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Collagen and joint injuries

Collagen and joint injuries

Australia has one of the highest incidences of ACL reconstructions in the world. And in fact, the numbers of joint injuries such as ACL or rotator cuff tears (to name a few) are rising steeply.

As anyone who has suffered these or other joint injuries well knows, surgery isn't the full story. There's months, even years of ongoing trauma, often the result of changes within the muscles attached to that joint that linger far beyond the injury itself.

Research suggest that the muscles around that injury are changed intrinsically, and the machinery that is responsible for muscle growth stops working as it should, resulting in deficits in performance, immobility and reduced quality of life.

This is a fascinating emerging area of understanding, so much so that I have a research project centring around understanding this, and improving rehabilitation prospects.

As a Nutritionist and researcher myself, my interest and approach is from a nutritional perspective. Collagen supplementation has already been shown to improve recovery, muscle damage and joint pain. It is now evident that it can also ameliorate the impact of damage within the muscles' machinery and restore muscle building capacity.

Its incredibly exciting for us because that evidence base is at the core of our whole business. To be involved in clinical research where we can improve outcomes for real humans - that's what it's all about.

 

References

  1. Dutaillis, B., Maniar, N., Opar, D. A., Hickey, J. T. & Timmins, R. G. Lower Limb Muscle Size after Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) vol. 51 1209–1226 (2021).
  2. Lepley, L. K., Davi, S. M., Burland, J. P. & Lepley, A. S. Muscle Atrophy After ACL Injury: Implications for Clinical Practice. Sports Health 12, 579–586 (2020).
  3. Fry, C. S., Johnson, D. L., Ireland, M. L. & Noehren, B. ACL injury reduces satellite cell abundance and promotes fibrogenic cell expansion within skeletal muscle. J. Orthop. Res. Off. Publ. Orthop. Res. Soc. 35, 1876–1885 (2017).
  4. Gumucio, J. P. et al. Anterior cruciate ligament tear induces a sustained loss of muscle fiber force production. Muscle Nerve (2018) doi:10.1002/mus.26075.
  5. Noehren, B. et al. Cellular and Morphological Alterations in the Vastus Lateralis Muscle as the Result of ACL Injury and Reconstruction. J. Bone Joint Surg. Am. 98, 1541–1547 (2016).
  6. Uezumi, A., Fukada, S., Yamamoto, N., Takeda, S. & Tsuchida, K. Mesenchymal progenitors distinct from satellite cells contribute to ectopic fat cell formation in skeletal muscle. Nat. Cell Biol. 12, 143–152 (2010).
  7. Mazur, A., Holthoff, E., Vadali, S., Kelly, T. & Post, S. R. Cleavage of Type I Collagen by Fibroblast Activation Protein-α Enhances Class A Scavenger Receptor Mediated Macrophage Adhesion. PLoS One 11, e0150287 (2016).
  8. Blomberg, R., Beiting, D. P., Wabitsch, M. & Puré, E. Fibroblast activation protein restrains adipogenic differentiation and regulates matrix-mediated mTOR signaling. Matrix Biol. 83, 60–76 (2019).
  9. Yoon, M.-S. mTOR as a Key Regulator in Maintaining Skeletal Muscle Mass. Front. Physiol. 8, 788 (2017).
  10. Wang, W. et al. Glycine metabolism in animals and humans: implications for nutrition and health. Amino Acids 45, 463–477 (2013).
  11. Reyes, T. & Willoughby, D. Biochemical and Structural Alterations in Skeletal Muscle Following ACL Injury: A Narrative Review. Int. J. Kinesiol. Sport Sci. 8, 8–13 (202AD).
  12. Liu, X. et al. Evaluation of Akt/mTOR activity in muscle atrophy after rotator cuff tears in a rat model. J. Orthop. Res. Off. Publ. Orthop. Res. Soc. 30, 1440–1446 (2012).
  13. Gelse, K., Pöschl, E. & Aigner, T. Collagens--structure, function, and biosynthesis. Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev. 55, 1531–1546 (2003).
  14. Clifford, T. et al. The effects of collagen peptides on muscle damage, inflammation and bone turnover following exercise: a randomized, controlled trial. Amino Acids 51, 691–704 (2019).
  15. Jiang, J.-X. et al. Collagen peptides improve knee osteoarthritis in elderly women: A 6-month randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Agro Food Ind. Hi. Tech. 25, 19–23 (2014).
  16. Dar, Q.-A. et al. Daily oral consumption of hydrolyzed type 1 collagen is chondroprotective and anti-inflammatory in murine posttraumatic osteoarthritis. PLoS One 12, e0174705 (2017).
  17. Zdzieblik, D., Jendricke, P., Oesser, S., Gollhofer, A. & König, D. The Influence of Specific Bioactive Collagen Peptides on Body Composition and Muscle Strength in Middle-Aged, Untrained Men: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 18, (2021).
  18. Jendricke, P., Centner, C., Zdzieblik, D., Gollhofer, A. & König, D. Specific Collagen Peptides in Combination with Resistance Training Improve Body Composition and Regional Muscle Strength in Premenopausal Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Nutrients 11, (2019).
  19. Jerger, S. et al. Effects of specific collagen peptide supplementation combined with resistance training on Achilles tendon properties. Scand. J. Med. Sci. Sports (2022) doi:10.1111/sms.14164

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