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. You might also want to limit or avoid alcohol because it is high in calories and can slow down the healing process.

Instead, fill up on nutrient-rich whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and complex carbohydrates. Even if you choose to have an occasional treat, just be sure to keep your portion sizes in check.

In addition to physical rehabilitation and mental fitness , nutrition is an important part of a holistic approach to recovery from injury or surgery. Add to Favorites. You are what you eat - so, when the body is recovering from an injury, what nutrients does it need to be healthy again?

National Nutrition Month® is a campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, focusing on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. Whether it be wound care, post-injury healing or everyday soreness from exercise, here are some evidence-based perspectives to help you guide your athletes, your patients or yourself through the landscape of nutritional choices throughout the healing process.

While you might not view wound care as an energy-draining process, the body actually demands an increased amount of energy so the wound can heal correctly. While the nutritional needs of patients will vary based on age, comorbidities, body weight, activity level, stage of the healing process and the severity, size and number of wounds, experts recommend caloric intake start at kcal per kg of body weight.

These experts also recommend focusing on the correct micro and macronutrients that are critical to maintain appropriate levels of energy to support the entire healing process.

Carbohydrates: In the proliferative phase of wound healing, carbohydrates stimulate insulin production, which is helpful in the anabolic processes. Fats: Substantial fat consumption supplies additional energy to the wound healing process, as well as structural functions during tissue growth.

One key role of protein is the maintenance of oncotic pressure, particularly in venous insufficiency wounds, where excess extraluminal pressure due to peripheral edema will exacerbate wound formation and slow wound healing.

Fluids: Fluid maintains skin turgor and promotes tissue perfusion and oxygenation during the wound healing process. The goal for fluid intake in patients with wounds is approximately 1 ml per kcal each day. Arginine: The amino acid arginine plays a diverse role in wound healing.

Arginine supplementation was observed to increase collagen deposition in wounds. Glutamine: Glutamine, another amino acid, decreases infectious complications and protects against inflammatory injury by inducing the expression of heat shock proteins. Additionally, glutamine appears to have a role in leukocyte apoptosis, superoxide production, antigen processing, and phagocytosis, all with implications on the inflammatory phase of wound healing.

Vitamine A: Vitamin A assists in wound closure. Topically-applied vitamin A has been used to stimulate epithelial growth, fibroblasts, and ground substance.

Vitamin C: Vitamin C is believed to influence collagen formation, immunomodulation and antioxidant functions during wound healing. Vitamin D: Vitamin D induces the antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin to promote healing.

Zinc: More than zinc-containing enzymes, including superoxide dismutase, are involved in wound healing. 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. These nutrients reduce inflammation and promote faster recovery [8].

Dehydration increases your risk of injury—from more minimal muscle strains to serious ligament and muscle tears [9]. Proper hydration helps maintain the elasticity and health of connective tissues, boosts your immune system, and helps with inflammatory regulation [10].

Hydration needs vary drastically from one person to another based on height, weight, age, activity level, and even location people at higher altitudes or in dryer, hotter locations generally need more water.

So for most, we recommend judging hydration needs based on fluid loss during exercise and urine color. As for electrolyte intake, replacing sodium, chloride, potassium, magnesium, and calcium lost through sweat will help maintain fluid balance and muscle contraction—all of which aid in injury prevention.

Opting for salty foods is a great way to get in sodium post-exercise. The foods you eat directly impact your ability to mitigate injury or recover from injury when and if it occurs. Exact nutrient needs vary significantly from person to person and injury to injury.

But, with proper nutrition, you can mitigate risk and increase the recovery rate when and if they happen. For a daily digest of all things CrossFit. Community, Competitions, Athletes, Tips, Recipes, Deals and more.

Morning Chalk Up Search for:. Search for:. Sign In Become a Member. Morning Chalk Up CrossFit Games Season Schedule Leaderboards Community Videos More… Lifestyle Workouts Good Industry Profiles News Education.

November 13, by Ali Macy, Working Against Gravity. In Partnership With:. Enjoying Morning Chalk Up?

It is quite rare to find an athlete who has not been injured. Healing processes Three healing processes occur after an injury: Inflammation occurs immediately and continues up to five days post-injury.

