Tufts lacrosse players have been released from the hospital after a rare muscle injury, the university says

CNN
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All nine members of the Tufts University men’s lacrosse team who were hospitalized this month with the rare muscle injury rhabdomyolysis have been released, and the university says it has hired experts to investigate what led to several serious injuries after a training session.

The university president said: “We want to express how grateful we are that the team members are back in good health.” Sunil KumarTwo deans wrote Wednesday in an update to students.

The players were fine after a 45-minute “voluntary, supervised” workout on Sept. 16 led by a college alumnus who recently graduated from the BUD/S Navy SEAL training program, according to Patrick Collins, Boston’s executive director of media relations. -University area. BUD/S stands for Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training.

About 50 players participated in the training, and nine of them were taken to the hospital Rhabdomyolysisalso known as rhabdo, is a condition in which muscles break down and leak their components into the bloodstream. In serious cases, it can cause damage to the kidneys and other organs. This condition is relatively rare and can be life-threatening, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Tufts, whose men’s lacrosse team beat Section championship in May, she said she was hired D. Rod Walters IIdescribed by the university as a “nationally recognized expert in student-athlete injury care and prevention” and an attorney Randy Aliment From the law firm of Louis Brisebois to investigate what led to the injuries and evaluate the university’s response.

Cases of rhabdomyolysis can occur in student athletes if they participate in strenuous training while just returning from training breaks, Dr. Robbie Sica, a sports medicine physician who serves as the medical director of the ATP, told CNN.

“The typical time of year that we see in athletes is the off-season or they are ramping up again,” he said.

It is unusual, but not unheard of, for multiple team members to develop rhabdomyolysis at the same time. groups Of cases among athletes have been observed among college football players in Iowa in 2011 And swimmers in South Carolina in 2007.

Sica also noted that certain supplements, including increased caffeine and creatine, can increase the risk of developing the condition, although it’s not clear whether those supplements played any role in the cases at Tufts.

“We know you have a lot of questions,” Tufts officials wrote in their letter Wednesday. “Honestly, we do too.”

University leaders said they are “following investigative best practices by refraining from making public statements to avoid inadvertently influencing the direction of the independent investigation,” and will share the findings when the investigation concludes.

CNN’s Michelle Watson contributed to this report.