GH therapy and possible applications to connective tissue/joint degeneration in active populations.

A common issue for athletes and other active populations (e.g. SWAT, SOF, etc.) is joint and connective tissue pain with various causes and diagnosis such as tendonitis, bursitis, cartilage degeneration, to name a few.


The use of various anti-inflammatory drugs, as well as nutritional supplements (e.g., Glucosamine, fish oils, etc,), and other therapeutic modalities are of value, but are far from a cure at this point.
A topic I have been researching for some time is the use of GH and other growth factors as a possible treatment for joint/connective tissue degeneration.


The causes of joint pain are multi factorial, but in active populations are often training related: over training, lack of proper warm up, loading and exercise choices, and other variables.
That’s the first place people should look when having chronic joint issues, but not everyone has a choice in the matter as to how much exercise they do and or the types of exercise they perform; various athletes, special operations soldiers, SWAT operators, etc.


I have written in prior articles that I think the use of GH and other growth factors (IGF-1, etc) was a promising way to treat connective tissue/joint problems, and studies are starting to support that conclusion.

There have been impressive developments recently in the use of growth factors for accelerated healing of sports related injuries, overuse syndromes, improved healing after some plastic surgery procedures, as well as studies finding success in the area of orthopedics.


More controversial, my hypothesis has also been that many people who suffer from chronic connective tissue problems and chronic back problems are often found to have low IGF-1, and reversing that state of low IGF-1 as a treatment for these pathologies is a viable treatment. It appears the former concept – using growth factors to treat joint pathology – is getting greater attention with the scientific/medical community. The latter concept – that a deficiency in these growth factors may be the cause of their joint related problems – a much more controversial idea.

Cont:







http://www.brinkzone.com/general-health/gh-therapy-for-joint-degeneration-and-back-pain/

I agree! Will do you feel there are any supplements that are effective for joints/tendons? I tried glucosamine/chondroitin for 1 yr straight at the recommended dosage 3 times/day religiously and felt it did not do much just more of a mental reassurance and the more research I did led me to stop wasting my money. Aside from getting enough vitamin c from fruits/vegetables do you feel there are any benefits to 3-6 grams/day as I used to take 3-4 grams daily but also gave that up?

madman said:

I agree! Will do you feel there are any supplements that are effective for joints/tendons? I tried glucosamine/chondroitin for 1 yr straight at the recommended dosage 3 times/day religiously and felt it did not do much just more of a mental reassurance and the more research I did led me to stop wasting my money. Aside from getting enough vitamin c from fruits/vegetables do you feel there are any benefits to 3-6 grams/day as I used to take 3-4 grams daily but also gave that up?

Click to expand...

I never noticed anything from glucosamine/chondroitin and the data is contradictory at best. Some do report some benefits from them however. Fish oil, anti inflammatory such as Curcumin, Turmeric , boswellia etc and various collagen products such a Bio-Collagen, Patented UC-II, a type II collagen from chicken cartilage shown promise.

But, my hypothesis per article is different:

"More controversial, my hypothesis has also been that many people who suffer from chronic connective tissue problems and chronic back problems are often found to have low IGF-1, and reversing that state of low IGF-1 as a treatment for these pathologies is a viable treatment. It appears the former concept – using growth factors to treat joint pathology – is getting greater attention with the scientific/medical community. The latter concept – that a deficiency in these growth factors may be the cause of their joint related problems – a much more controversial idea."

My experience is, people often have low IGF-1 levels and once corrected, see real improvements. True targeted therapies of direct injections of growth factors at the site have shown re growth of connective tissue.

Thanks Will!