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Does BPC-157 Heal Tendons? What the Human Studies Actually Show

BPC-157 heals cut tendons in rats, but no controlled trial shows it repairs human tendons. Every human study, what it measured, and what does help.

InsidePeptides Editorial Team15 min readPublished
Clinical ResearchMicroscope view of a stained section of tendon, showing long parallel pink collagen fibres with thin dark cell nuclei between them.
Photo: Nephron, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped). Haematoxylin and eosin stained micrograph of human tendon tissue; illustrative only.

Key takeaways

  • Rat studies report faster healing of surgically cut tendons and ligaments with BPC-157, but no controlled human trial has shown it repairs a tendon, ligament or disc.
  • We found seven published human reports; none tested an injury against placebo, and the only joint study measured pain that patients recalled months later.
  • Exercise-based rehabilitation and, for some tears, surgery have trial evidence; a placebo-controlled BPC-157 hamstring trial was still recruiting on 22 October 2026.
In this article

Not on the evidence so far. In rats, BPC-157 has been reported to speed the healing of tendons and ligaments cut in surgery, but no controlled trial has shown that it repairs a torn tendon, ligament or disc in a person.19 We found seven published reports of BPC-157 being given to people. None tested an injury against a placebo, and the only one about a joint measured pain that patients recalled months later, not healing.34 The first placebo-controlled injury trial is still recruiting.27

That gap matters if you are weighing BPC-157 for a sore knee, a torn rotator cuff or a pulled hamstring, because those are exactly the problems it is promoted for. A preprint found that new users recorded each quarter in US clinical notes rose 33-fold between 2020 and 2026.8 Below is every human study we could find, what the rat studies did and did not test, and what is known to help common injuries. There is no dosing information here and no product recommendations, and it is not medical advice.

Every published human study of BPC-157

We searched PubMed, Europe PMC and FDA's July 2026 review on 22 October 2026. We did not count laboratory work on human cells or tissue, or records where BPC-157 was one of many treatments with no separate result.

Study (year)DesignPeopleConditionWhat was measuredWhat it foundMain limitations
Veljaca et al. (2002–2003), as summarised by FDA3Placebo-controlled phase 1; conference abstracts32 healthy volunteers, 24 given BPC-157NoneTolerability and blood levels after an enemaNo significant adverse events attributed to BPC-157Abstracts only; enema; no injury outcome
Ruenzi et al. (2005), as summarised by FDA3Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled; conference abstract53 randomised, 46 completedMild to moderate ulcerative colitisChange in a disease activity score over two weeksScore fell 3.2 points with BPC-157 and 1.6 with placebo; difference not statistically significantAbstract only; FDA called the data "inadequate"
Lee and Padgett (2021)4Retrospective chart review and phone survey16 of 17 patients reached; 12 had BPC-157 aloneKnee pain from various causesRecalled pain relief, mostly 6–12 months later11 of 12 given BPC-157 alone reported significant improvementNo control group; no function scores or scans; follow-up varied
Lee et al. (2024)5Single-arm pilot12 womenInterstitial cystitis (bladder pain)Patient-rated global response questionnaire10 of 12 reported complete resolution; no adverse events reportedNo control group; one self-rated measure; not a tendon
Lee and Burgess (2025)6Single-arm safety pilot2 adults who had used intravenous BPC-157 beforeNoneBlood tests and vital signs over three daysNo side effects or measurable changes reportedTwo people; three days; no efficacy measure
Froum et al. (2026)7Three case reports within a narrative review3 patientsNumbness after dental surgery (jaw nerve injury)Area of altered sensationNumb area shrank in all three; no treatment-related complications reportedGiven with TB-500, another peptide, a steroid and an anaesthetic; no control
Venkatakrishnan et al. (2026), preprint8AI-read clinical notes; not peer reviewed1,039 documented users in US health recordsPain, gut conditions, injuries, surgeryDirection of change noted in recordsImprovement noted in 79% of 354 users with a recorded direction; worsening in 5%No comparison; half used other treatments

Read down the condition column and the problem is plain. Only the knee report concerns a joint, and it measured remembered pain, not healing.4 The only randomised trial in patients was in ulcerative colitis, and it found no significant difference from placebo.3 Three of the five recent reports share one lead author working in private clinics in Florida.456 BPC-157 was nominated to FDA for tendonitis among other uses, but FDA did not evaluate that use for lack of information and "did not identify clinical studies using BPC-157 in these populations."3

You may see two systematic reviews quoted with different numbers, because they asked different questions. The 2025 review in HSS Journal searched to 3 June 2024 for orthopaedic sports medicine studies. Of 36 included, 35 were preclinical and one was clinical (the knee report above), and it found no clinical safety data.2 The 2026 review in Acta Orthopaedica Belgica searched to 1 June 2026 for human studies of any condition. It found three, with 30 people in total, all of poor quality, rated the certainty of evidence "very low" and concluded that BPC-157 "should not be used clinically in humans outside ethically approved, regulated, high-quality clinical trials."1 Neither included the two early conference abstracts that FDA summarised in July 2026, and both searches ended before the two September 2026 reports.378

ClinicalTrials.gov lists four registered studies of BPC-157, none with results. Two concern injuries, a hamstring trial and a rotator cuff pilot, and both are described under those injuries below.2728 Our guide to peptides for injury healing gives wider background.

