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A woman has revealed she almost died and nearly lost her leg after taking a spin class for the first time - which left her suffering from a life-threatening muscle condition called rhabdomyolysis.

Kaelyn Franco - who goes by @kofranco_ on TikTok - said she she loved 'biking, working out, and being active,' so she decided to take a spin class on September 15, upon a recommendation from a friend. 

However, just hours after taking the seemingly-innocent workout class, Kaelyn, from Massachusetts, found herself in the hospital suffering from horrific leg pains, which doctors struggled to diagnose for hours, before eventually performing emergency surgery in a desperate attempt to save her limb. 

Speaking about the incident in a series of TikTok videos, the fitness fan revealed how she initially assumed her post-class soreness was the result of the intense workout, however after the pain continued to increase, she realized it was something much more serious. 

'I love biking, I love working out, I love being active. So I thought, "Why not give it a go, right?"' Kaelyn, who is from Waltham, Massachusetts, and used to be captain of the soccer and softball teams, explained in a now-viral video.  

A woman has revealed she almost died and nearly lost her leg after taking a spin class for the first time

Before the class, Kaelyn Franco - who described herself as 'very active' - said she made sure to stretch and hydrate. After the workout, she said was in 'a lot of pain'

Kaelyn - who is from Waltham, Massachusetts - decided to go to the hospital, where she received emergency surgery

After she finished the work out, the woman recalled feeling some pain in her leg, but she thought she was just sore due to the intensity of the class.  

'After I finished the class, I stepped off the bike and my legs and my knees immediately buckled under me and they could not support my weight,' she recalled. 

'Fast forward to the next day, I was hobbling around and I was in a lot of pain but I thought it was just soreness and that I would feel better.

'But I didn't feel better and the pain got 10 times worse as the hours went on and eventually I decided to go to the hospital.'

Kaelyn, who recently graduated from UMass Amherst, explained that as soon as she told the doctors about her symptoms, they immediately told her that she had rhabdomyolysis - a breakdown of muscle tissue that releases a dangerous protein in your blood. 

She explained that at first, her creatine kinase (CK) level, which is used to measure muscle damage, was about 46,000.

'Mind you, a regular CK level is between 30-200 units per liter, so I was well above that,' she explained. 

'They began the treatment but every blood drawing after that, my levels were just sky-rocketing. My CK level got up to 251,000.

'Doctors were getting concerned at this point so they brought in a bunch of specialists to monitor me. 

'My legs were so swollen, they were getting really concerned.'

Rhabdomyolysis is a condition in which damaged muscle tissue releases a potentially-fatal proteins and electrolytes into the blood, which can lead to heart and kidney damage, cause permanent disability, and - in some cases where diagnosis occurs too late - death. 

According to WebMD, the condition can be caused by several different factors, including extreme muscle strain, especially in someone who is an untrained athlete - however it can happen in elite athletes, too.

She was diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis - a breakdown of muscle tissue that releases a dangerous protein in your blood

Kaelyn revealed that she is now recovering at home, but unfortunately, she is still not able to walk

Symptoms include muscle pain, muscle weakness or trouble moving arms and legs, and dark red or brown urine or decreased urination. However, the outlet also added that half of people with the condition may have no muscle-related symptoms at all.

Kaelyn explained that they thought she was getting better because her CK level started to decrease, but when it suddenly spiked to 259,000, she needed to be rushed into emergency surgery.  

'I was in a lot more pain than I ever was being in the hospital. So I had them draw my blood and check my CK levels. My CK levels jumped to 259,000 - the highest they ever were when I was there,' she recalled.

'I was rushed into emergency surgery and they did a fasciotomy to relieve the pressure in my right leg.

Kaelyn revealed that she is now recovering at home, but unfortunately, she is still not able to walk.

'I was in the hospital for a week and I am now recovering at home. I'm not able to walk, I'm not able to do anything by myself. I'm in pain every single day,' she said.

'I use crutches to get around but even just walking for two minutes causes me a great deal of pain.'

Kaelyn explained that despite what happened, she did not want to 'sway people away from spin classes.' Instead, she decided to share her experience so that she could 'shed light on a topic that's not really known about.'

Kaelyn explained that despite what happened, she did not want to 'sway people away from spin classes.' Instead, she wants to 'shed light on a topic that's not really known about'

She said, 'I am not here to prevent people from working out or sway people away from spin classes and exercising and all that. More so, I want to shed light to a topic that's not really known about, not really talked about, and it's important to be cautious of these things because there's a big prevalence in spin classes lately.' 

In 2017, a group of doctors published a study in the American Journal of Medicine about the disease and its relation to spin classes. They noted that at least 46 reported cases of this condition appeared after a spin class, and in 42 of those cases, it was the person's first spin class.

Kaelyn said she thinks spin classes should give first time goers a proper warning about the dangers of the sport.

'I think spin classes need some kind of guidelines, especially for first time goers, about the dangers of doing the class. There should be info on the signs and symptoms [of rhabdomyolysis] and the urgency when the symptoms occur, to go get treatment immediately,' she said. 

'In terms of prevention, I think that when starting a new training program you should definitely take it slow and steady. Always, always listen to your body,' she added.

'If anything feels off, make sure you're not over heated and definitely stay hydrated during the work out and after the work out.'   

She stressed that it could happen to anyone - even people who are active on a daily basis - and to go to the doctor as soon as you notice something is off.

'I am very active so I want everyone to know that this can happen to anyone. Although it is rare, it is still a possibility. I hydrated, I stretched, I'm active - and this still happened to me.' 

She concluded, 'I will have life long complications from this but I am not letting that take away from my happiness and my positivity.'