Diet and Physical Therapy

Jan 15

Inflammation is a necessary phase when healing an injury.

Diet plays an important role in recovery after an injury. Yet, most physical therapy patients focus more on regaining strength and flexibility to resume normal functioning. They fail to plan their diet, potentially slowing down their healing.

Let's discuss how diet helps in physical therapy recovery:

Reduce Inflammation Levels

Inflammation is a necessary phase when healing an injury. First, it helps to remove harmful agents, such as bacteria, which can cause infection in the wound. Secondly, it starts healing by stimulating the body to release cell repair and regeneration hormones.

However, excessive inflammation is harmful because it can block blood flow to the healthy tissues surrounding the injured area and cause damage to them. In this phase, dietary fats, especially omega-3 fats, are essential. They increase the activity of immune cells while managing inflammation.

Since the body doesn't make omega-3 fats, patients get them by eating avocados, pecans, almonds, fish, and olive oil. Vegetables and fruits are also helpful in managing inflammation because they're rich in antioxidants, which reduce inflammation.

Prevent Muscle Wasting

The muscles will be inactive when a patient is recovering from injury. As a result, they begin wasting away. Worse still, the injury reduces the muscle's ability to synthesize new proteins, which makes muscle recovery even more challenging.

Fortunately, patients can prevent muscle loss by increasing protein intake. Patients should consume protein every three to four hours to make the process more effective. Doing this will keep muscle synthesis elevated throughout the day. However, the focus should be on proteins that take less time to digest, such as whey.

Boost the Amount of Calories in the Body

When the body is injured, it burns more calories than usual to speed up healing. The body requires more calories than those needed during muscle growth. So, patients need to eat frequently to increase the body's calories.

However, some patients who had an active life before the injury tend to reduce food intake to prevent weight gain. This does more harm than good. For instance, it causes muscle loss and prolongs healing because the body weakens.

Supply the Body with Micronutrients

The body requires small micronutrients in food for various processes, such as wound healing. These micronutrients include vitamins and minerals such as vitamins C and D, iron, potassium, magnesium, and zinc.

Each nutrient plays a critical role. For instance, vitamin C in citrus fruits helps build strong muscles. Iron from fish, red meat, and leafy greens carry oxygen to the injured part and the rest of the body. Zinc found in meat, nuts, and whole grains boosts the immune function and expedites wound healing.