Making friends for life. Learning the importance of teamwork. Promoting a healthy lifestyle. These are just some of the many benefits of being involved in sports. However, sport does bring with it some risks. Regardless of what sport you play, chances are you will pick up some sort of injury at some point in your career. If and when an injury does occur, do you know when to use ice and when to use heat? Also, did you know that there are certain nutritional strategies you can use to assist with injury recovery? How you deal with your injury will greatly influence how quickly you recover and return to playing your respective sport. While there are many areas of the body that can be injured when playing sports, there are two basic types of injuries:
- Acute – Sudden, sharp, traumatic injuries, that occur immediately and cause pain and in some cases severe pain
- Chronic – Slow, subtle, take time to develop, and can come and go regularly
The acute phase of an injury usually lasts between 48-72 hours. It is important to keep in mind that inflammation is a key component of the healing process. As a result, taking excessive measures to decrease inflammation after an injury can actually slow down the repair process. It is important to make sure that the inflammation does not get worse as this can also slow down the healing process. Also, controlling inflammation in its early stages is crucial to reducing pain, which can cause biomechanical compensations and lead to a secondary injury. The handling of a chronic injury differs slightly from that of an acute injury. Chronic injuries generally do not have the inflammation or swelling that is seen in an acute injury.
Regardless of the type of injury sustained, nutritional intervention can also help accelerate the healing process. The following are examples of some modifications and additions you can make to your daily food intake that may speed up your return from injury:
- Increase omega 3 fats from sources such as a fish oil supplement, olive oil, avocado, and mixed nuts
- Turmeric/curry powder
- Garlic
- Pineapple
- Bromelain
- Boswellia
- Flavonoids from cocoa, tea, red wine, fruits, vegetables, and legumes
One final but important aspect to mention regarding injury recovery is the amount of calories you take in on a daily basis. The tendency is to eat less due to the fact that you are doing less due to the injury. However, this can impede the recovery process because the body will not get the amount of fuel it needs to heal properly. When injured your basal metabolic rate can increase 15-20%. Therefore, you need to adjust your daily food intake accordingly.
Please keep in mind that there is a wide range of injuries that occur as a result of playing sports and there are different medical needs required by each individual. Therefore, please speak with your doctor about what course of action is suitable and safe for you before undertaking any of the aforementioned strategies.
Chris Kendrick's Blog 