Proliferation occurs at five days through three weeks post-injury. During this phase, there is a tissue rebuilding and repairing process. Maturation occurs from three weeks to two years post-injury depending on severity of injury.

During this phase of recovery, considerable remodeling occurs to build a stronger tissue structure. Based on these healing processes, we can divide nutrition recommendations into two phases: Injury and immobilization, or inflammation and proliferation of healing.

Most of the muscle loss occurs during this phase. Rehabilitation, or maturation of healing. Exercise is re-introduced in the form of therapy, and athletes are advanced to full practice when they are cleared by trained medical staff.

When using crutches, energy expenditure can be two to three times higher compared to normal walking. Sometimes a small weight gain is beneficial because, without enough calories, muscle growth is limited and muscle loss can be greater. Protein: During the immobilization phase there is a tendency to lose muscle mass, which then causes an athlete to lose strength.

Protein helps athletes to build and repair muscle; therefore, the need for protein is higher. The precise number of grams needed each day is very individual. However, following an injury that limits activity, carbohydrate intake can be slightly lowered to prevent excessive weight gain.

Sports beverages, gels, sodas and concentrated sweets are highly discouraged during this time. Fat: Fats are essential for healing, and the type of fat is critical.

Omega 3s found mainly in fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel or tuna help to increase muscle protein synthesis muscle building , as well as play a role with recovery and decreasing inflammation. Vitamins and minerals during immobilization Vitamin C: Assists with wound healing, tissue repair and optimal immune function.

Foods rich in vitamin C include: citrus fruit, strawberries, red bell peppers, watermelon, etc. Vitamin A: Assists with cell growth and development, as well as immune function. Examples of foods rich in vitamin A include sweet potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, papaya — orange and red fruits and vegetables.

Zinc: Assists with wound healing, protein synthesis and immune function. Good choices of foods for getting enough zinc include: beef, almonds, seeds such as sunflower, flax and pumpkin seeds and seafood.

Vitamin D: Important for bone health and immune function. Vitamin D is the sun vitamin. Get five to 30 minutes of sun exposure between 10 a. and 3 p. It can be found in dairy products, fatty fish or fortified foods. Fluids: Proper hydration supports the delivery of nutrients to all organs and tissues.

Moreover, it helps support joints and soft tissues. If what to do with your calorie intake while injured is not of interest to you, then I encourage skipping down to the sections where I discuss other strategies.

The first temptation a lot of athletes have when they get injured is to cut calories significantly. Often you feel as though because you cannot make progress in other areas, shifting that focus towards fat loss can be another outlet for progress.

While I understand where this thought process comes from, I would argue that most of the recovery process should be spent consuming enough calories to maintain your weight.

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.

I would not be surprised if more research came out showing it does not matter. I also heard the main author of that study on a podcast say an interesting line. A nuanced approach could involve taking fish oil leading up to and post-surgery if you have a serious injury and a surgery date planned though.

Collagen and gelatin supplementation have emerging research indicating they can help with recovery from musculoskeletal injuries. The mechanism that I propose involves the collagen peptides breaking down into amino acids, as mentioned.

But either way, collagen protein has a very different amino acid profile to other protein sources. It is a lot higher in proline, glycine, lysine and arginine than most other protein sources.

We have evidence that these amino acids peak in the blood ~ minutes after consumption. Theoretically, we can target the injured area by getting blood flow to the area with training.

Even without that, some of the research looks promising anyway. There is also evidence of an increase in collagen synthesis in the body following supplementation and a targeted exercise protocol too.

In terms of the evidence, while the evidence is mixed, all the research fitting the following criteria has shown positive outcomes:. There also is not a lot of quality research on the topic. At the moment, my interpretation of the research is that it helps. But I am watching the space closely to see if anything comes along to change my mind.

One of the most promising studies, in particular, involved a patellar tendinopathy case study. The MRI footage showed complete healing of the patellar tendon, which is exceptionally rare.

Often with tendinopathy that severe, MRI footage still shows a damaged area long after the pain has gone. Dosage and How to Take: g of collagen or gelatin, minutes prior to training.

