagnosed as simple muscle strain. The exact incidence of rhabdomyolysis in this setting of body building exercise remains unknown. Treatment is essentially the same as for rhabdomyolysis due to other causes.