Injuries are an unfortunate part of sport, and they often strike when we least expect it—whether from a sudden change in training, ramping up too fast, or simply bad luck. When athletes are sidelined, nutrition becomes a powerful tool to support recovery, reduce downtime, and help prevent further setbacks. So what are some things you should consider when returning to sport from injury?
Acute Phase
The acute phase of injury nutrition is the window after which an injury occurs to when you begin to mobilise the area. While doctors, physiotherapists and surgeons typically dominate this time, they aren’t the only pieces in the large rehabilitation puzzle.
Nutrition can play a critical role in this phase, and it’s not for the reasons you would expect. The acute phase is going to be a period marked by disappointment, pain and anxiety. It is common for athletes, who are experiencing a sudden lack of control, to resort to different coping strategies. It’s not uncommon to turn to coping strategies like emotional eating, restrictive behaviours, or binge eating during this time. Spotting these patterns early is key to managing them and staying on track with recovery. If you notice the signs, reach out to a trusted coach, a loved one, or our performance team for support.
Another nutritional priority in this phase is to support the inflammatory response and kick start the healing process. Some critical nutrients to consider are:
Energy: You may feel that you need to restrict your total energy intake due to a substantial drop in your training load. However, your energy expenditure won’t be as affected as you previously thought. In fact it can sometimes increase acutely depending on the extent of the injury as the body begins the healing process.
Carbohydrate: It’s still important to include, just in smaller amounts. Since your muscles aren’t being pushed as hard without regular training, their energy needs are a little lower for now.
Protein: This is one of the key nutrients associated with improving outcomes from injury. With your training sessions now restricted, your body isn’t receiving the same signals to adapt and remodel tissue as it did before. However, consuming adequate protein can independently activate those signals, provided it’s in high enough quantities. The general recommendation for protein intake during the acute phase of injury is > 2g per kg of body weight per day. For example, if you weigh 70kg, aim for over 140g of protein daily. While the total amount is most important to hit, it’s often beneficial to consume this across 5-6 high-protein meals or snacks throughout the day (to accommodate for satiety, making it easier to reach your target).
Leucine: Leucine is part of the Branched Chain Amino Acid (BCAA) family and can work as a trigger for muscle protein synthesis. One of the best sources of Leucine is dairy products!
Fish oil: In combination with protein and Leucine, high doses of fish oil can assist with muscle protein synthesis, particularly in injuries that require prolonged immobilisation (e.g. ligament ruptures or bone fractures)
Creatine: Creatine is one of the most heavily studied supplements and has been shown to preserve muscle, improve recovery and increase muscle mass.
Vitamin D: This vitamin is heavily involved in bone health and muscle regeneration. However supplementation is only recommended if you have a confirmed deficiency through a blood test.
Functional Recovery Phase
The functional recovery phase of injury nutrition begins when the injured area has healed enough to begin returning to some light activity and loading. The aim of this phase is to progress back to the strength, function and performance prior to the injury.
During this phase motivation may ebb and flow as you progress through the natural successes and setbacks of your rehab program. Even in this phase there is still the need to be aware of your thoughts, feeling and emotions as disordered eating may still be a very real concern.
Collagen: Collagen works really well in injuries that involve tendons (connecting muscle to bone) or ligaments (connections from bone to bone). These areas are rich with connective tissue that requires the amino acids found in collagen to develop strong and resilient structure. Tendons and ligaments are more like sponges – that is, they won’t necessarily store amino acids (such as in muscle) but will soak them up if there is an increased need for them. When training, these structures are placed under a lot of stress which quite quickly increases their need for amino acids. Therefore it’s important to time your collagen use to 30 minutes prior to a rehab training session. By doing so you are ensuring that amino acids levels peak by the time there is an increased need for them so that the injured site can repair the damaged tissue.
Vitamin C: Vitamin C isn’t a supplement we would typically recommend for chronic use. However, collagen can’t really do its thing unless vitamin C is also present in the system.
Energy, Carbohydrate, Protein and Electrolytes: There are still really important nutrients as they will reduce the risk of re-injury due to fatigue, increase adaptation and improve recovery. You also want to ensure that you’re scaling your energy intake according to your training load. As training ramps up, the amount of carbohydrate (and therefore the amount of energy) should also ramp up with it.
Alcohol: Well it’s no secret, but alcohol should be avoided across your rehabilitation process. This isn’t only because of its dramatic effect on muscle protein synthesis but also because of the psychological impacts. Alcohol may dampen your psychological coping strategies and emotional resilience, both of which can result in suboptimal coping strategies such as disordered eating. Additionally, alcohol may impact body composition due to its high caloric value while also displacing some of the key nutrients from other foods.
While we know these considerations are important, each situation and each injury is extremely different and requires unique attention. You can talk to us about your injury in a judgement-free zone through our socials or if you have any questions on how to access 1:1 support
Prefer listening over reading? We have launched a podcast episode on this topic, so subscribe for the latest announcements. There is plenty of nutritional advice on the Compeat Waffle which you can enjoy whilst working out, doing the dishes, or falling asleep. We don’t mind!
