I ruptured my bicep tendon and had surgery to reattach it. After surgery I started using BPC and TB. The timeline was 3 months before I could start using extremely light (1-5lbs weights) in PT, with a total of 5-6 months before I was back to unrestricted usage. After two months post surgery, PT said they were discharging me, and my Ortho cleared me for full duty and full usage.
What are the best peptides for knee injury?
- Thread starter Omxxl
- Start date
Have you tried Cartalax personally? I'm interested in it but my stack is already a daunting size for me so idk if I need it. I'm taking ghk cu but switching to KLOW to help with joint pain.
No, I haven't used Cartalax yet. Ok, good luck with KLOW. You cant inject that locally so be careful.
Thank you!
SoCalGirl
GLP-1 Novice
🚫No Source Discussion🚫
Following! Would you actually inject into your knee joint? Or is it going to be a systemic injection when we can get hold of Prostaglandin e2? I can't do the joint injections. A bridge too far. 🥹 I can't even do an IM. Injections into the joint is going to be a whole new level of education...
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Kirbyzx6
GLP-1 Apprentice
Run a 20 day stretch cartalax cycle at 2 mg per day. Also I would take your kpv seperate to help with inflammation.
Kirbyzx6
GLP-1 Apprentice
No it’s the opposite tb500 is just a fragment of TB4 so it’s readily available. TB4 is the full amino which costs significantly more to produce so it’s usually only found as a single compound not combined.
Thank you! I have not been able to find a lot of information regarding Cartalax dosing. This is helpful.
It all depends on our ability to exercise, IMO. That's a gamechanger. If we can use the mechanisms and pathways that resistance training unlocks, then the choice of peptides we should use will change.
My order arrived perfectly. I received TB4 5mg in 1ml and BPC157 5mg in 1ml. I just injected 0.250mg of each into the same syringe near my knee, close to the bone, and it bled quite a bit. I repeated the injection about four finger-widths above my knee, in the upper area, and it was much better.
The injection stings a little, but otherwise everything is fine.
I'm going to do it twice a day until I reach 1mg of each daily.
The injection stings a little, but otherwise everything is fine.
I'm going to do it twice a day until I reach 1mg of each daily.
It didn't come in a powder form?
I weight train 5x a week! Although the past few months I have had a pretty bad flareup- some weeks I only went to the gym once. That’s what started the exploration into peps other than glp1s.
What's your exact injury?
Sorry, I didn't explain myself well. It comes with 10 vials of 5 mg and I reconstituted them with 1 ml per vial.
Is this a general protocol for Cartalax? I just started it today for my knee as it has been giving me problems. I also started PT today. I was planning on doing 1mg daily for 30 days, cycling off and then doing a second round.
My question for you is on the Acute/Loading Phase, is that 2mg to 5mg injected two to three times per week, and the other days the 300mcg to 1mg daily? I don't believe so, I believe it is ONLY the higher dosages two to three days a week and the other days of the week no injection. But, I hate assuming, so thought I would ask for clarity.
Oh, sorry, one more question on maintenance phase. If users often drop to a maintenance dose of 1mg to 2mg per week, are there studies (personal or scientific) on how long the reconstituted vial is good for in the fridge? That bottle would last 10-20 weeks at maintenance dosages.
Kirbyzx6
GLP-1 Apprentice
I’ve seen 20 day at 2mg a day as well as 50 days. See attached pep-pedia protocol.
Targhee
Recently Joined
🚫No Source Discussion🚫
I have had meniscus repair on both knees. Right knee was repaired 20 year ago and has no significant issues. Left knee was repaired 3 years ago. Doctor said I have significant arthritis in that knee. After healing from surgery, I still have quite a bit of pain in my left knee. Enough so that I don’t run anymore, and leg day in the gym (squats, straight leg dead lift, lunges) is enough to make my left knee quite sore. Walking more than a couple of miles a day also makes my knee sore.
I have tried hyaluronic acid injections by my orthopedic doc directly into the knee. Helps a little, but not enough. I have had 3 cortisone shots into the knee as well. Each one has provided relief for a shorter amount of time. Last one only provided 2 weeks of relief.
