Research
Macro partitioning
A combination of Beta-Hydroxy Beta-Methylbutyrate (HMB), L-Arginine, and L-Glutamine suppresses the loss of quadriceps muscle strength following Total Knee Replacement (TKR).
Ask your surgeon if a specific combination of HMB, L-Arginine, and L-Glutamine is appropriate for your knee replacement. The study used a high dose (totaling 30.4g of amino acids/acids) daily for 5 days before and 4 weeks after surgery. This may help you maintain your leg strength better than standard care.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
One paper reported a suppressive effect of beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate, L-arginine, and L-glutamine supplementation on muscle strength loss following TKR.
Why this rating
Based on one pilot RCT (n=23).
Source
What Is the Role of Nutritional Supplements in Support of Total Hip Replacement and Total Knee Replacement Surgeries? A Systematic Review
Louise Burgess et al. · Nutrients · 2018
DOI 10.3390/nu10070820
systematic_reviewCited 56×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Pre-operative administration of carbohydrate-rich fluids (12.5% solution, 400-800 mL) attenuates post-operative insulin resistance and endogenous glucose release, potentially reducing hospital stay and inflammatory markers in THR/TKR patients.Moderate
- Supplementation with Essential Amino Acids (EAA, 20g twice daily) starting one week before and continuing two weeks after Total Knee Replacement (TKR) reduces quadriceps muscle atrophy and accelerates functional mobility recovery.Moderate
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