Nutrinews

S P O R T S N U T R I T I O N
Nutrition
considerations
for injury
prevention and
recovery
among athletes
B Y A N D R E A B U T L E R
Nutrition considerations for injury prevention and
recovery among athletes It should go without saying that
participating in sports, either competitively or
recreationally, coincides with a high risk of an injury.1
Regardless of severity, injuries usually result in the athlete
being removed from participation.2 In combat sports,
athletes complete repetitive movements such as striking,
punching, and blocking.1 Recreational and some
competitive sports require athletes to increase their
muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility in efforts to
perform quick motions and react to the environment.
Therefore, injuries may follow during the training
period as athletes work towards a specific performance
goal. The most frequently injured body regions are the
head, neck, and upper and lower limbs, followed by
common tissue type injuries, ligaments, and joint
capsules. Nutrition plays a significant role in injury
prevention and enhancing the recovery process to
improve tissue healing. In addition, nutrition works to
prevent muscle loss and anabolic resistance to perfect the
physical well-being of an athlete.1 Specifically, this article
will examine the causative measures of injuries for aquatic
sports, such as water polo and windsurfing to increase
safety management.
Specifically, this article will examine the causative
measures of injuries for aquatic sports, such as water
polo and windsurfing to increase safety management.In
addition, discuss nutrition considerations for
preventing and healing injuries relating to both aquatic
sports and the art of ballet. To begin with, there has
been little to no examination in solving the issue of
injuries in water polo matches.3 According to De
Castro-Maqueda and Amar-Cantos, some systematic
reviews have provided insufficient data in preventing
injuries in water polo matches because very little
research has been done to assess the player’s perception
of what causes these injuries.
Therefore, the two researchers conducted a
quantitative research design sending out 487 individual
online questionnaires to local and professional water
polo players across Europe. 202 participants were
women, and 285 participants were men ages 18-45.
About 98% of the participants competed on a local
level while 7% of the participants were considered
international champions. This study aimed to discover
risk factors, common forms of injury, equipment use,
and the player’s perception on current injury
nomadic | 24
prevention programs. 17