I play a lot of soccer and basketball. The last 4 years i pulled my right hamstring and then my left hamstring. I rehabed back from both of them and now I just hurt my knee and been out a month (runners knee/jumpers knee). It just got better, I been using GNC's joint multivitamins the last month, but does use of protein also help prevent injuries?
Does protein help avoid injuries?
- Thread starter Primetime
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Jeanette401
New member
Disclaimer: I am not an expert. Also 'use' of protein is a disputed term as really you eat it, not use it 
My answer is - it depends. Sufficient protein helps in muscle building. Strong muscles can help protect you from joint injury. Protein is also needed for muscle recovery, so in that sense it can help if you get injured because your muscles don't recover enough.
But if you get 'enough' protein (generally accepted on these forums as about 1g to 1.5g of protein per lb of lean body mass) then adding more protein doesn't really help. And obviously if you're not doing something to make your muscles stronger, just eating lots of protein isn't going to magically build muscles either.
It also doesn't matter if you 'supplement' with protein powder or get your protein from food - it's whether or not you get enough that really matters (although if you're a vegetarian, protein quality does matter).
Without knowing how much protein you already get, and how much lean body mass you have, I have no clue whether or not additional protein would help you or not. Hopefully that helps some!
My answer is - it depends. Sufficient protein helps in muscle building. Strong muscles can help protect you from joint injury. Protein is also needed for muscle recovery, so in that sense it can help if you get injured because your muscles don't recover enough.
But if you get 'enough' protein (generally accepted on these forums as about 1g to 1.5g of protein per lb of lean body mass) then adding more protein doesn't really help. And obviously if you're not doing something to make your muscles stronger, just eating lots of protein isn't going to magically build muscles either.
It also doesn't matter if you 'supplement' with protein powder or get your protein from food - it's whether or not you get enough that really matters (although if you're a vegetarian, protein quality does matter).
Without knowing how much protein you already get, and how much lean body mass you have, I have no clue whether or not additional protein would help you or not. Hopefully that helps some!
KaraCooks
New member
Well ...
Most regular readers of the forum know that I'm going to pick on this for just a minute. Stop thinking about protein as something you "use". It's not a drug. It's a nutrient. you wouldn't talk about "using" vegetables or "using" calcium or whatever. Protein - whether you eat it in chicken or beef or fish or add protein powder to a meal or whatever ... is just a food. Yes, it absorbs fster into your body when you add powdered protein to a drink but it's still just protein. It's not a drug. You're not mainlining it.
It's not something to be "used".That said .. is consuming more protein - in any form - going to keep you from injuring yourself? No. Not really. Protein aids muscle growth and helps spare muscle loss when you're eating reduced calories. If you get too little will you lose more muscle? Yes. If you really don't get enough will you become weak and malnourished? Yes. But is eating more directly responsible for INJURY? No. Not really.