If you have not consumed any vitamin C for the day, it makes sense to add that too. Vitamin C is required for collagen synthesis. At a population level, supplementing those things, without further context e. dietary intake and blood levels leads to increased bone mineral density.

What can help an athlete to heal faster and get back in the game sooner? Nutrition is vital during the post-injury and rehabilitation period. The right diet, in concert with proper therapy and an appropriate retraining regimen, can get you back in the game stronger and faster.

The emphasis in this phase should be on getting enough energy and protein, as well as healthy fats and plenty of vegetables and fruits. Food can assist athletes in healing faster, but it also can interfere with healing optimally.

Especially during the post-injury healing and rehabilitation period, athletes should avoid:. Remember, the right nutrition helps to hasten post-injury recovery to get athletes back into the game sooner and healthier.

See your sport dietitian to help you recover better. Posted In Basketball , Healthy Living , Nutrition , Sports Medicine. Written by SHN Staff. November 9, It is quite rare to find an athlete who has not been injured.

Healing processes Three healing processes occur after an injury: Inflammation occurs immediately and continues up to five days post-injury. Proliferation occurs at five days through three weeks post-injury. During this phase, there is a tissue rebuilding and repairing process.

Maturation occurs from three weeks to two years post-injury depending on severity of injury. During this phase of recovery, considerable remodeling occurs to build a stronger tissue structure. Based on these healing processes, we can divide nutrition recommendations into two phases: Injury and immobilization, or inflammation and proliferation of healing.

Most of the muscle loss occurs during this phase. Rehabilitation, or maturation of healing. Exercise is re-introduced in the form of therapy, and athletes are advanced to full practice when they are cleared by trained medical staff. 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.

Nutrition Guidance for Wound Care While you might not view wound care as an energy-draining process, the body actually demands an increased amount of energy so the wound can heal correctly. Macronutrients to Monitor During Wound Care Carbohydrates: In the proliferative phase of wound healing, carbohydrates stimulate insulin production, which is helpful in the anabolic processes.

Here are some of her top tips:2 Post-Injury Nutritional Tips Trauma or surgery may require up to 20 percent more calories, and crutching requires two to three times more energy than walking.

If your athlete or patient is dealing with post-op nausea, recommend bland foods like bananas, rice, applesauce and toast, as well as smaller and more frequent meals with nutrient-dense liquids like smoothies.

Constipation can also occur after surgery, in which case you can recommend increasing fluid and fiber intake. If antibiotics are prescribed, include prebiotic and probiotic-rich foods to restore the beneficial bacteria involved in digestive and immune health that antibiotics can remove.

Prebiotic options include jicama, onion, garlic, asparagus, oats, wheat, barley and mushrooms. Probiotic options include yogurt, kombucha, sauerkraut, miso soup and kimchi. Increase protein intake alongside the amino acid leucine to maintain anabolic function during the immobilization phase.

Leucine rich foods include cheese, meat, fish, nuts and seeds and tempeh. For best results, consume 20 to 35 grams of leucine-rich protein every three hours during the day and before bed. Control inflammation by swapping pro-inflammatory fats like fried and greasy foods, processed meats and vegetable oils with anti-inflammatory fats found in olive oil, avocado, fish, flax, nuts and seeds.

Antioxidant-rich fruits like goji berries, blueberries, tart cherries, elderberries and pineapple can also help control inflammation, and speed up healing. While the athlete or patient may want to reduce carbohydrate intake to control body weight, whole grains provide many nutrients that fuel and support rehabilitation and healing.

A board-certified specialist in sports dietetics CSSD can give individualized nutrition recommendations so the patient feels confident in his or her recovery plan.

Excessive alcohol intake can exacerbate muscle loss during immobilization, impair muscle building and contribute to inflammation.

Make sure the athlete or patient is responsibly monitoring his or her alcohol intake. Consider injury specific nutrition interventions that come with concussions, bone injuries, tendon and ligament injuries and orofacial injuries.

Read the full article for these specific nutritional recommendations. Caffeine can block adenosine receptors, which may reduce DOMS by deactivating the central nervous system. Main sources of caffeine include coffee, tea and chocolate3 Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Omega-3 fatty acids containing eicosanoids such as eicosapentaenoic acid EPA and docosahexaenoic acid DHA.

