Tying up
Tivers@aol.com
Mon, 16 Dec 1996 21:26:45 -0500
You know what's the matter here? We're talking about several different
problems and calling them all "tying up". I've seen things that look like
compartmental syndrome, but I've also encountered situations that are
obviously simple muscle cramps. and there are probably a number of syndromes
in-between. I think much of what you endurance folks are calling tying up is
other than what I am calling tying up--except for Teddy, whose observations
fall right in line with what we experience at the racetrack with very fit
horses given too many days off. This kind of tying up is nasty and can (and
has) lead to death through founder and kidney failure. This is the kind of
tying up that S. Valberg is researching.
You guys sound like you're experiencing muscle cramps that can be due to
fluid loss or electrolyte depletion or imbalance. Whole 'nother ball game.
Far less deadly. The same kind of thing you get when you jump into cold
water--no big deal, save for some muscle soreness if it lasts for a while.
What we encounter at the racetrack, and what Teddy encountered, is a much
nastier problem, and i believe (this is an opinion, extrapolation of known
data) that it is akin to what human athletes experience as "compartmental
syndrome". That is, the muscle expands in volume faster than the fascia can
accommodate--resulting in compromised circulation and huge swelling masses of
deteriorating flesh, followed by kidney failure.
ti