If you have ever had, or know someone who has had kidney stones, you know that they can cause excruciating pain. Those who have passed a stone often rank the pain on a par with childbirth. While some folks are more inclined to get kidney stones, you can take measures and precautions to prevent them, including exercise.
Kidney Stones
Kidney stones are hard masses formed from crystals in the urine. Most are composed primarily of calcium oxalate along with with other minerals. Some are formed from uric acid. The majority of crystals pass through the urine undetected, but because the tubes called ureters through which urine passes are narrow, a large stone can get trapped, causing pain. According to the National Kidney and Urologic Disease Information Clearinghouse, kidney stones are on the rise in the United States, mostly in men over age 40. Doing cardio with a stone will likely be painful, but the motion may help pass it.
Symptoms
Besides excruciating pain in the kidneys or lower abdominal area and a persistent urge to urinate, kidney stones can cause bleeding that presents in the urine. However, according to the MayoClinic.com, blood in the urine, or hematuria, can also be caused by intense, long duration cardio, and is common in runners and other athletes after intense workouts. Post-exercise hematuria is not necessarily a sign of kidney stones, but it may indicate dehydration, which can contribute to the formation of stones.
Exercise and Kidney Stones
Dr. Gary Faerber, associate professor of urology at the University of Michigan Health System, endorses exercise and weight control as strategies to prevent kidney stones, indicating that obesity and a sedentary lifestyle are partially to blame for the rising incidence of kidney stones in the United States. Faeber cautions, however, that staying hydrated is important, especially in the hot summer months when more fluids are lost from the body through perspiration. If you do a lot of cardio that produces sweat, failing to rehydrate can increase your chances of developing stones.
Elimination and Prevention
As both prevention and treatment, the NKUDIC recommends drinking 12 glasses of water daily while restricting consumption of coffee, tea and cola. If your stones are formed of uric acid, you may need to reduce consumption of meat, which promotes uric acid formation. Some foods, including rhubarb, beets, spinach and chocolate, are high in calcium oxylate and may promote stones in some people. Dr. Faeber notes that lemonade made from fresh lemons is known to be effective in preventing stones.
