How Can a Dietitian Benefit Your MSK Injury?

When people think about recovering from a musculoskeletal injury, they usually think about physiotherapy, exercise rehab and perhaps massage. They do not always think about nutrition. That is understandable, but it often means an important part of recovery gets overlooked.

A dietitian can play a meaningful role in injury management, particularly where healing, recovery, energy availability, body composition or bone health are relevant.

At our Marrickville clinic, we see a wide range of injuries across the Inner West, from runners with bone stress issues through to gym-goers managing tendon pain and people recovering from surgery. In many cases, rehab outcomes are not just shaped by the exercise plan. They are also shaped by how well the body is being fuelled.

Why nutrition matters in injury recovery

Injured tissue still needs raw materials to repair. Whether the issue involves muscle, tendon, bone or post-operative healing, the body needs enough energy and adequate nutrient intake to support the process.

If nutrition is poor, recovery may be affected by:

• slower healing
• lower training tolerance
• poor recovery between sessions
• loss of muscle mass
• reduced bone support

Where a dietitian can help

1. Protein intake and tissue repair

Protein plays a key role in tissue repair and muscle maintenance. During injury, activity levels sometimes change, appetite can fluctuate, and people often end up under-consuming without realising it.

2. Energy availability

If someone is training, rehabbing and working, but not eating enough overall, recovery can stall. This is especially relevant in runners and highly active individuals, and links closely with RED-S and bone stress injuries.

3. Bone health support

For bone stress injuries, recurrent stress reactions, or low bone density concerns, nutrition becomes even more relevant. Calcium, vitamin D, total energy intake and broader dietary patterns may all matter.

4. Body composition during reduced activity

Injury can be a difficult period nutritionally. Some people become overly restrictive because they are moving less. Others struggle to manage appetite or routine. A dietitian can help keep things sensible and performance-focused rather than reactive.

Who may benefit most?

Dietitian support can be especially useful for:

• runners with bone stress injuries
• people with recurrent injuries
• those recovering from surgery
• highly active individuals with low energy availability
• anyone whose recovery seems slower than expected

Why combined care works well

Physio and dietetics often work well together because they address different parts of the same problem. Physio helps guide loading, movement, strength and function. A dietitian helps make sure the body is appropriately fuelled to adapt to that work.

This is often particularly valuable in return-to-running and bone stress cases.

The key point

If you are dealing with an MSK injury, nutrition may not be the only answer, but it is often part of the answer.

If you are in Marrickville, Enmore, Stanmore, Newtown or elsewhere in the Inner West and want a more rounded approach to injury recovery, our team can help coordinate care between physiotherapy and dietetics where appropriate.

Links: Dietitian | Red-S | Bone Stress Injury