Massachusetts woman nearly loses leg after spin class led to dissolved muscles

WALTHAM, Mass. — A Massachusetts woman nearly lost her left leg after developing a dangerous muscle condition after a spin class.

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Kaelyn Franco, 23, of Waltham, said she nearly had to have her leg amputated after being diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, “Today” reported. Franco said she needed surgery after enduring severe pain and swelling, and that doctors had to cut open her leg to relieve the pressure, the website reported.

Two months after her surgery, Franco still needs crutches to walk.

“It really did turn my world upside down,” Franco told “Today.” “It was just super traumatic and stressful.”

Rhabdomyolysis occurs when damaged muscle begins to dissolve, releasing muscle fiber contents into the blood. It can cause kidney damage and is potentially life-threatening.

A friend recommended that Franco try a spin class, and she took her first 45-minute segment on Sept. 15, People reported.

“I was definitely pushing myself for sure, but I don’t think I was overworking myself to the point where I was like, ‘OK, I really overdid it,’” Franco told “Today.”

“(But) as soon as I stepped off the bike, my knees just gave out and I pretty much fell. I thought that was strange at first, but then I was like maybe it’s just my muscles are tired, weak and just a little bit sore.”

An one-hour spin class can burn anywhere from 600 to 1000 calories, according to Top Fitness magazine.

Franco, a Waltham High School graduate who was captain of the soccer and softball teams and a recent graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, told “Today” that she had trouble walking and had to grab walls and counters for support. She also added that it was difficult to bend her legs, and her urine was turning dark brown.

Those are symptoms of rhabdomyolysis, a condition that releases a dangerous protein called creatine kinase into the blood. It can occur after workouts.

It is a rare condition, with 26,000 cases reported annually in the U.S., according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. Even people who are physically fit can be affected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Crying in pain,” Franco went to an area hospital, according to an Instagram post. She learned that the amount of creatine kinase in her blood was unsustainably high — 259,000 units per liter, when the normal range is around 33-211 units per liter.

“Doctors said they hadn’t seen such levels before,” Franco told “Today.” “I couldn’t walk or move and had to be put on a catheter.”

Franco said she is slowly starting to heal. She is raising money to pay for her medical bills through a GoFundMe page.

“Although my leg will never be the same and I’ll have lifelong complications from this, I am lucky and I am so grateful,” Franco wrote on Instagram. “I am alive and my leg was saved.”

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