Injury and Nutrition.
As athletes, it’s almost a guarantee that somewhere along the line you have had an injury. Big or small, it’s happened. While there are many physical steps we can take to help nurse our bodies back to health, there are also some nutritional aspects we can focus on to help us come back strong and ready to work. I currently am dealing with a tibial stress fracture, patella tendonitis in my knee, a torn labrum in my hip, and a lower back injury that continues to flare up. I go to physical therapy twice a week, I haven’t run in three months, and I’m getting inpatient. However, I know with time they will continue to heal and I will be back to racing before I know it. So, as frustrating as it may be, I have decided to really hone in on my nutrition to be the best that I can, so when I can return to my normally scheduled workouts, my body is a as ready as it can be.
Sample lunch! Lots of different greens, chicken for protein, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, broccoli, and a few black beans. Nothing fancy and used a lot of leftovers, but so delicious! Lunch isn’t always a salad, it just was this day,
Energy Balance- this is something I struggled with for the first couple of weeks once I was sidelined from my running routine. I was used to consuming enough energy (calories) for my high output lifestyle, so when my output was drastically decreased, it took me a little bit to adjust my intake, and even now I still struggle with it at times. Now, let me be clear, this does not at all mean that I am starving my body to make up for the lack of physical exercise or making myself follow a strict diet that prohibits me from having my favorite foods. Rather, it means I am re-learning how to listen to my body and it’s cues to ensure I am getting enough of the right nutrients to help my body feel strong, keep me energized to accomplish what I need to throughout the day, and maintain my body weight. This might mean taking a smaller scoop of potatoes at dinner and increasing the vegetables, and protein…things to that effect. The fact of the matter is I am moving less, I’m not burning as many calories, therefore I don’t need to eat quite as much as I did prior.
Fruits, Vegetables, and Vitamin C- I always try and have a high intake of fruits and vegetables in my body as they provide all different kinds of vitamins and minerals, which our body needs. With my injuries, this is even more important. Vitamin C is of specific interest due to its role in collagen development (and tendons are made of collagen). There is still much to be learned about the mechanism and if Vitamin C intake does directly effect collagen development in tendons, but early studies suggest there is a correlation, especially when taken about an hour before any exercise is performed. Many fruits and vegetables also have high anti-inflammatory properties, yet another reason they are extra helpful in injury recovery. In addition to providing good micronutrients, vegetables in particular help with my energy balance. They’re full of fiber so they help satiate my hunger without providing excessive calories.
Protein- With my major injuries being tendons and soft tissue, protein is going to be key. Protein helps to rebuild that tissue as well as help to maintain muscle/prevent loss. While some changes are bound to happen, adequate protein can minimize the effects and speed up my recovery. An amino acid called leucine is particularly important due to its role in muscle protein synthesis (building muscle). What does this look like? Some sort of protein at all meals and snacks. I try to mix up my protein sources to get a variety of different amino acids, and fortunately my most favorite proteins- chicken, eggs, and fish - all have decent leucine content so I’m covered there as well.
It may sound simple, but as we all know, coming back from an injury is hard. As I always say, it doesn’t have to be perfect. There will be peaks and valleys not only nutritionally, but physically and mentally as well, and you can bet that there will be times where a cookie will do more healing than a carrot. This is normal.
Being injured sucks, but there are some things we can do to try and help aid our recovery and get us ready to start training again, when our body allows.
Keep fighting!
-Brooke