So, a week ago I started daily KLOW injections (into my belly, not locally into the knee). Might be too early to definitively say, but I think it is helping. Knee feels better than it has since last cortisone injection. I even did my leg workout this week without issue. So, like I said, it’s still too early to give a proper assessment, but so far I am very encouraged.
I also plan to start PRP injections (by my orthopedic doctor) into my left knee. From what I have read, the KLOW can help heal the soft tissue and reduce inflammation (which it seems to be doing). But it can’t help regenerate or improve the state of the cartridge. But the PRP may be able to help with that to some degree.
So that’s my plan for now: daily KLOW injections and occasional PRP injections directly into the knee joint. If this doesn’t help, I’m kind of at the end of the road and will need to consider knee replacement. Keeping my fingers crossed!
(Also, I am using Reta. I take Osteobiflex daily as well, and have done this for the last 3 years.)
I have tried hyaluronic acid injections by my orthopedic doc directly into the knee. Helps a little, but not enough. I have had 3 cortisone shots into the knee as well. Each one has provided relief for a shorter amount of time. Last one only provided 2 weeks of relief.
So, a week ago I started daily KLOW injections (into my belly, not locally into the knee). Might be too early to definitively say, but I think it is helping. Knee feels better than it has since last cortisone injection. I even did my leg workout this week without issue. So, like I said, it’s still too early to give a proper assessment, but so far I am very encouraged.
I also plan to start PRP injections (by my orthopedic doctor) into my left knee. From what I have read, the KLOW can help heal the soft tissue and reduce inflammation (which it seems to be doing). But it can’t help regenerate or improve the state of the cartridge. But the PRP may be able to help with that to some degree.
So that’s my plan for now: daily KLOW injections and occasional PRP injections directly into the knee joint. If this doesn’t help, I’m kind of at the end of the road and will need to consider knee replacement. Keeping my fingers crossed!
(Also, I am using Reta. I take Osteobiflex daily as well, and have done this for the last 3 years.)
Please don't take this post as advice for your condition. I am just giving you some related perspective. I have a torn rotator cuff and biceps tendinosis on my left arm. Last year, in the US, I went to the local ortho who gave me a cortisone shot. Before giving it to me, he said it would negatively affect surgical treatment outcomes because cortisone weakens the joint. I accepted the shot hoping to alleviate the pain. I had already planned to get stem-cell and PRP treatment from India. I got it done, and started systemic Bpc and TB-500 treatment. Now, I restarted BPC and TB-500 but this time I used BPC locally and TB systemically. My joint is much better now with ninety percent range of motion restored. The pain of the biceps tendinosis is my biggest concern. I am now doing a stack with BPC, TB-500 and IGF-1 DES locally. For you, I dont know if systemic BPC usage would be beneficial. Then there is Cartalax. Have you heard about it? There is also PEG-MGF.
Okay guys. I had an idea so I did some research and it seems the idea has some merit. If you guys decide to try out KLOW/GLOW, you could also try PEG-MGF and IGF-1DES to fix your cartilage issues, if not Cartalax.
Have you been doing focused PT? I’m going through the same thing with knee issues I have a hard time sticking to a regiment of PT because I’m always sore afterwards. It feels like one step forward, two steps back. I’m considering BPC
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Bigdog0628
GLP-1 Apprentice
I’ve had chronic back pain for 20+ years which forms sciatica and transfers pain to my right hip, knee, and glutes. I’ve taken BPC/tb for 5 weeks now and it has healed 80-90%. I had a squat session the other day in gym and was first time I felt zero pain in my body in over 2 decades. Inflammation at all time low. I’m running around on baseball field like I’m 20 again! I paid 5k+ on therapy and such and it never touched what this peptide has done!
This is my fourth day, and I can assure you 100% that it hurts much less. I haven't dared to train legs yet, but I already notice that walking is much better.
I still can't believe it in just four days; I haven't done anything else.
