Weight Lifting Injury

[Mr.Network]

My son is a sophomore and has been participating in off-season weight lifting. We took off from 12/28/06 through 1/3/07 for a family trip and, while he was active, he didn't do any lifting during that time.

 

Due to a delayed flight, we got home around 1:30 AM on Thursday, January 4th. We let him sleep in and then my wife took him to school at around 10:30 AM for the first day back after Christmas break. Thus, he lifted in the afternoon instead of the morning as he normally does.

 

That afternoon, he did the normal workout that is scripted for him and then he and some other players were doing "some extra stuff" which included heavy-weight leg presses from a lying position.

 

He finished his last set and was dizzy when he got up. He went in the locker room to get some water and ended up throwing up several times before passing out. When he came to, he had an excruiating headache and felt like his upper body was paralyzed. The staff called for an ambulance and he was taken to a local hospital.

 

There, they gave him morphine for the pain in his head. Fearing an aneurism, they did a CT scan which showed no bleeding in the brain. According to the doctor, that only ruled out 85% of the chance of bleeding. In order to check the other 15% chance, they did a Lumbar Puncture and tested the spinal fluid. It came back negative, too.

 

They released him from the hospital and we followed up with a visit to our family doctor. That DR wanted an MRI of his head in order to rule out any other issues. We visited the hospital on Sunday morning for the MRI. We got the results back today and everything is normal. All other body functions and vital signs are normal.

 

He still has a dull, recurring headache but that could be from the Lumbar Puncture test.

 

The doctors think that he hyper-ventilated while lifting and that caused the dizziness, nauseau and symptoms of paralysis in his upper body.

 

I have gotten dizzy or even thrown up before from lifting but his other symptoms are pretty severe. To say the least, it was scary.

 

Anybody seen this before or do you have any other ideas about what happened?

[IAmAFan]

Is he taking supplements???? If so, he needs to stop. Did they test for dehydration? Those all sound like symptoms to me. I've seen one guy pass out from working out and it was heat/supplement related. I know the guy takes supplements, and he was in a group workout class on a VERY hot day this summer. He just dropped. When your son threw up that could have factored in to the hyperventilating theory because he couldn't get proper oxygen. This on top of the heavy workout could have assisted in him passing out. However, unless he is overweight, has asthma, or is taking supplements (typically fat burning supplements or anything that could affect his heart rate) this would be extremely rare.

[Mr.Network]

He is not taking supplements.

 

He does not have asthma.

 

He is not overweight (6'2", 220).

 

Dehydradtion from the traveling we did was my guess but they tested his hydration levels at the hospital and the result was normal.

 

I also inquired whether he might have a "bug" from the few days we were in Mexico and the doctor said that he would have a fever to go with it, which he didn't have.

[3ptshooter]

Mexico, that is the key word. If you don't watch everything you put into your system most come home sick w/something.

[oldonetechnique]

He probably needs to really concentrate on his breathing while lifting, he was in the lying position which is not the best for breathing, he was doing a heavy lift, he was probably holding his breath while exerting force if you do this you will throw up and pass out if you are not careful I have done it and I have seen it happen several other times. The headache is probably from all of the test he will be fine in a few days. Tell him to remember breath in on the way down, out on the way up.

[STRIKE3]

I've seen it quite often and it can effect a lifter, regardless of size or condition. What I've been told is, the heart can't continually pump enough oxygen to the legs and entire body, since the largest muscle group is being strenuously worked.

 

Have him consume some high carbs before doing his legs, 30-45 minutes before and make sure during conditioning, he is replacing electrolytes. Then before starting any leg lift, do some light cardio (rope jumping, plyometric dips, bike riding) for 2-3 minutes. Allow the body to recover and then begin legs, making sure to remain hydrated and consume more cards, if he starts to feel nausea or lightheadedness.

 

Hope he is okay and no other medical condition exists.

[crimedoc]

Mr. Network, I would suggest one thing to your son once your family doctor clears him medically. As a former college player and now a coach, my advise would be to have him spend about the next two to three weeks attending all workouts and more or less going through the motions. Lots of light weight high rep workouts, lots of fluids (NO CAFFEINE- people especially kids forget that caffeine is a drug and while minorly harmful to your body it still is harmful especially to an athlete who uses more of the fluids in his body for exercise than the normal joe) and trying to stay active.

