Gym Goer's Arms 'Exploded' After CrossFit Workout Challenge Gives Her 'Blood Poisoning'

A gym enthusiast from South Carolina says her arms “exploded” after attempting a vigorous fitness challenge – which she says caused a life-threatening condition.

Jessica Johnson, 25, took part in the “Murph Challenge” – a fundraising challenge which involved running a mile, then doing 300 squats, 200 push-ups and 100 pull-ups, before finishing with another mile run.

“I did 10 sets of five pull-ups,” the Charleston health worker said, and was “pretty tired” after the workout, she told the Kennedy News Agency via New York Post.

The next day, her hands were swollen and sore, but, “I was like, ‘I didn’t do pull-ups the whole time, it was a tough workout, it’s going to relax, it’s okay,'” she said.

Jessica Johnson’s hands are swollen after a fitness challenge.

KENNEDY NEWS

But instead of recovering, her hands continued to swell.

“Everybody said, ‘We just thought you were super high or something,'” Johnson told the newspaper.

Mom hospitalized after drinking gallon of water a day for ’75 Hard’ fitness challenge

But then she developed another symptom: “I was drinking tons of water, but I wasn’t urinating much during the day,” she said, adding that when she did urinate, “it was darker, almost like an orange.”

Johnson said she sought medical attention and was immediately referred to the hospital, where blood tests determined she had rhabdomyolysis.

It’s “a rare muscle injury in which your muscles break down,” the Cleveland Clinic explains, saying it’s “a life-threatening condition that can happen after an injury or excessive exercise without rest.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

In rhabdomyolysis — or rhabdomyolysis — “your muscles break down (break down), leading to muscle death. When this happens, toxic components of your muscle fibers enter your circulatory system and kidneys.”

That can cause kidney damage — and as Johnson said, “In rhabdomyolysis, your cells basically explode in your muscles.”

“It’s like blood poisoning because your body can’t actually filter it out.”

Jessica Johnson.

KENNEDY NEWS

An Indiana mom died of water poisoning after drinking too much water

Doctors had to cut open her arms to relieve the swelling – but Johnson says her kidneys managed to survive.

“They kept telling me, ‘We don’t know how you don’t have kidney damage now,'” she said.

While she says she’s “completely recovered,” Johnson says, “This was a wake-up call for me to relax a little bit”—and not just by taking a break from the Murph Challenge, but by switching to cardio and “more gentle stuff for pilates.”

“Exercising too much and training too aggressively is not good for you and it’s not healthy.”

There are no other known similar incidents arising from this challenge. PEOPLE has reached out to CrossFit and Forged, which are sponsoring the Murph Challenge, for comment and will update with further information.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education