Nutrition for the Injured Athlete

If you child suffers a sports injury, nutrition will play an important role in her recovery process. Here are some things you should know.

• No change in diet is necessary when a quick recovery is expected. There is little need to modify food intake when an injury limits activity for less than a week.
  
  

• Long-term recovery may require a reduced diet. If recovery is expected to take longer than a week, your child may need to reduce food intake to meet her lower energy needs.
  
  

• Surgical trauma, fever, or infection requires dietary changes. In these cases, carbohydrate and protein intakes should be increased during the early stages of recovery, because of the additional demand for protein to replace and repair damaged tissues.
  
  

• Protein is important. Protein is also important for immune function. If a slow recovery is expected, the injury might cause significant emotional stress. Fear, anxiety, and anger are all typical reactions to injury. These emotions can increase the secretion of epinephrine (adrenaline) from the adrenal gland. This in turn can cause a series of metabolic changes that result in increased loss of nitrogen (protein) through the urine.
  
  

• Avoid a too-restrictive diet. Fear of weight gain during recovery can lead to excessive food restriction and unnecessary weight loss. Consuming a very low-calorie diet can lead to fatigue, inadequate intake of important nutrients, which will delay the healing process.
  
  

• Psychological support is important. An injury can be particularly distressing for the eating-disordered athlete. In general, the importance of psychological support for injured athletes varies depending on injury severity, length of recovery, and the extent to which they define themselves in relation to their sport.
  
  

• Watch out for food cravings. On the other hand, anxiety about the injury might lead to increased food cravings and reliance on food as comfort. More free time and less structure in the daily routine can lead to boredom and increased opportunities to eat. Some injured athletes simply do not adjust their energy needs and continue to follow their typical training diet, the result being unwanted weight gain.

With the help of a sport nutritionist, the injured athlete should revise nutrition goals to:

• Reduce overall calorie intake to meet lowered energy requirements.
  
  

• Focus on nutrient-dense foods that provide important micronutrients
  
  

• Maintain adequate protein intake (.5 gram per pound of body weight)
  
  

• Adjust fluid intake to account for reduced physical activity
  
  

• Keep a food log to monitor eating patterns and dietary intake
  
  

• Adopt strategies to avoid emotional overeating
  
  

• Evaluate changes in weight and body composition during rehabilitation

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