By Tamara Jacobi, MindBodyGreen

You’ve been training for months, maybe even years, for the big race. Yet, a quick snap, crackle or pop and it’s game over. Instead of heading to the starting line, you’re sitting on the couch.

Did you know that sports injuries are often a sign of nutrition imbalance? Many athletes have come to think of injuries as simply part of training and being “sporty.” At the same time, athletes have a tendency to focus their diet on a basic set of sports nutrition “rules” that concentrate on specific ratios of proteins, carbs and calories, with little attention to nutritional quality. Coincidence? I’m not so sure.

Knee pain, pulled muscles, tweaked backs — the list goes on, and once injury strikes, few us have the time or the patience to sit around and let our injuries heal properly. The result? Significant pain, inflammation, a serious interruption in training and sometimes long-term damage.

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