The Blog – tagged "surgery"

Working with a Registered Dietitian Pre and Post Surgery

Going for orthopedic surgery can feel stressful and overwhelming, but there are many things you can do to prepare for your procedure and support an easier recovery. Nutrition plays a tremendous role in the healing and recovery process, and working with a Registered Dietitian, or RD, can help to make nutrition feel easy, enjoyable, and attainable. Here, we will discuss what it's like working with an RD before and after your surgery.

Hydration: When You Should Pay Attention

For many years, it was common practice to limit food and water intake before most types of surgery. Recent recommendations have been revised to encourage preoperative hydration with a carbohydrate drink up until 2 hours before surgery. Research indicates that this approach has metabolic benefits and reduces anxiety, nausea and vomiting.

Muscle Science: How to Work with Your Body to Repair Muscles

Skeletal muscle is one of the most commonly injured tissues of both athletes and non-athletes alike. [1] Although it can be debilitating and limit our daily activities, there is much that we can do to help our bodies recover from these injuries.

Glutamine— Essential to Your Recovery

Glutamine (GLN) is one of twenty amino acids the human body uses for a variety of purposes. Unlike most amino acids, and other nutrients, glutamine’s importance in our diet fluctuates. Likewise, our nutritional goals should reflect this fluctuating need. Which is why glutamine has become a popular dietary supplement, so it can be added to a healthy diet when our bodies require more of it.

Protein and Arthritis

More studies are needed to understand how protein impacts joint health, and whether supplementation with specific types of amino acids can lead to improvements in arthritis symptoms. However, those with arthritis should focus on getting enough protein from a variety of sources.

Minimize Bruising and Scarring After Surgery

Muscle Atrophy and How to Prevent It

Muscle atrophy can occur for various reasons, but it always has the same result—a smaller, weaker muscle. In fact, each muscle cell will shrink individually making for a collectively weaker muscle.