Research
Micronutrients & recovery
Correcting vitamin D insufficiency (levels < 30 ng/mL) may be warranted to prevent greater quadriceps muscle loss and support genomic recovery processes after ACL reconstruction.
Have your Vitamin D levels checked after ACL surgery. If they are below 30 ng/mL, correcting this insufficiency may help reduce quadriceps muscle loss and support recovery, though its impact on functional outcomes is less clear.
ModerateQualifiesLOW confidence
Those with vitamin D below 30 ng/mL experienced greater quadriceps muscle loss up to 4 months post‐surgery, while genomic analyses indicated vitamin D influences genes related to muscle recovery
Why this rating
Based on two observational studies with mixed results on functional outcomes but clear association with muscle loss in one.
Source
Nutrition and rehabilitation after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: A systematic review
Shaniya Raghoebar et al. · Knee Surgery Sports Traumatology Arthroscopy · 2026
DOI 10.1002/ksa.70441
systematic_review
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- High protein intake combined with physical rehabilitation improves muscle mass retention and functional recovery in patients undergoing ACL reconstruction.Moderate
- Supplementation with flaxseed oil (omega-3 fatty acids) and leucine shows some promise for improving recovery outcomes after ACL reconstruction, but high-quality evidence is lacking.Limited
- Vitamin C and E supplementation (200 IU E and 1000 mg C daily) does not significantly improve functional outcomes, graft rupture rates, or inflammatory markers after ACL reconstruction.Limited
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