Wanted to share my upcoming protocol since I've been reading this sub for a while and figured I'd contribute. Quick background: ACL reconstruction with partial medial meniscectomy a bit over a year ago, left knee. Recovery went mostly well but I've been dealing with persistent medial knee pain, more on the tibial side just below the joint line — feels more periarticular than intra-articular, classic pes anserine territory or possibly some subchondral involvement from the meniscectomy. Just had an MRI done, waiting on the radiologist's report to confirm what's going on, but I want to have my protocol ready to start once I have a clearer picture.
I went with BPC-157 and TB-4 (the native peptide, not TB-500 — wanted the real molecule rather than the synthetic fragment). Both sourced from a supplier with third-party HPLC, which I think matters more than people give it credit for. Half the conflicting experiences you read about in this space are probably just product quality variance.
My dosing plan is 500 mcg twice daily of each, so 1 mg total per day of BPC-157 and 1 mg total per day of TB-4. I know this is on the higher end of what people typically run, especially for TB-4 since most protocols you see are weekly loading doses in the 2-5 mg range. My reasoning for splitting it into twice daily is the short half-life of BPC subcutaneously — I'd rather keep more sustained exposure at the site than spike and crash with a single daily injection. For a chronic tendinopathy that's been sitting there for over a year, I figure sustained signaling is what I want, not pulses.
Administration plan is subQ as close to the site as I can get it, alternating injection points along the medial aspect of the knee around the pes anserinus insertion, basically a few finger-widths below the joint line on the anteromedial tibia. For TB-4 I might do some shots locally and some in the abdomen since it's more of a systemic player anyway — the literature on it suggests it travels and acts more broadly than BPC does. BPC I'll keep strictly local because the whole point of that one for tendons seems to be the local angiogenic and fibroblast effect.
Reconstitution: 5 mg vial with 2.5 ml bacteriostatic water gives me 2 mg/ml, which works out to 25 units on an insulin syringe per 500 mcg dose. Easy math, clean dosing. Storing reconstituted vials in the fridge and planning to use each within 3-4 weeks of reconstitution to stay on the safe side.
Cycle length I'm planning at 6 weeks minimum, possibly 8 depending on how I'm responding. Tendinous and cartilaginous tissue turns over slowly so I don't expect to feel much in the first two weeks. After the active cycle I'll take 4-6 weeks off completely and see if the clinical improvement holds — if it does, that suggests actual structural progress; if symptoms come back, then the peptides were just modulating inflammation without addressing the underlying mechanical cause, which would tell me I need to look harder at biomechanics and load management instead of throwing more compounds at it.
Couple of things I'm tracking honestly because I want to know what's working and what isn't. First, I'm running this alongside an existing TRT protocol and a GLP-1 (retatrutide), so I won't be able to perfectly attribute effects, but I'm not adding or changing anything else during the cycle so at least the peptides are the only new variable. Second, I had a recent episode of elevated resting heart rate and a transient visual aura that's still being worked up, so I'm going to be paying close attention to any cardiovascular signals during the cycle — TB-4 in particular has theoretical systemic angiogenic effects and I want to be honest with myself if I notice anything off rather than push through.
The rehab side is non-negotiable for me regardless of what the peptides do. Eccentric hamstring work, progressive loading on the knee, and addressing the quad deficit on the operated side that's almost certainly still there a year out and probably contributing to the medial overload. No peptide is going to fix bad biomechanics or a weak quad, and I think that's where a lot of people on this stuff get disappointed — they expect the compounds to do the work that loading should be doing.
I'll report back at the 3-week mark, end of cycle, and again after the washout. Happy to answer questions on sourcing
I still can't believe it in just four days; I haven't done anything else.
Wanted to share my upcoming protocol since I've been reading this sub for a while and figured I'd contribute. Quick background: ACL reconstruction with partial medial meniscectomy a bit over a year ago, left knee. Recovery went mostly well but I've been dealing with persistent medial knee pain, more on the tibial side just below the joint line — feels more periarticular than intra-articular, classic pes anserine territory or possibly some subchondral involvement from the meniscectomy. Just had an MRI done, waiting on the radiologist's report to confirm what's going on, but I want to have my protocol ready to start once I have a clearer picture.
