Youth and Adolescent Athlete Musculoskeletal Health: Dietary and Nutritional Strategies to Optimise Injury Prevention and Support Recovery

<b>Background:</b> Despite the well-documented benefits of exercise and sports participation, young athletes are particularly vulnerable to musculoskeletal injuries. This is especially true during periods of rapid growth, sports specialisation, and high training loads. While injuries are...

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Main Authors: Rebekah Alcock, Matthew Hislop, Helen Anna Vidgen, Ben Desbrow
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5142/9/4/221
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author Rebekah Alcock
Matthew Hislop
Helen Anna Vidgen
Ben Desbrow
author_facet Rebekah Alcock
Matthew Hislop
Helen Anna Vidgen
Ben Desbrow
author_sort Rebekah Alcock
collection DOAJ
description <b>Background:</b> Despite the well-documented benefits of exercise and sports participation, young athletes are particularly vulnerable to musculoskeletal injuries. This is especially true during periods of rapid growth, sports specialisation, and high training loads. While injuries are an inevitable aspect of sports participation, the risk can be minimised by promoting the development of strong, resilient tissues through proper nutrition and injury prevention strategies. Moreover, targeted nutrition strategies can accelerate recovery and rehabilitation, allowing for a quicker return to sports participation. <b>Methods:</b> This narrative review synthesises scientific evidence with practical insights to offer comprehensive dietary recommendations aimed at strengthening tissues and supporting the healing process during recovery and rehabilitation. The selection of all sources cited and synthesised in this narrative review were agreed upon by contributing author consensus, experts in sports nutrition (R.A., H.V., B.D.) and exercise and sports medicine (M.H.). <b>Results:</b> Key topics include factors that contribute to injury susceptibility, general dietary recommendations for growth and development, sports nutrition guidelines, and nutrition considerations during injury and rehabilitation. This review also addresses external factors that may lead to suboptimal nutrition, such as food literacy and eating disorders. <b>Conclusions:</b> By highlighting these factors, this article aims to equip coaches, nutritionists, dietitians, athletic trainers, physical therapists, parents/guardians, sporting organisations, and schools with essential knowledge to implement effective nutritional strategies for injury prevention, recovery, and rehabilitation, ultimately enhancing long-term health and athletic performance.
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spelling doaj-art-b079b778f3034138bc06e591b2c83bd92025-08-20T02:50:53ZengMDPI AGJournal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology2411-51422024-11-019422110.3390/jfmk9040221Youth and Adolescent Athlete Musculoskeletal Health: Dietary and Nutritional Strategies to Optimise Injury Prevention and Support RecoveryRebekah Alcock0Matthew Hislop1Helen Anna Vidgen2Ben Desbrow3UQ College, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, AustraliaBrisbane Sports and Exercise Medicine Specialists, Brisbane, QLD 4170, AustraliaSchool of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, QLD 4072, AustraliaHealth Sciences and Social Work, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD 4222, Australia<b>Background:</b> Despite the well-documented benefits of exercise and sports participation, young athletes are particularly vulnerable to musculoskeletal injuries. This is especially true during periods of rapid growth, sports specialisation, and high training loads. While injuries are an inevitable aspect of sports participation, the risk can be minimised by promoting the development of strong, resilient tissues through proper nutrition and injury prevention strategies. Moreover, targeted nutrition strategies can accelerate recovery and rehabilitation, allowing for a quicker return to sports participation. <b>Methods:</b> This narrative review synthesises scientific evidence with practical insights to offer comprehensive dietary recommendations aimed at strengthening tissues and supporting the healing process during recovery and rehabilitation. The selection of all sources cited and synthesised in this narrative review were agreed upon by contributing author consensus, experts in sports nutrition (R.A., H.V., B.D.) and exercise and sports medicine (M.H.). <b>Results:</b> Key topics include factors that contribute to injury susceptibility, general dietary recommendations for growth and development, sports nutrition guidelines, and nutrition considerations during injury and rehabilitation. This review also addresses external factors that may lead to suboptimal nutrition, such as food literacy and eating disorders. <b>Conclusions:</b> By highlighting these factors, this article aims to equip coaches, nutritionists, dietitians, athletic trainers, physical therapists, parents/guardians, sporting organisations, and schools with essential knowledge to implement effective nutritional strategies for injury prevention, recovery, and rehabilitation, ultimately enhancing long-term health and athletic performance.https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5142/9/4/221athletesinjuryrehabilitationsports nutritiondietary interventionpsychosocial considerations
spellingShingle Rebekah Alcock
Matthew Hislop
Helen Anna Vidgen
Ben Desbrow
Youth and Adolescent Athlete Musculoskeletal Health: Dietary and Nutritional Strategies to Optimise Injury Prevention and Support Recovery
Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology
athletes
injury
rehabilitation
sports nutrition
dietary intervention
psychosocial considerations
title Youth and Adolescent Athlete Musculoskeletal Health: Dietary and Nutritional Strategies to Optimise Injury Prevention and Support Recovery
title_full Youth and Adolescent Athlete Musculoskeletal Health: Dietary and Nutritional Strategies to Optimise Injury Prevention and Support Recovery
title_fullStr Youth and Adolescent Athlete Musculoskeletal Health: Dietary and Nutritional Strategies to Optimise Injury Prevention and Support Recovery
title_full_unstemmed Youth and Adolescent Athlete Musculoskeletal Health: Dietary and Nutritional Strategies to Optimise Injury Prevention and Support Recovery
title_short Youth and Adolescent Athlete Musculoskeletal Health: Dietary and Nutritional Strategies to Optimise Injury Prevention and Support Recovery
title_sort youth and adolescent athlete musculoskeletal health dietary and nutritional strategies to optimise injury prevention and support recovery
topic athletes
injury
rehabilitation
sports nutrition
dietary intervention
psychosocial considerations
url https://www.mdpi.com/2411-5142/9/4/221
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AT helenannavidgen youthandadolescentathletemusculoskeletalhealthdietaryandnutritionalstrategiestooptimiseinjurypreventionandsupportrecovery
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