Therefore, it is assumed that intake of omega-3 fatty acid results in anti-inflammatory response to exercise which may reduce DOMS.

Several studies recently demonstrated the effect of taurine on DOMS, although the exact mechanism is not known. The foods, vitamins, and minerals you need to add to your diet will depend on your exact needs.

Before adding any supplements, it is important you speak with a dietitian to get specific dietary advice. The diet choices you make can positively or negatively affect injury prevention and rehabilitation.

Why are anti inflammatory foods so important? Because chronic pain is often caused by inflammation. Your diet can play a major factor in fighting this inflammation. Adding anti-inflammatory foods to your diet can help deal with chronic pain. When you add foods that reduce inflammation, you can reduce your pain and make it more manageable.

You will not have to continually reach for anti-inflammatory medication. Foods can be your most powerful tool for fighting inflammation and pain. But you should not just add as many foods as you can to your diet.

Instead, you need to choose the right foods. Choosing the wrong foods can make your pain worse and accelerate the disease. Along with lowering inflammation and helping with pain management, your diet can affect your emotional and physical health.

So, eating a healthy diet is not only beneficial for preventing and treating injuries, but it can also improve your attitude and quality of life. There are healthy foods that can help your body heal.

And there are foods that can negatively affect your health. If you choose the wrong foods, you can make your pain and inflammation worse. Some of these foods include fried foods, sugar, margarine, red meats, processed meats and refined carbohydrates.

Certain ingredients can affect responses like inflammation, promote tissue regeneration, and reduce muscular atrophy, among other things. These healing foods can help you make a faster recovery, but you also need to work with a qualified orthopedic specialist to identify the best approach for your specific injury.

All athletes are different, so you need to ensure that the meal plan you choose will address the specific trauma you suffered. Although you should definitely work with a qualified physician, you can always start by learning about the properties that each ingredient has.

Muscle and soft tissue injuries can range from sprains to torn ligaments and ruptured tendons. These soft, connective tissues are made up of collagen , elastin , and other organic components.

Eating the right foods can promote the production of these natural compounds, which in turn can affect regeneration time. Any athlete researching nutrition for injury and recovery will come across protein-rich foods. Proteins are a type of nutrient that your body uses to build soft tissue, but they also help control inflammation response.

Because injured parts are usually immobilized, having a protein-rich diet can help reduce muscle loss and give you the nutrients you need to repair the damage. Essential fatty acids play a key role in the regulation of inflammation. Keep in mind that swelling is normal because it helps our body identify the area that needs to be repaired.

That said, prolonged inflammation can also slow down your recovery. In these cases, eating foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids can help reduce excessive swelling. At the same time, avoiding ingredients that have high omega-6 fatty acids may help lower the chances of long-term inflammation even more.

Vitamin C plays a huge role in your recovery as it can help keep your skin, bones, and soft tissues in good condition. It also has antioxidant properties, which can reduce the negative effects that free radicals and other pollutants have on your body. Finally, vitamin C also shows anti-inflammatory properties, making it an ideal booster for patients recovering from a bad trauma.

Many people think about injury recovery and immediately imagine physical therapy sessions and rehabilitation routines. The types of food we eat while healing can impact our recovery time frame, change our mood, and fuel the body for recovery. Food should be viewed as a power source like a car needing proper fuel to run at its optimal level, and so should our bodies.

Good nutrition for injury recovery is essential for achieving a speedy recovery. Plenty of different foods can help you recover from an injury, and these are some of the most beneficial.

When you are injured, it will trigger several responses, including an overall inflammation of the body. This happens as your body releases damaged cells, which stimulates an inflammatory immune response.

This is a natural process, but if your body remains in a state of inflammation, it will seriously thwart your ability to heal. Anti-inflammatory foods are one of the essential components of an injury recovery diet. Some great foods to choose for this purpose include:. In addition to these foods, you can enjoy drinks such as green tea and cook with extra virgin olive oil for an additional dose of anti-inflammatory power.

Integrating turmeric supplements into your diet can also have an anti-inflammatory effect. Protein contains essential amino acids that are important to preventing muscle atrophy and sustaining your energy levels.

