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Medical Author:

Benjamin Wedro, MD, FACEP, FAAEM

Benjamin Wedro, MD, FACEP, FAAEM

Dr. Ben Wedro practices emergency medicine at Gundersen Clinic, a regional trauma center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His background includes undergraduate and medical studies at the University of Alberta, a Family Practice internship at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario and residency training in Emergency Medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Some common causes of the muscle damage due to rhabdomyolysis include:

• Major blunt trauma and crush injury
  
  
• Electrocution
  
  
• Lightening strikes
  
  
• Major burns
  
  
• Prolonged immobilization (for example, patients who have been lying in one position for a prolonged period of time due to a debilitating stroke, alcohol or drug overdose, or those who have remained unconscious for a prolonged period of time for other reasons). The weight of the body is enough to crush the muscles that are pushed up against a hard surface such as the floor.
  
  
• Excessive exercise, for example, running a marathon or excessive weight lifting
  
  
• Patients in status epilepticus, in which the seizure lasts for a prolonged period of time and muscles involuntarily contract
  
  
• Dystonic reactions cause muscles to spasm, and if left untreated can damage muscle
  
  
• Cholesterol lowering medications [for example, statins prescribed to treat high cholesterol (particularly when combined with other cholesterol lowering medications such as fibrates)]
  
  
• Antidepressant medications [for example selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) antidepressants may cause a serotonin syndrome characterized by agitation, fever, and muscle spasm]
  
  
• Some anesthetics can cause malignant hyperthermia syndrome with high fever and muscle rigidity
  
  
• A variety of drugs of abuse [for example, cocaine, heroin, phencyclidine (PCP), and amphetamines]
  
  
• Hyperthermia and hypothermia (high and low body temperature, respectively)
  
  
• Complications from a variety of infections caused by bacteria, viruses, and fungi
  
  
• Association with other diseases such as sickle cell disease, polymyositis, and dermatomyositis
  
  
• Complications from the venom from snake bites and black widow spider bites.

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Epilepsy Epilepsy is a condition in which a person has recurrent seizures. A seizure is defined as an abnormal, disorderly discharging of the brain's nerve cells, result...learn more >>

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