What the rat studies tested, and what they didn't

The healing claims come from rats. In three often-cited studies from Zagreb, Croatia, rats' Achilles tendons or knee ligaments were cut surgically and BPC-157 was given from 30 minutes later. Treated rats had stronger tendons, better walking scores and better-organised tissue.91011 A 2026 study from Istanbul repaired cut Achilles tendons in 12-week-old rats. BPC-157's gains in tendon strength and overall tissue scores were not statistically significant at four weeks, although the authors reported better collagen organisation.12

Even taken at face value, those experiments answer different questions from the ones an injured person is asking:

What the rat studies measuredWhat a patient needs to know
Healing of a normal tendon or ligament cut in surgery91011Whether it helps tears that develop slowly with age and overuse, as many rotator cuff tears do1618
Force needed to break the tendon, days to weeks after injury91012Whether the tendon stays intact: re-tear rates months and years later
Collagen and cell scores under a microscope91012Pain, strength and function months later
A rat walking index910Time back to work or sport, which the hamstring trial will measure27
Treatment started 30 minutes after injury91011Whether starting weeks or years later does anything
Injections into the abdomen, or drinking water or cream91011Effects by the routes people use; FDA found no animal safety studies by injection under the skin3
Short-term results in small groups, eight rats per group in the 2026 study12Long-term safety, including cancer risk; FDA found no carcinogenicity studies3

None of the right-hand questions has been answered in people. Our explainer on human vs preclinical research covers why rat results often fail to carry over.

Why "it helped my knee" is not proof of healing

When people feel better after a treatment, four other explanations have to be ruled out, and only a randomised, blinded comparison can do that. None of the human BPC-157 reports had one for an injury.

The first is placebo and expectation. In 53 trials comparing surgery with placebo surgery, the placebo group improved in 74%, and in about half placebo did as well as the operation.13 In a high-quality rotator cuff trial, people given inactive ultrasound reported 17.3 points less pain on a 100-point scale after 22 weeks.15

The second is natural recovery. Many tendon and back problems improve with time.19

The third is regression to the mean. People tend to seek treatment when symptoms are at their worst, and unusually bad readings tend to be followed by ones closer to average, which can "make natural variation in repeated data look like real change."14

The fourth is other treatment. In the records study, half of BPC-157 users also took other drugs, most often testosterone, anti-inflammatory painkillers, TB-500 or steroids, and some had physiotherapy or surgery.8 The dental cases included a steroid.7

Pain and structure can also part company. In rotator cuff trials, people with full-thickness tears treated without surgery averaged 1.6 out of 10 for pain at one year, yet MedlinePlus notes that retracted tears "do not heal on their own."1618 None of the human BPC-157 reports used scans to check whether a tendon, ligament or joint had repaired. A 2026 review in Sports Medicine links reported peptide benefits partly to placebo, amplified by social media.30

What the evidence says for your injury

BPC-157 has not been tested in a randomised trial for any injury. The treatments mentioned below have been. Which fits depends on the injury, so a diagnosis from a doctor or physiotherapist comes first.

Knee pain

The one human report is the Florida phone survey: 11 of 12 people given knee injections of BPC-157 alone recalled significant improvement, mostly six to twelve months later.4 With no comparison group, function scores or scans, it cannot separate BPC-157 from natural recovery or expectation. Knee pain has many causes, and they are treated differently.

Tendon pain and old injuries

For tendon problems, a 2023 UK review of more than 500 studies found exercise therapy "safe and beneficial", though most of the evidence was low quality.17 There is no evidence that BPC-157 repairs a tendon that has hurt for months or years. Every rat study above started treatment 30 minutes after a fresh surgical cut.91011

Torn rotator cuff

We found no study of BPC-157 in rotator cuff tears, in people or animals. A small randomised, placebo-controlled pilot after repair surgery at the University of Arkansas is due to start in January 2027; it will measure shoulder strength and check tendon healing by MRI.28 For mostly small, wear-related tears, a Cochrane review found that repair surgery may add little over non-surgical care, but that may not apply to traumatic or large tears or to young people.16 Surgery may be needed for a complete tear.18

