Exercise and Creatinine

Posted by mrainne @mrainne, Jul 13, 2023

My creatinine rises when I exercise. I walk every day and swim 3 times/a week. Creatinine goes up because of muscle strain. Am I damaging my kidneys by working the muscles? I do not do contact sports or take meds that would damage my kidneys. My diet is low salt, low protein, and very few processed foods, if any. My creatinine is 1.9 and recently went down from 1.5. This is concerning. I know my disease but I do not understand why the creatinine is rising.

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Ginger, Volunteer Mentor | @gingerw | Jul 13, 2023

@mrainne Here is an article about exercise and creatine levels. I am still looking to see if your question is addressed, regarding damaging your kidneys with exercise. I believe the answer is "no" if you are doing it moderately, which it sounds like you are.

https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/japplphysiol.00189.2020#:~:text=Physical%20exercise%20may%20lead%20to,%2D%20and%20post%2Dphysical%20exercise.
Ginger

jimti345 | @jimti345 | Aug 6, 2023

I have one kidney, one was removed in 1972 and I am a jogger since 1979 and go to the gym too.

mrainne | @mrainne | Aug 6, 2023

In reply to @jimti345 "I have one kidney, one was removed in 1972 and I am a jogger since 1979..." + (show)

Wow! Do you mind telling me what your GFR is? That is so interesting to me.

collegeprof | @collegeprof | Aug 7, 2023

In reply to @mrainne "Wow! Do you mind telling me what your GFR is? That is so interesting to me." + (show)

It would be interesting to find out how the eGFR lab test of Cystatin C compares to the creatinine eGFR test. The more important marker of overall kidney function is Cystatin C.