If you’ve ever finished an intense workout only to discover blood in your urine when you go to the bathroom, you’ve probably been alarmed by the possible health complications suggested by this development.
Fortunately, most cases of blood in the urine after a workout – known as exercise-induced hematuria – are relatively minor, and can be linked to specific causes resulting from, or related to, your exercise.
But some cases of hematuria can be a sign that you need to seek medical treatment, and in rare cases, blood in the urine after running or working could be an early sign of a much more serious health problem.
Do you need help to evaluate your symptoms and decide to visit a doctor?
If you see blood in the urine when you go to the bathroom, this is a classic case of gross hematuria, which is different from microscopic hematuria where blood can only be detected in laboratory tests.
Cases of gross hematuria identified after exercise can be traced to one of the following causes:
In some cases, bloody urine may just be a sign that you have pushed your body to its limits.
Getting hit or bumped, or falling to the ground during a workout, could cause blood to enter the urine, especially if the trauma hits the kidneys.
Bloody urine could be one of your first signs of a UTI.
Certain types of medications, from pain relievers to other medications, may cause bloody urine as a possible side effect.
If you’ve ever noticed bright red spotting after exercise, this could be a sign that exercise has triggered breakthrough bleeding outside of your regular menstrual cycle.
This spotting can happen for many reasons, including increased pressure on the abdomen that results in growth and abnormalities – such as endometrial and cervical polyps – that lead to bleeding during exercise.
Hormonal irregularities can also cause bleeding, although it may or may not be related to exercise.
If you notice brown particles in the urine as a female, this is most likely a sign of a urinary infection, but it could also be a product of muscle breakdown that occurs after extreme exercise.
Keep in mind that men are just as likely to develop this brown discoloration if their bodies are subjected to extreme exercise.
When hematuria develops without noticeable pain, this is called painless gross hematuria – and it could be the sign of much more serious health conditions.
The development of painless gross hematuria is one of the first signs of certain bladder disorders, including bladder cancer, and should be taken seriously, especially if you have not undergone intense training recently , do not increase the intensity of your training regimen. , and have not undergone other bodily changes or cycles, such as menstruation, that could increase the chance of spotting or bleeding.
When should I be concerned about exercise-induced hematuria?
Because of the risk that hematuria can be wrongly attributed to exercise or other benign causes, it is smart to visit a doctor whenever this bleeding occurs.
If you have a chronic problem with exercise-induced hematuria, you and your doctor can work together to better understand this condition, manage any potential causes and complications, and monitor for signs that additional medical care may be required.
You should also seek medical attention if your pain level increases when you have exercise-induced hematuria.
Between the onset of symptoms and your visit with a doctor, you may want to avoid exercise to prevent additional cases of hematuria.
If you have developed painless gross hematuria and are not sure if it is related to exercise, you should immediately seek an examination by a doctor.
This is true even if painless gross hematuria is infrequent, which is typical of hematuria caused by bladder cancer.
While hematuria induced by exercise may not be anything to worry about for health, it is important to rule out more serious possibilities before looking for options to treat and manage this minor condition.
The more you understand the cause of this condition and its possible health implications, the easier it will be to exercise with peace of mind even if this condition persists.