By Aston Grant-Williams
Why you need to add nutrition to your rehab
Whether you are an athlete, manual labourer or just an office worker, we can always be exposed to the risk of injury. Yes, some people will have a higher likelihood due to their profession but once it happens to us it can inhibit our day-to-day life and put us out of commission for weeks, months or maybe years.
But what if I were to tell you that eating what you eat can help speed up your recovery? No, that does not mean you are allowed to just binge eat and grab a cold one whilst you are recovering, in fact that will do more damage to your body then good. But our research has shown us that a well-adjusted nutrition plan to partner with a rehabilitation plan for injured individuals can do just that, and that is what we will dive into within this blog.
Disclaimer, I would also recommend that if you are going through rehabilitation at the moment, then you should talk with your health professional about your nutrition plan if you haven’t already, as what we will explain will cover the fundamental understanding, but a tailored nutrition plan will best optimize your recovery.
The areas of your nutrition that you need to consider are, Energy balance, macronutrients, hydration & nutrient timing.
Energy balance
Due to the fact that as an injured individual you have lowered or halted all types of physical activity, their energy requirements will also lower and change to both adjust to not being as active and to enhance the recovery process. Being less active means that you don’t need as much energy to go through the day, but having the right types of foods to compensate for this. Increasing protein intake by 2.0 g per kg per day or maybe even higher than that, can be beneficial in preventing fat free mass loss.
Macronutrients
From our research into this topic, and with many studies concluding to this result, the macronutrient consumption is what is most important to support your recovery, in particular your protein consumption and increasing the protein in your diet hill support your body with its repair and recovery. Even excess amounts of protein have been found that metabolically it is harder for it to be converted into fat when there is not an excess of energy intake.
There is evidence that indicates having milk-based protein post resistance training can act positively on your body composition and muscle strength, which is crucial when undergoing rehabilitation. When it comes to consuming carbohydrates, then “complex carbohydrates” like whole grains, peas, and beans are the best option as complex carbohydrates are rich in nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and fiber, which aids the body with repairing during rehabilitation. As for fats, the fats that the body require most are the polyunsaturated fats, within that category of fats are omega-3 fatty acids (fish oils) which for those who are injured, have anti-inflammatory properties which would be very helpful for injury recovery.
Hydration
Staying hydrated is crucial in our daily lives, even more so when our bodies are trying to repair itself, as ingesting water helps transport the nutrients we consume, around the body to help it function. During your recovery period, being hydrated helps to encourage blood flow to the muscles and reduce pain within the injured area. You should also avoid consuming alcohol whilst you are undergoing recovery, as alcohol consumption can impair muscle protein synthesis and wound healing as it can reduce the inflammatory response to injuries.
Nutrient timing
All though your overall nutrition intake is important, timing what you eat throughout the day can support the repair and recovery of your injury, as eating certain foods both before and after your rehabilitation exercises can help to stimulate protein synthesis, reduce muscle damage, enhance recovery, and improve body composition. Regarding what to eat and when, it would be recommended to have more carbohydrates and fats before the rehab, to provide the energy you need to do the exercises, like whole grain toast with avocado and egg. Then to consume more proteins or foods with the micronutrients to help with the repair and recovery from the session, like dairy protein and fruits. And aim to eat no more than an hour past the workout, so that the nutrients can have a full effect with the recovery.
Important to remember
Okay, now I know we have covered over a lot of information, which may or may not be easy for you to digest (haha classic food pun), but below I have listed some of the key information for you to take away.
Protein is vital for your bodies repair
Complex Carbohydrates will supply other nutrients to support recovery
Omega 3 fatty acids will help with anti-inflammation
Staying hydrated will help with blood flow and nutrient transport
Eating the right food before and after therapy sessions aids the recovery process
There is more you can learn
There is so much more for us to understand and discover with regards to the implications of nutrition and rehabilitation. Truly, nutrition has connections with so much of our physical, mental, and psychological needs that many of us do not realise. If you want to learn more detailed information on this topic then you can read up on the references that I used for this post, or you can even seek advice from us here at Kinetic, we have other blogs that might pique your interest like ‘Associations Between sleep and nutrition’.
And remember that even on the road to recovery, it is important to stay healthy
Reference:
S, K, Papadopoulou. Rehabilitation nutrition for injury recovery of athletes: The role of macronutrient intake. Nutrients, 12(8): 2449 (2020). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12082449
Abbie E. Smith-Ryan, Katie R. Hirsch, Hannah E. Saylor, Lacey M. Gould, Malia N. M. Blue; Nutritional Considerations and Strategies to Facilitate Injury Recovery and Rehabilitation. J Athl Train 1 September 2020; 55 (9): 918–930. doi: https://doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-550-19
Comments