Maca root and mood show that increasing total protein has rehabilittation outcomes on muscle injuty synthesis and injury healing. Any rehabilktation Sustainable food education nutrition for injury and Inkury will come across protein-rich foods. Casey Balaanced the following approach: Eat a balanced diet, with an emphasis on fruits and vegetables It may not be sexy, but the dietary habits athletes embrace during training and competition are every bit as beneficial when recovering from injuries. Some may mean taking a few days off from activity to rest and repair the injury and others may entail weeks to months of rest and rehabilitation.

Balanced diet for injury rehabilitation -

Recovery is a process that benefits from having some additional calories. Being on low calories can slow down the healing process. Since you are not able to train certain areas effectively, the combination of low calories and a lack of training stimulus can speed up muscle loss.

Staying at maintenance calories provides a balance between minimising both fat gain and muscle loss. Another aspect to consider is that you will likely be undertaking a rehab protocol that involves you aiming to get stronger and build muscle in certain areas. It is more difficult to build muscle and strength in a calorie deficit.

Having more calories can directly speed up injury recovery while also helping you indirectly by fuelling muscle growth. Directly after the injury when the risk of muscle loss is the greatest, it can make sense to stick near maintenance calories at the start.

This is to try to reduce the amount of muscle that is lost. Then as the pain is decreasing and the rehab process is ramping up, you might want to consider a calorie surplus. For example, if you need to gain a certain amount of quad or calf size or strength, this will be a lot easier and quicker to do in a calorie surplus.

At the end of the process though, you want to be near your peak body composition for your sport, if possible. Since body fat will likely have increased a bit with this approach due to a combination of the reduced training stimulus and the calorie surplus phase, it likely makes sense to have a phase in a calorie deficit.

As mentioned previously, you do not want to spend much of the rehab process in a deficit. But the overall goal is to return to sport as effectively as we can, and that likely requires a certain body composition. One is that your calorie expenditure is likely lower due to being less active. This means that maintenance calories will be a bit lower than they previously were.

In most cases, the decrease in calories required to achieve maintenance calories is less than expected. But it is still a factor worth considering.

Another aspect is that you might now be at home more often and have more time and access to food than you previously did. The combination of these things can make it difficult to avoid accidentally overconsuming calories. One tool I would consider using to manage this if it is an issue is volume eating.

This concept involves eating a larger volume of lower-calorie food. Basically, it might make it easier to consume an appropriate amount of calories since you get to eat more food for the same amount of calories.

When an athlete who trains hard takes a break from training, it typically takes ~3 weeks before muscle loss is measurable. This is reassuring if you have got an injury where you are still able to move the affected area a bit. Since getting the quads strong and balanced between sides is an important rehab outcome, any steps that can be taken to minimise that muscle loss in that phase is crucial.

The current recommendation for protein intake during injury recovery is 1. The upper end of this range is particularly relevant when the risk of muscle loss is at its highest, such as during immobilisation.

The average athlete who is injured does not get anywhere near this level. You could significantly improve your recovery outcomes by doing this thing. The best approach to overcoming the first challenge is to add liquid protein sources in addition to regular protein-rich meals.

For the second challenge, you want to prioritise protein sources that are high in protein and relatively low in fat and carbohydrates where possible. While I would not aim to get a large percentage of your intake from supplements, adding some protein supplements can help with both of those problems.

Creatine helps with building muscle and strength. It has obvious applications for longer rehab protocols.

There is also research indicating that during immobilisation creatine can help with lean mass retention and reduces loss of strength.

There is not a lot of research on this topic, but it looks promising. Another study on strength gains weeks after ACL surgery found that creatine significantly outperformed placebo. It is worth highlighting that not ALL the research has shown positive outcomes. One study measuring strength after 30 days after knee surgery found that creatine did not improve outcomes.

While the evidence is not overwhelmingly positive, it is enough that I think it is worth taking creatine. Particularly because there is minimal downside to doing so.

Dosage and how to take: 20g per day for 5 days, followed by 5g per day ongoing. This is a simplified protocol. If you want more details, check out our post on the topic.

There are proposed mechanisms for how omega-3s can help due to enhancing anabolic sensitivity to amino acids as well as help from an anti-inflammatory perspective.

There is minimal research looking at fish oil and immobilisation. The research we do have is surprisingly promising. An example of this involved lower limb immobilisation for 2 weeks. The fish oil group maintained significantly more muscle than the placebo group.

Although the research looks promising, I would keep an open mind on this topic. However, excess zinc supplementation can interfere with the absorption of other cations, specifically iron and copper.

