GLOSSARY

Injury Nutrition Nutrition support during sports injury, adapted to healing, activity changes and rehabilitation needs.

During injury, reduced movement does not mean nutritional needs disappear. Tissue repair and rehabilitation still require energy, protein and micronutrients, while total expenditure may change. Severe restriction can worsen muscle loss; excessive intake can also be unhelpful. Review appetite, immobilization, surgery, medication and the planned rehabilitation load. Distribute suitable protein-containing foods and correct identified deficiencies rather than promising that a single supplement will heal a tendon or fracture. Nutrition supports the rehabilitation program and does not replace clinical treatment or graded return decisions.

Nutritional rehabilitation restores adequate intake, nutrient status and function in a way matched to the cause and severity of depletion. Weight restoration can be one goal, but a scale increase alone does not establish full recovery of muscle, health or eating behavior. The time course and monitoring depend on disease, previous intake and refeeding risk. Coordinate food, clinical treatment and appropriate activity rather than treating recovery as merely adding a fixed number of calories until a target weight is reached.

Protein targets depend on body size, training, energy intake, age and clinical status. A high-protein label does not identify the actual amount, amino-acid quality or distribution. During weight reduction, adequate protein and resistance exercise can help preserve lean tissue, but neither removes the consequences of an excessive energy deficit. Kidney disease can require a different clinical approach. Do not transfer a healthy athlete's protein strategy directly to a person with impaired renal function.

For example, an immobilized athlete may move less but still need adequate nutrition for healing and rehabilitation. Reassess expenditure and intake as activity changes. Avoid a severe calorie cut or a promise that a collagen product alone will restore the injured tissue without appropriate treatment and progressive loading.

Energy availability describes dietary energy remaining after exercise expenditure, expressed relative to fat-free mass over a defined period. It differs from whole-day energy balance and from body-fat percentage. Calculations are sensitive to errors in food records, exercise expenditure and body-composition estimates. No single threshold or short observation establishes a diagnosis for every athlete. Persistent fatigue, impaired recovery or other concerning changes warrant assessment in the broader health and training context rather than a conclusion from one calculated value.

Nutrient status reflects intake, absorption, distribution, stores, losses and physiological demand. A normal blood concentration may not exclude depleted stores, while an abnormal result can have non-nutritional causes. Calcium in blood, for example, does not directly measure dietary calcium adequacy or skeletal reserves. Different nutrients require different assessment strategies. Select tests for a defined clinical question and interpret them with symptoms, diet, relevant disease and sampling conditions instead of ordering a broad panel and assuming every number is a performance target.

A nutrition care record should explain the assessment, interpretation, agreed plan, responsible professionals and follow-up criteria. Separate reported information from measured findings and clinical judgments. Record relevant units, dates, methods and changes so that another practitioner can understand the decision. Seek consent for sharing sensitive information and limit access appropriately. A referral should communicate the specific concern and urgency rather than only a broad label. In sport, documentation should support continuity of care while protecting health information from inappropriate use in coaching or selection.