All five of the Tufts lacrosse players have been released from the hospital after they were diagnosed with a life-threatening muscle condition, rhabdomyolysis, after participating in a Navy SEAL-type workout during practice.
In a statement shared , Tufts confirmed that the five students previously admitted to the hospital have been released. “We are happy to share that all members of the men’s lacrosse team that were admitted to the hospital with rhabdomyolysis (rhabdo) have been discharged,” the statement began.
“We want to express how grateful we are that the team members have returned to good health. We commend the team’s resilience, admire how they cared for one another during a difficult time, and thank their families for their unwavering support,” the statement said.
Elsewhere in the statement, Tufts noted that it has enlisted a specialist to look into the incident. “Moving forward, we must come to a clear understanding of what happened and ensure it never happens again. Toward that end, we have retained D. Rod Walters II, a nationally recognized expert in the care and prevention of student-athlete injuries,” the university said.
Tufts said it has also retained legal counsel for a thorough investigation of what happened, and to “conduct a thorough and independent investigation to determine exactly what happened before, during, and after the workout; assess the university’s response; assess our conditioning and training protocols; and review our procedures and policies to determine what changes we should make to prevent this from happening again.”
Following the team workout on Monday, Sept. 16, 12 members of the university men’s lacrosse team were diagnosed with rhabdo and five were hospitalized, university spokesperson Patrick Collins confirmed at the time .
Collins said that the voluntary, supervised 45-minute workout was led by a Tufts alum who is also a Navy SEAL training graduate. The university said that around 50 team members participated in the workout.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rhabdo is a potentially life-threatening medical condition that occurs “when damaged muscle tissue releases its proteins and electrolytes into the blood,” often from heat or overuse.
The condition is treatable, typically with IVs to flush the proteins out of a patient’s system, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
