About a week ago, a Bengaluru woman collapsed while working out in the gym early morning. She was immediately attended by gym staff and other people but she died on the way to hospital. This case got a massive attention as most people have rejoined gyms as soon as they opened after two years. Physical fitness is important but this case has added a new dimension to gym workouts and why it is important to spread awareness regarding potential risks of rigorous workouts.
Initially, it heart attack was speculated to be the cause of woman’s death while working out. Nobody anticipated that there could be any other reason that too linked with lifting heavy weights. The postmortem report of the deceased woman has finally revealed the real cause which is cerebral haemorrhage. The 35-year-old woman was working out in the gym at around 8 am when she suddenly collapsed. People around came to her rescue and called the ambulance but doctors declared her ‘brought dead’. DCP Dr. Bhimashankar Guleda spoke about the unfortunate event and advised people to be very careful while working out in the gym and especially while lifting heavy weights.
Heavy Weight Lifting and Cerebral Haemorrhage Link
Can lifting heavy weights cause cerebral hemorrhage? We asked this question to Dr. Bhupesh Kumar, Neurologist at Neuro Pain and Care Clinic, Gurgaon and here is what he said:
“Heavy weight lifting cannot directly cause cerebral hemorrhage until and unless you have brain aneurysm. This is a condition wherein there is some space in your brain and over time, intracranial pressure increases that increases the chance of hemorrhage. You may not know about aneurysm as this is a silent killer that causes inflation of some blood vessels and they eventually burst due to tension in the brain.”
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- A person may not suffer cerebral haemorrhage immediately unless they have an existing brain issue such as aneurysm.
- However, prolonged stress and high blood pressure(hypertension) increases the risk of brain hemorrhage.
- If the midline shift is high and swelling is high in the brain, neurological deficits increase leading to unconsciousness and eventually death of the person.
- Midline shift occurs when brain tissues get displaced increasing intracranial pressure or intracranial haematoma.
- Cerebral haemorrhage can be mild to serious. In severe cases, prognosis is not good or let’s just say, survival rate is very poor.
- Those who survive brain hemorrhage are highly likely to suffer lifelong neurological issues.
Cerebral hemorrhage is haemorrhage of the brain. In this condition, blood vessels in the brain rupture due to excessive stress caused to them. When you put your mind and body to a state of acute stress, it can cause haemorrhage in the long run. Also, when you work out, the body temperature is likely to rise. Heat exhaustion is state that may arise if you over-exert yourself and your body temperature may reach to 101°F (38.3°C) to 104°F (40°C).
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Precautions to take while lifting heavy weight
Even though heavy weight lifting cannot cause cerebral hemorrhage, it can cause various injuries. This can only be prevented if you follow certain precautions. Here are some:
- Do not start resistance training immediately. You must warm up before starting to prepare the body.
- Do stretching to open up your muscles to prevent possible wear and tear.
- If you are a beginner to weight lifting, you must start under the supervision of an experienced trainer. You can exercise individually once you get hold of everything.
- Do not set unrealistic goals. Many people set high goals in order to flaunt among people and social media. This can get bad if your body is unable to resist that much of weight. Consult an expert to make realistic goal.
- Don’t drop weights all of a sudden as it increases the risk of fall and damage.
These are some preventive measures that when followed properly, reduces the risk of injuries during heavy weight lifting. If you are suffering from any sort of neurological condition or brain condition, avoid rigorous workouts as that increases risk of cerebral hemorrhage.