Luckily, there are plenty of foods that offer an abundance of protein to help you fuel your recovery:. Combining lean protein, fresh fruits and vegetables, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats will properly fuel a healing body.

Lean protein assists in rebuilding muscle, is more beneficial for your heart, and gives you the energy you need to heal. First, smoothies are an optimal option for alleviating constipation and nausea that often follow surgery. Additionally, they can serve as a nutritional powerhouse, making it easy to pack the prebiotics and probiotics you may need.

The Journal of Nutrition. Joyce D. Sports Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation. Routledge; New York, NY, USA: Jeromson S, Gallagher IJ, Galloway SD, Hamilton DL.

Omega-3 fatty acids and skeletal muscle health. Mar Drugs. Published Nov Musumeci G. Post-traumatic caspase-3 expression in the adjacent areas of growth plate injury site: A morphological study. Koundourakis N. Muscular effects of vitamin D in young athletes and non-athletes and in the elderly.

Todd J. Vitamin D: Recent advances and implications for athletes. Sport Med. Moores J. Vitamin C: a wound healing perspective. Br J Community Nurs. DePhillipo NN, Aman ZS, Kennedy MI, Begley JP, Moatshe G, LaPrade RF. Efficacy of Vitamin C Supplementation on Collagen Synthesis and Oxidative Stress After Musculoskeletal Injuries: A Systematic Review.

Orthop J Sports Med. Published Oct Goolsby MA, Boniquit N. Bone health in athletes. Sports Health. Warden SJ, Davis IS, Fredericson M. Management and prevention of bone stress injuries in long-distance runners.

J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. Chu A, Holdaway C, Varma T, Petocz P, Samman S. Lower serum zinc concentration despite higher dietary zinc intake in athletes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

van Dronkelaar C, van Velzen A, Abdelrazek M, van der Steen A, Weijs PJM, Tieland M. Minerals and sarcopenia; the role of calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sodium, and zinc on muscle mass, muscle strength, and physical performance in older adults: A systematic review.

J Am Med Dir Assoc. Volpe SL. Magnesium and the athlete. Curr Sports Med Rep. Yang DF, Shen YL, Wu C, et al. Sleep deprivation reduces the recovery of muscle injury induced by high-intensity exercise in a mouse model.

Life Sci. Mohammed WA, Pappous A, Sharma D. Effect of mindfulness based stress reduction MBSR in increasing pain tolerance and improving the mental health of injured athletes. Front Psychol. Published May By Rebecca Jaspan, MPH, RD Rebecca Jaspan is a registered dietitian specializing in anorexia, binge eating disorder, and bulimia, as well as disordered eating and orthorexia.

Use limited data to select advertising. Create profiles for personalised advertising. Use profiles to select personalised advertising. Create profiles to personalise content.

Use profiles to select personalised content. Measure advertising performance. Measure content performance. Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources.

Develop and improve services. Use limited data to select content. List of Partners vendors. Sports Nutrition. By Rebecca Jaspan is a registered dietitian specializing in anorexia, binge eating disorder, and bulimia, as well as disordered eating and orthorexia.

Rebecca Jaspan, MPH, RD. Learn about our editorial process. Learn more. Medical Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research.

Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Medically reviewed by Barbie Cervoni MS, RD, CDCES, CDN. Learn about our Medical Review Board.

Table of Contents View All. Table of Contents. What to Know About Injuries. How Food Helps Recovery. What Foods to Choose. Other Considerations. Frequently Asked Questions. Sports Injury First Aid Treatment. Most Common Sports Injuries Sprain : A sprain is an overstretching or tearing of ligaments or tissues that connect two bones together at a joint.

They most commonly occur at the ankle when you accidentally twist your ankle in an awkward motion. Strain : A strain is an overstretching or tearing of muscles or tendons—the thick fibrous cords of tissue that connect bone to muscle.

A pulled muscle is one type of strain. Stress fracture : Stress fractures are tiny cracks in bone that are caused by repetitive force, often due to overuse. They are commonly seen in weight-bearing bones such as the lower legs and feet. Broken bone : A broken bone is a complete or partial break in the bone caused by trauma, overuse, or diseases of weakened bone.