You see, while he may be down for a period of about a month or so, how much bigger, faster, or stronger would he have been getting during that time?? Probably not much. If your son is 6'2 220 anyway, he is probably somewhere close to his high school athletic peak anyhow, it would serve his needs better as a player to mentally get back in the game so to speak then to physically get back into it. I dont know if he is a football or baseball, or basketball player, truth is, it really doesnt matter. What matters is that your son is healthy and that when he does perform, he can perform at his optimum level. Just an old player and coach talking though. Be sure that your physician and your family make the right decision for your son. Hope all is well with your son.

[KY1234]

First of all, he needs to be careful. It's great that he wants to do EXTRA stuff at the end but maybe coach has a workout scripted and that is ALL that he needs to do. If he was in a leg press machine (which it sounds like he was), he obviously strained himself and exhausted himself. Many kids will do the leg press over the squat because they can stack on tons of weight. I would tell your son to do the lifts that coach has planned and NOTHING else. Being a sophomore and new to weights (especially heavy lifting) is not something to take lightly. His body needs to be slowly accustomed to weight training. He also needs to practice his breathing techniques during the lifting.

[crimedoc]

Good call on the breathing technique. That is very important.

[cvillecat]

Was his workout being supervised by a qualified adult? If not, the workout should stop. I have witnessed many kids get together for an off season workout and try to one up the other guy thus resulting with a kid trying to lift heavier weight than he can safely handle and walking away from the workout with some type of injury. All the advice mentioned is great advice. I hope your son is ok.

[doodle]

I hope your son is okay. The advice Strike 3 gave you is great to remember and keep us posted on how your son is doing.

[Mr.Network]

Oldonetechnique, I think you are right about the breathing.

 

Strike3, I am going to pass along your advice to him.

 

Crimedoc, he doesn't use much caffeine. In fact, all four of my kids have a bet going to see who can go the longest without drinking soda. None of them have given in yet.

 

KY1234, I agree about the EXTRA STUFF. I already told him to stick to the routine they give him. It is proven to be effective.

 

Cvillecat, the workouts were being supervised by a couple of coaches, a strength coach and the team trainer was on hand. Unfortunately, the "extra stuff" was being done with an out-going team captain and I think there was a measure of one-upmanship present.

 

Doodle, he has been cleared by the doctor and the headache was better this morning. He is still tired but I think that has to do with being back in school after a break.

[cvillecat]

Oldonetechnique, I think you are right about the breathing.

 

Strike3, I am going to pass along your advice to him.

 

Crimedoc, he doesn't use much caffeine. In fact, all four of my kids have a bet going to see who can go the longest without drinking soda. None of them have given in yet.

 

KY1234, I agree about the EXTRA STUFF. I already told him to stick to the routine they give him. It is proven to be effective.

 

Cvillecat, the workouts were being supervised by a couple of coaches, a strength coach and the team trainer was on hand. Unfortunately, the "extra stuff" was being done with an out-going team captain and I think there was a measure of one-upmanship present.

 

Doodle, he has been cleared by the doctor and the headache was better this morning. He is still tired but I think that has to do with being back in school after a break.

I have seen that happen on more than one occassion. It is good to hear all is well. Maybe a little heart to heart about what can happen when you don't stay focused may help prevent the same mistake. Peer pressure is tough on todays youth. I'm sure he has learned his lesson.:thumb:

[oldonetechnique]

Look at the brightside, your kid is busting his tail, this kinda thing don't happen when you are not trying hard. I hope I haven't made light of the injury I dont mean it that way, hope all is well.

[3ptshooter]

Mr Network, you mention a strength coach and a trainer. My questioni would be is the strength coach CSCS certified and is the trainer an ATC?

 

If the answer is no, I would seek out a person in your area that is CSCS certified and have him go thru a routine w/your son to make sure he is lifting correctly. If the trainer is a personal trainer, big deal, anyone can become and get certified as a personal trainer. The CSCS/ATC are both certified do to obtaining a colleger degree and then becoming nationally certified.

 

CSCS(certified strength and condition specialist), ATC(athletic trainer certified)