Stress Fractures
Stress fractures can be a season-ending injury that have a lot to do do with a young athlete’s fueling and nutrition. Not only can these injuries take athletes out of their sport, but these injuries can also put a lot of strain on athletes’ mental health. There are usually no big warning signs that the injury is occurring or about to occur and there is usually no traumatic impact that occurs to the area. Stress fractures usually materialize as sudden pain in a particular area (leg, back, hip, foot, etc.) that does not get better, typically worsening as an athlete tries to “push through” or that persists or comes back even after rest.
Working with Taylor
If your athlete has suffered from one or more stress fractures and you want them to fully understand the nutrition piece to recovery and preventing future stress injuries, Taylor has a protocol specifically for these athletes. Taylor works with the athlete over the course of about 6 weeks (typically 4 to 5 sessions) to cover the following:
Analysis of their overall intake to see if they are meeting key nutrient needs for bone health.
Analysis of their average daily caloric intake (i.e. assessing their initial Energy Availability)
Teach key sports nutrition principles and help the athlete build a fueling plan that meets their needs to heal as well as prevent future injury in a way that works for them with the foods they enjoy.
As your sports dietitian, Taylor continues to reassess Energy Availability to make sure the athlete is reaching their goal for performance, health and injury prevention.
Along the way Taylor also answers any questions about performance nutrition the athlete may have like pre-event fuel, recovery fuel, tournament days, etc. (This usually comes up naturally and so now I include it and plan for it).
Note: In her practice Taylor has realized that there can be some shame felt by the athlete surrounding this injury. Taylor creates a comfortable, inviting and understanding learning environment for that athlete to discuss their frustrations, confusion or fears around fueling and / or their injury. Fueling as a young elite athlete is HARD. It is not your fault. Together they work through these tough feelings while getting the athlete healed and ready to perform their best.
If this is something your athlete has struggled with and you would like to chat about working together, you can reach out to schedule a 20 minute discovery call to see if working together is the next best step.