Nutrition for Injury Recovery

When tissue damage occurs the body goes through 3 stages:

1st Stage- Inflammation

• Pain, swelling, redness and heat; draws healing chemicals to the injured area.

2nd Stage- Proliferation

• Damaged tissues are removed; new blood supply and temporary tissue is built.

3rd Stage- Remodeling

• Stronger, more permanent tissue replaces temporary tissue.

Nutrition for the Inflammatory Stage

• Eat more anti-inflammatory fats such as olive oil, avocados, fish oil, flax oil or ground flax, fish like mackerel/salmon/sardines, and mixed nuts/seeds.

• Eat fewer pro-inflammatory things such as processed foods, foods high in saturated fats, foods with trans fats, and vegetable oils (like corn, sunflower, safflower, or soybean).

Nutrition for the Proliferation and Remodeling Stages

Energy intake is 1st priority. With each meal:

• Eat adequate protein such as lean meats, legumes, eggs, plant-based proteins, and protein supplements.
• Balance dietary fat: about 1/3 of fat intake from saturated, 1/3 from monounsaturated, and 1/3 from polyunsaturated.
• Eat the rainbow: Include a diverse mix of fruits and vegetables.
• Eat enough carbohydrates: You don’t need as many carbs as when you’re training but enough to support recovery and metabolism. Carbs to eat include whole oats, whole grain rice, sprouted grain breads and quinoa.

Useful supplements:

Supplementing for 2-4 weeks after an injury can help your recovery.

Vitamin A 10,000IU per day

Vitamin C 1g-2g per day

Copper 2-4mg per day

Zinc 15-30mg per day

*ALL information is from Precisionnutrition.com

For more information about Health & Wellness please visit our website at www.SleepyHollowPT.com or call our Hawthorne location (914) 631-6969 and speak to Dr. Chrisitine Stathes, PT who is our Clinical Director at Hawthorne and our Precision Nutrition Certified Coach