As an athlete, injuries inevitably can occur from exercise or sport. Although having a balanced diet isn't the cure-all, it can assist in preventing and healing an injury.
According to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), the average annual injury estimate is 8.6 million. That is roughly 34.1 people out of 1,000. A third of those injuries occurred at an athletic field, playground, or sports facility.
Read along to learn which interventions can aid in keeping you healthy and on the move!
Why is Nutrition Important?
Proper nutrition is key to keeping your body healthy and ready for the next workout sesh. When calorie and nutrient needs are met, it can lend a hand in preventing and healing an injury. A DECREASE in diet quality can INCREASE the chances of injury during exercise. A quality diet looks like adequate calories, macronutrients, and vitamins and minerals.
RED-S
Eating enough calories daily can ensure you maintain your weight and avoid muscle loss. If the calories ingested are insufficient, it will hurt your performance and health. Energy availability (EA) is the amount of energy you have left over for essential body function after exercise. When food intake is insufficient, you have low energy availability (LEA). For extended periods of LEA, it can lead to Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S).
RED-S is a cascade of health effects that begins with LEA. When the calories eaten are not enough for the calories burned in exercise, it can harm an athlete. BOTH performance AND health are negatively impacted.
RED-S side effects:
Slower and weaker in sport
Loss of strength and muscle mass
Lack of menstrual cycle
Impaired bone mineral density
Increased risk of injury or stress fracture
Athletes with low food intake will see performance decrease over time. No matter what sport, if you do not have fuel, your performance is impaired. Initially, you will feel fatigued and have poor concentration.
As the energy deficit worsens, a loss of strength and muscle mass can occur. This is because the body will begin to use and break down your muscles to fuel normal body functions.
In female athletes, RED-S can disrupt the hormone system. When under-fueling, a lack of menstrual cycle causes estrogen production to decrease. Low estrogen has many effects on the body, but the most notable is bone loss. Estrogen is vital for bone health because it aids in bone formation and repair. Bone loss can occur after a few months of no period.
The increase in injury is due to several factors. When an athlete has poor concentration and weaker muscles, they are more likely to get hurt. A loss of bone mineral density can put athletes at higher risk of stress fractures because the bones are weaker.
It is important to note that some athletes can be energy deficient for short periods to reach their ideal performance weight. This should be completed acutely and under the supervision of an RDN to prevent RED-S.
Prevention & Recovery Tips
Proper nutrition is NOT the only factor in preventing and recovering from an injury, BUT when used adjunctly with proper form and proper training, it can enhance the benefits.
Prevention
The basic answer to injury prevention via nutrition is eating a well-balanced diet. This looks like a variety of food and is spaced into 3 meals and 2-3 snacks in one day.
Nutrition Goals for Prevention:
Meet daily calorie needs and maintain energy balance (energy eaten = energy used)
Meet protein needs to maintain muscle mass and build stronger muscles
Emphasize a balanced diet that includes all food groups (fruit, vegetable, protein, dairy, and grain)
Supplements
Vitamins and minerals play a highly important role in body function and can aid in the prevention of injury.
The vitamins and minerals that are shown to aid in injury prevention:
Calcium (dairy and soy products, dark leafy greens)
Vitamin D (fish, dairy and soy products, fortified juice)
Magnesium (nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains, dark leafy greens)
Vitamin K (dark leafy greens, avocado, soy)
Antioxidants (fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains)
The nutrients calcium, vitamin D, and magnesium are essential for muscles. They aid in the development, repair, and function of muscle. For bone health, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin K, and magnesium play a role in maintaining bone strength.
Physical activity can increase the amount of inflammation in the body. This is where antioxidants come in! Antioxidants, like vitamins A, C, and E, have been shown to mitigate inflammation and enhance the immune system. Antioxidants work by reducing oxidative stress caused by inflammation. Oxidative stress can affect performance and slow down healing.
It is important to consider the effects of deficiency. Calcium is a common mineral that is deficient. Calcium performs multiple critical roles for proper functioning. Calcium provides bone strength and structure and is involved in muscle contraction and relaxation. In muscles, calcium aids in keeping tissue strong and flexible. If calcium is deficient, over time it can cause a loss of bone mineral density, as mentioned in the RED-S section, and eventually osteoporosis.
Ensuring that you meet your daily vitamin and mineral needs through food alone can be challenging. This is where supplements can be helpful. While it is recommended to get them from food, it is not always possible for various reasons.
