Some weight change is common, but cutting food back hard usually backfires. Healing raises your energy needs, so eating well below them slows repair and costs you muscle. Your dietitian sets an intake that supports tissue healing while allowing for your reduced activity, then adjusts it as you return to training. Body composition is easier to manage once you are moving again.

Vitamin C is required for collagen formation, so meeting your daily needs matters. Interest in collagen supplements taken with vitamin C before rehab exercise is growing, but the evidence is still developing and results vary between studies. Your dietitian will review any product you are using for dose, quality and cost, and tell you whether food sources will do the same job.

Yes, it can. Alcohol reduces muscle protein synthesis, disrupts sleep quality and can interact with pain medication. Sleep is when much of your tissue repair happens, so anything that fragments it works against you. Cutting back while you are healing is one of the simplest changes you can make, particularly in the first weeks after surgery or a significant injury.

Bone healing depends on enough total energy, protein, calcium and vitamin D. Repeated stress fractures often point to a longer-standing energy or nutrient shortfall rather than bad luck. Your dietitian will look at your intake, sun exposure, any recent vitamin D or iron results, and your training history, then address the gaps before you build load again.

Inflammation is part of normal healing, so suppressing it early is not always helpful. There is some evidence for omega-3 fats supporting muscle maintenance during immobilisation, and less for turmeric in injury recovery. Doses in supplements vary widely and some interact with medications. Bring the bottles to your appointment so your dietitian can review what you are taking.

As early as you can. The first two to three weeks are when muscle loss around an immobilised limb happens fastest, and when appetite is often lowest. Getting protein and energy right during that window protects the strength you will need for rehab. If you have surgery booked, an appointment beforehand lets you go in prepared.