Last Updated on November 9, 2023 by Fasting Planet
If you’re an athlete, even a well-conditioned one, then you know an injury can happen on the field or when you’re training in some instances. If you’ve recently hurt yourself and you’re looking for some relief, you’re likely relying on over-the-counter or prescription medications combined with plenty of rest. A friend recommended fasting for your pain too. Can that really help?
Fasting can treat sports injuries by accelerating the wound-healing process. If you’re an athlete, it’s better to get into a regular fasting schedule, as fasting ahead of incurring a wound will heal it more rapidly than fasting to heal it after the fact.
In today’s article, we’ll discuss how caloric restriction can have health benefits for athletes, including how it can treat muscle soreness, shoulder injury, joint pain, and other sources of pain. You’re not going to want to miss it, so keep reading!
Can Fasting Heal Injuries?
Whether you’re a college-level athlete aspiring to play professionally one day or you’ve already reached the pro level, you train on the daily to maintain your condition. Yet during your weight training the other day, you accidentally took it too far, and now you’re paying the price. You can’t afford to be sidelined by pain, so what can do you?
You may have tried hot and cold therapy, which worked well enough, but now it’s days later and you’re still feeling the pain. A few other people on your team have had a good track record with intermittent fasting, and you wonder if it’s worth trying for your shoulder injury.
We would say it absolutely is. According to a 2020 report in the journal Theranostics, fasting could activate angiogenesis both before and after incurring a wound. Angiogenesis is a process that leads to the development of new blood vessels which are taken from preexisting blood vessels.
Two genes are responsible for angiogenesis. These are SCG2 and SMOC1. SCG2 is an encoded protein in the same family as secretogranins and chromogranins. This protein can transport neuropeptides and peptide hormones to secretory vesicles, or a vacuole or sac.
SMOC1, or secreted modular calcium-binding protein 1, belongs to basement membranes. These membranes act as support so embryos can fully develop. SMOC1 also promotes tissue growth that leads to the development of our eyes, limbs, and skeleton.
Now, granted, the Theranostics study concerned wound healing for diabetics with chronic diabetic ulceration, not necessarily a shoulder injury, but how fasting can trigger angiogenesis is an interesting concept that we think would apply to other pain as well.
A 2006 article in New Scientist supports this line of thinking as well. According to that post, when rodents with spinal damage went on an alternate-day fast over the course of several months, the mice that fasted had spinal lesions that had shrunk by half (50 percent) compared to the non-fasting mice. The fasting mice also had better mobility at the end of the experiment.
Although this study involved mice and not people, it’s still a promising sign for how fasting can benefit athletes suffering from short-term or longer-term nagging pain.
Finally, this 2018 report from MIT found that your stem cells can regenerate more quickly when in a fasted state of at least 24 hours, which could also aide in your recovery.
Is Fasting Good for Athletes?
As an athlete, you carefully monitor what goes into your body. You need to stay at peak performance to avoid a shoulder injury and other pain. You might be dubious at the thought of skipping a day of eating or even several days. Can fasting regularly really benefit you?
Most definitely. On a fast, since you’re restricting calories, you can lose weight and burn body fat. You also activate an internal process called autophagy, which is a form of cell recycling. As your cells chew through the older, damaged, and more inefficient ones, the healthier cells that remain can support your immune system and your digestive system.
You also know by now that you could possibly heal a shoulder injury and other pain through fasting. If that’s still not enough incentive, some experts believe that you may be able to enhance your athletic performance. How? In a few ways.
For one, you’re clearing your mind and your body. According to Renee Ficek, RD, who spoke to Bustle: “Foods affect your memory and your ability to think clearly, focus, and relax.” Not being clear-headed during a big game can easily lead to defeat. Feeling heavy, like you can after ingesting a lot of carbs, can also make it harder to perform at your peak. You may feel like you’re moving in slow motion.
When you fast, you can also lose weight, and trimming down both fat and weight will make you a better-toned athlete.
Also, when on a fast, your body is internally doing a lot, such as ridding your system of toxins and improving your immunity. These factors can also bolster your health so you can do even better on the court or the field.
How Do You Heal Sports Injuries Faster?
Besides going on a fast, is there anything else you can do to accelerate the speed of your recovery? Absolutely. Try these methods to feel better sooner.
Elevate Your Injury
By raising the affected limb, you can keep it from swelling up. If it’s the upper part of your body that’s in pain, then use a pillow or sling, and for the lower body, make sure you raise the limb hip-level or higher.
Use Ice or Heat
Apply a hot or cold compress to the site of pain for around 30 minutes, repeating this upwards of eight instances each day. This treatment can prevent muscle spasms and swelling and help manage the pain too.
Take a Break
It’s not easy to have to skip games, especially if your team is relying on you, but pushing past your pain will only make it worse. Take the necessary time off to let the injury fully recover.
Reenter Slowly
When you’re finally ready to get back into the game, don’t necessarily expect that you’ll be at 100 percent right off the bat. Be patient with yourself and take things slow. With time, you’ll be back to your good, old self again.
Conclusion
Does pain have you down as an athlete? Whether it’s a shoulder injury that just won’t seem to go away or any other source of pain and discomfort, fasting may trigger a process called angiogenesis that allows your body to heal from the inside out.
Plus, you can even improve your athletic performance on a fast, so why not try one today?