DISCLAIMER: Supplements should complement a balanced diet, NOT replace it! Reach out to a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) to learn how to safely use supplements in your diet.
Recovery
Dealing with an injury can take you out of your sport for days or weeks. It is important to remember that it is okay to gain a little weight while healing. Your body is switching from high-intensity exercise to rest. Listen to your body and its hunger and fullness cues to prevent overeating. Your eating routine will look a little different because of a decrease in energy expenditure.
Protein intake is crucial when healing because in the body one of its major functions is muscle synthesis. This means that when you eat protein, it breaks down into amino acids. Those amino acids are then used as building blocks for muscle to rebuild and repair damaged muscles.
Many athlete injuries are due to soft tissue injuries. This includes muscle, ligament, and tendon. The amino acid that is most helpful for recovery is leucine. Leucine decreases the breakdown of muscle and soft tissue to rebuild it.
Nutrition Goals for Recovery:
Meet calorie needs-- may be increased/decreased based on the severity of injury (i.e. bed bound, wheelchair, or crutches)
Increase protein intake to stimulate muscle repair and maintain muscle mass
Eat a balanced diet that includes a variety of whole foods
Eat anti-inflammatory foods and limit intake of inflammatory foods
Exercise and injury increase inflammation in your body. To combat inflammation, certain foods can be eaten to promote efficient healing.
Anti-Inflammatory Foods:
Fruits
Vegetables
Beans, peas, lentils
Whole grains
Omega-3s
Inflammatory foods:
Foods high in saturated and trans fats
Fast food
Processed meats
The image below lists recommended foods for athletes to eat while healing an injury:
Recovery Foods
While healing an injury, it is important to choose whole foods, high protein, and limit processed food intake. Processed foods can have inflammatory effects on the body and do NOT support healing. It can be beneficial to swap saturated fats with anti-inflammatory fats, like olive oil, fish, avocado, nuts and seeds, and flax.
Here is an example eating schedule for a day:
This eating schedule is not set in stone! Choose the foods you enjoy that meet the nutrient requirements for healing your injury!
Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie
Want a snack that is full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory ingredients? Check out this Anti-Inflammatory Tart Cherry Smoothie. This recipe has only 5 ingredients and is super easy to make with a blender!
What to Remember
Injuries happen and that is OKAY. Eating a balanced diet, adequate protein, and anti-inflammatory foods can help you AVOID and HEAL an injury. Keep in mind that nutrition is not the only method; many factors like correct technique and avoidance of overtraining are crucial preventions. If you are prone to injuries, or nursing one, it can be VERY helpful to reach out to a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN). An RDN can help you create a nutrition plan to keep you happy and healthy in your sport!
Written by: Emma Skornia, KUMC Dietetic Intern
Want to work one on one with a Dietitian to help make sure your nutrition is ideal for injury prevention? Or, are you currently injured and want to make sure your diet is on track with optimal recovery and healing? Work with Maddi or Michele today!
References:
Sports and Recreation-Related Injuries Top 8.6 Million Annually. APTA. Published January 4, 2017. https://www.apta.org/news/2017/01/04/sports-and-recreation-related-injuries-top-8.6-million-annually#:~:text=The%20average%20annual%20injury%20estimate
American Dietetic Association. Sports Nutrition Care Manual. https://www-nutritioncaremanual-org.kumc.idm.oclc.org/client_ed.cfm?ncm_client_ed_id=381. Accessed September 24, 2024.
Brown University. Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) | Health Promotion | Brown University. www.brown.edu. Published 2024. https://www.brown.edu/campus-life/health/services/promotion/nutrition-eating-concerns-sports-nutrition/relative-energy-deficiency-sport-red-s.
Nutrition and the Injured Athlete. NCAA.org. https://www.ncaa.org/sports/2014/1/3/nutrition-and-the-injured-athlete.aspx
National Institutes of Health. Office of Dietary Supplements - Calcium. Nih.gov. Published 2022. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Calcium-HealthProfessional/
Knap Penb Erg Er K. Nutrition for Injury Recovery & Rehabilitation.; 2018. https://www.nata.org/sites/default/files/nutrition-for-injury-recovery-and-rehabilitation.pdf
Ziesmer K. How to Support Recovery of Soft Tissue Injury with Nutrition. TrueSport. Published August 1, 2022. https://truesport.org/nutrition/soft-tissue-recovery-nutrition/
コメント