There are many reasons and factors that affect a person’s ability to heal and recover from an injury, illness or surgery. One of the most common reasons is poor nutrition. The healing tissue along with the body may not be receiving proper base components to actually heal. Poor nutrition can negatively impact how one heals from an injury or illness. Consuming the right foods can provide the proper nutrients for your body to fully heal and recover from an injury, illness or surgery. If you truly want to take all of the steps possible to improve your chance of recovery, then addressing nutritional needs and food quality is a must!
There are two basic reasons why nutrients are not getting to the injured area. There is either a nutrient delivery problem (which includes proper intake) or there is a nutrient absorption problem. This may be affecting your ability to physically recover from injury, illness or surgery.
Whether it’s a delivery or absorption problem, the injured area or tissue isn’t getting adequate nutrition or growth factors to the actual tissue in need. Both nutrient delivery and absorption need to be addressed by reducing or eliminating as many risk factors for each as you can.
Nutrient Delivery
The logistics of delivery can be impacted by many variables and often, more than one.
Here are some risk factors that can affect nutrient delivery:
Poor blood supply due to a global delivery issue (such as cardiovascular or peripheral vascular disease).
Pulmonary disease.
Hormonal related issues.
Local blood supply is compromised due to injury or physical barriers.
There could be compromise of the lymphatic system due to injury, surgery or disease (such as cancer). Nutrient delivery and waste disposal are not isolated to just the blood supply.
Lack of adequate movement. The body has many means of nutrient and waste removal. Adequate and frequent movement is one way that the body helps to deliver nutrients and remove waste from the body.
Medical conditions (such as diabetes) and generally poor health that affects nutrient delivery or the healing response.
Smoking or vaping.
Poor dietary choices (such as poor food quality or not consuming the proper foods that may impact healing).
Inadequte hydration. The human body is primarily made of water which is critical for all body functions. Adequate water intake is critical to avoid dehydration which can be a common problem for older adults. Water intake supports proper brain, muscle, and hormone function as well as lubrication of the joints and skin appearance. Skip the fancy drinks with ingredients that you can’t pronounce and drink more water or herbal based teas. In order to help improve your overall hydration level, consume food that is high in water content (such as vegetables).
Certain medications. Many popular medications can have unintended consequences. Consider a poorly managed medication plan that affects blood pressure. (As a physical therapist, I have treated clients whose blood pressure was overly managed–down to the point that critical body systems were no longer receiving adequate blood supply to function.)
Without proper blood supply to the healing tissues, the area will not receive vital nutrients and healing factors that are a critical component to the healing process. The injured area may be compromised.
One possible reason for poor blood supply may be due to dysfunction in one’s cardiovascular system (such as heart disease or atherosclerosis, the hardening and narrowing of the arteries). Coronary artery disease (CAD) can affect how well blood circulates throughout the body and in particular, the healing tissues. An inadequate blood supplies means poor perfusion of blood within the tissues.
Our circulatory system plays a critical role in delivery of nutrients. If fewer nutrients are delivered, then the critical building blocks of repair will also not be readily available. Thus, slowing and/or inhibiting the healing response.
This can also be seen in cases of localized delivery issues. For example, some body tissues just inherently have a poor blood supply such as cartilage tissue. This is why certain body tissues will inherently take longer to heal versus others. In the case of lumbar discs, they rely more on movement than blood supply to circulate nutrients. This means activity or inactivity may also affect delivery of nutrients.
Nutrient Absorption
If your inability to get needed nutrients and healing factors is not a delivery issue, then it may be an absorption issue. Absorption issues can occur when digestive related issues affect the body’s ability to get the needed nutrients from the consumed food into a useable form in the body.
Here are a few conditions that can negatively impact the absorption of nutrients include:
Diabetes
Crohn’s disease
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
Leaky gut syndrome
Smoking
Nutrient absorption issues are becoming more common. As a physical therapist, it’s a rare day that I don’t discuss some aspect of a digestion issue with a client. Most clients struggle to find any resolution from the traditional medical system when it comes to these types of issues. The symptoms and consequences can range from minor to severe. Not only is quality of life severely affected, but also the ability to adequately heal and recover.
The topic of nutrition and nutrient quality, delivery, and absorption is critical to how one heals and recovers from injury, illness or surgery.
Sadly, I have witnessed an extreme example in which my friend and mentor, James, had a severe form of bowel disease that did not allow him to absorb nutrients and calories. He went to several specialists throughout the United States. Unfortunately, he slowly lost weight until there was really nothing left of him. After a very prolonged battle, he passed away from the condition.
On the other hand, be encouraged to know that many of these conditions can be managed. The key to addressing these nutrient issues is through your diet along with a supplementation protocol that is right for you.
Working with a trained medical provider that specializes in these conditions can be very helpful. There are many functional medical providers that can help design an individualized food and supplementation program in order to manage chronic issues. Many of my clients have experienced tremendous success with his/her recovery. It was truly much easier than one might expect.
Diet and Lifestyle
To summarize, there are two basic reasons why nutrients are not getting to the injured area. There is either a nutrient delivery problem (which includes proper intake) or there is a nutrient absorption problem.
As a physical therapist, I help to educate my clients about a wide variety of strategies from advice on exercise, hands-on techniques (such as myofascial and joint mobilizations), and self-care techniques (such as basic nutrition). This is a critical component in how a person can heal and recover from an injury, illness or surgery. If more than a basic education in proper nutrition is required, I will refer them to a health care practitioner that can address these dietary concerns.
Many of my clients have the following conditions which have a nutritional component to them: osteoporosis; sarcopenia; autoimmune diseases; metabolic syndrome; diabetes; and heart disease.
Even when a client doesn’t have a specific systemic condition, proper nutrition is still a factor on how an injury will heal whether it’s from an ankle sprain or from a knee or a shoulder surgery.
It’s very common for me as a physical therapist to see someone who is struggling with healing from an injury. He/she may be performing the right exercises and receiving the proper treatment, yet they are unable to properly heal because his/her body doesn’t have the proper nutrition level to allow the healing to occur. Poor eating habits not only sabotage your results, but can also lead to severe chronic illnesses.
Focus on your Recovery Nutrition
In order to fully heal and recover from an injury or illness, consuming the right foods to provide the proper nutrients for your body is critical. The majority of your diet should be from real food. My personal belief is that food which is minimally processed, organic or home grown is likely to have a higher nutrient load and will therefore be healthier for you. Your body simply cannot heal and recover quickly or adequately when substandard fuel “food” is consumed.
Each person is different as is the recovery process and one’s prior health status. The diet should be tailored to your individual needs. There isn’t just one perfect diet plan—these are only guidelines. Please discuss your dietary concerns with a registered dietician or your physician.
Written by: Ben Shatto
Editor’s Note: This article was written by Ben Shatto, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS. Ben is a physical therapist and Administrator for Signature Healthcare – home of House Calls, Home Health, Palliative and Hospice Care as well as the founder and editor of the website: www.thePhysicalTherapyAdvisor.com. His website is dedicated to help proactive adults of all ages to understand how to safely self-treat and manage common musculoskeletal, neurological, and mobility related conditions in a timely manner so they can reach their optimal health.
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