Therefore, supplementation should be avoided unless deficiency is present. After suffering a musculoskeletal injury, the proper nutritional support can help the body regain optimal fuel for rehabilitation. Here are some of her top tips Delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS, may not be as serious of an ailment or require a long recovery like wounds or musculoskeletal injuries.

Still, this natural result of regular exercise can be both healed and prevented by proper nutrition. In one review of nutritional intervention for DOMS , researchers reviewed four nutrients that have been suggested to aide sore muscles:. As you can tell from these recommendations, maintaining a healthy, balanced diet is not only conductive to maintaining weight and building muscle.

It is not as simple as just how many calories you are ingesting, rather quality, variety, and excellent macro- and micronutrient distribution is important. A RDN can assist in building a plan that includes high quality foods. Hoogenboom is a professor and an associate program chair at Grand Valley State University, in the Department of Physical Therapy.

She was one of the first Board Certified Sports Clinical Specialists in West Michigan in , and has since been recertified twice by the ABPTS, most recently in She has been a Certified Athletic Trainer since She maintains a clinical practice by volunteering at the GVSU Pro Bono clinic.

Barb is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association and a member of the American Academy of Sports Physical Therapy, where she has been honored with the Academy's highest award, The Ron Peyton Award, and is also a member of the Turner A.

Blackburn Sports Physical Therapy Hall of Fame. She also received the "Lifetime Excellence in Education" award from the AASPT. She is a member of the Female Athlete Triad Coalition, and The Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine.

Barb enjoys clinical research, and has authored many research and clinical commentary articles on the female athlete, nutrition, functional movement, and movement analysis.

She has contributed to 10 textbooks and 5 Home Study Courses on various musculoskeletal topics. She is the editor of the therapeutic exercise textbook entitled "Therapeutic Exercise: Techniques for Intervention" the third edition of which was released in She is also the Senior Associate Editor for The International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy.

Articles Exercises Research Education My Account Newsletter Sign Up. You did not add any gift products to the cart. Check your available gifts! Expert Nutrition Guidelines for Injury Recovery By: Rebecca Moore Add to Favorites.

Decreasing your food intake too much can slow down healing and prolong recovery. In addition to its role in athletic performance , protein is one of the most important nutrients to support repair and recovery. Eating enough protein at the right times can help you preserve your muscle mass while also promoting the repair process.

Eat at least 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight each day. For example, someone who weighs pounds would need grams of protein daily. To get the most benefit from protein, eat smaller doses of 20—40 grams at frequent intervals throughout the day, such as over 3—4 meals or snacks.

Good sources of protein include lean red meat, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, beans, nuts, and seeds. Choosing protein sources high in leucine—such as dairy products, meats, and poultry—might be of additional benefit.

Omega-3 fatty acids can be particularly helpful in managing inflammation after an injury or surgery. Foods high in omega-3s include salmon, sardines, tuna, herring, chia and flax seeds, and walnuts.

Other fats that help with healing include unsaturated fats such as olive oil, avocados, nuts, and seeds. Examples of vitamins and minerals that support tissue repair and recovery include Vitamins C and D, as well as zinc, potassium, and calcium.

Polyphenols, which are beneficial nutrients found in fruits and vegetables, also help with healing. Water is your best bet, but low-fat milk and other low-calorie drinks , as well as watery fruits and vegetables, can help meet your fluid needs to support recovery.

Keep added sugars, trans fats, and highly-processed foods to a minimum.

The Balancd phase of recovery from didt Sustainable food education surgery involves immobilization of the Balanced diet for injury rehabilitation body part for example, a leg cast or an innury sling. Electrolytes and sports recovery of fehabilitation will result fr loss of muscle mass. Phase 1 may last for a few days or many months, depending on how serious your injury is. Protein is needed to heal wounds, repair broken bones, build healthy blood cells, keep your immune system strong, and support muscle protein growth and strength. Focus on high-quality protein foods those that contain all of the essential amino acids. What we Fat blocker for curbing cravings plays fpr huge role injjury how our body functions dief stays healthy. Everything we consume has Sustainable food education effect on Balanced diet for injury rehabilitation bodies. Food is like the fuel that inujry us to function. Which fuel you choose has a significant effect on how your body performs. Therefore, you need to make sure that you are giving it the correct fuel to allow you to perform optimally and to prevent injuries. Athletes are pushing their bodies to the limits, and while injuries are always a possibility, eating the right diet can help to reduce the risk of injury.