I went with BPC-157 and TB-4 (the native peptide, not TB-500 — wanted the real molecule rather than the synthetic fragment). Both sourced from a supplier with third-party HPLC, which I think matters more than people give it credit for. Half the conflicting experiences you read about in this space are probably just product quality variance.
My dosing plan is 500 mcg twice daily of each, so 1 mg total per day of BPC-157 and 1 mg total per day of TB-4. I know this is on the higher end of what people typically run, especially for TB-4 since most protocols you see are weekly loading doses in the 2-5 mg range. My reasoning for splitting it into twice daily is the short half-life of BPC subcutaneously — I'd rather keep more sustained exposure at the site than spike and crash with a single daily injection. For a chronic tendinopathy that's been sitting there for over a year, I figure sustained signaling is what I want, not pulses.
Administration plan is subQ as close to the site as I can get it, alternating injection points along the medial aspect of the knee around the pes anserinus insertion, basically a few finger-widths below the joint line on the anteromedial tibia. For TB-4 I might do some shots locally and some in the abdomen since it's more of a systemic player anyway — the literature on it suggests it travels and acts more broadly than BPC does. BPC I'll keep strictly local because the whole point of that one for tendons seems to be the local angiogenic and fibroblast effect.
Reconstitution: 5 mg vial with 2.5 ml bacteriostatic water gives me 2 mg/ml, which works out to 25 units on an insulin syringe per 500 mcg dose. Easy math, clean dosing. Storing reconstituted vials in the fridge and planning to use each within 3-4 weeks of reconstitution to stay on the safe side.
Cycle length I'm planning at 6 weeks minimum, possibly 8 depending on how I'm responding. Tendinous and cartilaginous tissue turns over slowly so I don't expect to feel much in the first two weeks. After the active cycle I'll take 4-6 weeks off completely and see if the clinical improvement holds — if it does, that suggests actual structural progress; if symptoms come back, then the peptides were just modulating inflammation without addressing the underlying mechanical cause, which would tell me I need to look harder at biomechanics and load management instead of throwing more compounds at it.
Couple of things I'm tracking honestly because I want to know what's working and what isn't. First, I'm running this alongside an existing TRT protocol and a GLP-1 (retatrutide), so I won't be able to perfectly attribute effects, but I'm not adding or changing anything else during the cycle so at least the peptides are the only new variable. Second, I had a recent episode of elevated resting heart rate and a transient visual aura that's still being worked up, so I'm going to be paying close attention to any cardiovascular signals during the cycle — TB-4 in particular has theoretical systemic angiogenic effects and I want to be honest with myself if I notice anything off rather than push through.
The rehab side is non-negotiable for me regardless of what the peptides do. Eccentric hamstring work, progressive loading on the knee, and addressing the quad deficit on the operated side that's almost certainly still there a year out and probably contributing to the medial overload. No peptide is going to fix bad biomechanics or a weak quad, and I think that's where a lot of people on this stuff get disappointed — they expect the compounds to do the work that loading should be doing.
I'll report back at the 3-week mark, end of cycle, and again after the washout. Happy to answer questions on sourcing
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I will recommend moderately long Time Under Tension, slow overcoming isometrics, especially since it is the knee. It's said that after about 45 seconds, the load bearing shifts towards the tendon during isometrics and it makes sense. Charles Poliquin was a master of this concept and his record speaks for itself. Whenever I tried it for my rotator cuff tear and biceps tendinosis, in the last few days where I added BPC, TB-500, and IGF-1 DES locally in one shot, I felt my muscle stiffness remain, and I could exercise more after reaching fatigue. Today, I have DOMS after a superb biceps workout yesterday but at the same time I can feel the clear strength difference as I move my left arm around.
ussop
GLP-1 Apprentice
IGF-1?
lessthanhalf
GLP-1 Specialist
The peptides with actual human clinical trial evidence they help with osteoarthritis are the GLP's. Partly due to weight loss and partly drug effect.
Calm Logic
GLP-1 Specialist
Frontiers | Emerging therapeutic potential of glucagon-like Peptide-1 receptor agonists in knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review
ObjectiveThis study aims to systematically investigate the clinical efficacy and mechanisms of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) ...
www.frontiersin.org
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