Hamstring and other muscle strains

This is where the first real answer may come from. A randomised, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial in MRI-confirmed acute hamstring strains is recruiting an estimated 120 people, all given the same rehabilitation. Its main outcomes are time to return to sport and injury volume on MRI, and primary completion is estimated for February 2027.27 Until then, expect recovery to take time: the NHS says severe sprains and strains "can take months to get back to normal."22

Slipped (herniated) disc

There are no human studies of BPC-157 for disc problems, and our PubMed search on 22 October 2026 found none in animal disc models. Most slipped discs improve slowly with staying active, painkillers and physiotherapy, and surgery is considered when symptoms do not improve or weakness or numbness gets worse.1920 MedlinePlus says pain, numbness or weakness from a herniated disk "often goes away or improves a lot over weeks to months", though a full return to all activities may take "several months to a year or more."19

What about BPC-157 with TB-500?

Both are promoted for healing. In the records study, 12.9% of BPC-157 users also used TB-500, and one FDA adverse event report describes a combined product used for "joint healing and wound healing support"; FDA could not tell which ingredient caused the reaction.38 No human trial has tested the pair. For TB-500 itself, FDA said it had not identified "any clinical studies or human exposure data".24 In the 2026 Istanbul rat study, TB-500 improved the strength of repaired Achilles tendons at four weeks, and combining the two gave no extra benefit over either peptide alone.12 See BPC-157 vs TB-500 and our GLOW and KLOW explainer on blends.

When to get medical help

  • Get urgent advice (urgent care in the US, NHS 111 in the UK) for sudden severe pain during activity, especially with a pop or snap, which can mean a ruptured tendon, or if you cannot put weight on a limb or walk more than a few steps.2122
  • Go to the emergency room (A&E) or call 911 or 999 if an injured limb is misshapen, numb or cold, or if back pain comes with numbness around the bottom or genitals, being unable to pee or control your bladder or bowels, or loss of feeling in one or both legs.2022
  • See your doctor if pain is not getting better after a few weeks.2021
  • If you react to BPC-157 or another peptide, tell your doctor exactly what you used, and report it to FDA's MedWatch programme or your national regulator. Our article on peptide side effects explains what users report.

Safety, sport and legal status as of 22 October 2026

Safety. FDA says compounded BPC-157 "may pose risk for immunogenicity" (an unwanted immune reaction) and "lacks sufficient information to know whether the drug would cause harm when administered to humans."23 Its July 2026 review found no carcinogenicity studies and three adverse event reports up to December 2025 that it could not attribute to BPC-157.3 Our BPC-157 and cancer article covers the long-term question.

Product quality. FDA found data on BPC-157's identity, purity and quality, including impurity and endotoxin testing, lacking or inadequate.3 See whether online peptides are safe to inject.

Sport. WADA's 2026 Prohibited List names BPC-157 under S0, banned in and out of competition, and USADA says it stays listed on the 2027 list, effective 1 January 2027.2526 See our WADA peptide rules.

Legal status. BPC-157 is not an approved medicine: FDA's July 2026 review found no approved product containing it "in any country".3 An FDA "Interim Access Policy for Compounding Using Certain Peptides" was still under White House review on 22 October 2026.29 Such a policy would not be approval or new evidence. See our dated BPC-157 legal timeline and why BPC-157 can be bought online.

How we reviewed this article

Sources

InsidePeptides relies on primary sources: peer-reviewed studies, trial registries and regulators’ own documents. Read our editorial policy.

  1. Poolton JT et al. 2026. Human evidence for BPC-157 in orthopaedic and regenerative medicine: a systematic review of efficacy and safety. Acta Orthopaedica Belgica 92(3). PMID: 42885452. DOI: 10.52628/92.3.15837.
  2. Vasireddi N et al. 2025. Emerging Use of BPC-157 in Orthopaedic Sports Medicine: A Systematic Review. HSS Journal 21(4):485–495. PMID: 40756949. DOI: 10.1177/15563316251355551. Four authors disclosed relationships with orthopaedic device companies.
  3. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 2026. FDA briefing document: BPC-157-related bulk drug substances. Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee, 23–24 July 2026. Nomination footnote (PDF p. 8), ulcerative colitis trial (p. 27), carcinogenicity (p. 39), human safety (pp. 40–44), conclusions (pp. 44–46), Appendix 1 (pp. 54–55). Accessed 22 October 2026.
  4. Lee E, Padgett B. 2021. Intra-Articular Injection of BPC 157 for Multiple Types of Knee Pain. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine 27(4):8–13. PMID: 34324435.
  5. Lee E et al. 2024. Effect of BPC-157 on Symptoms in Patients with Interstitial Cystitis: A Pilot Study. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine 30(10):12–17. PMID: 39325560.
  6. Lee E, Burgess K. 2025. Safety of Intravenous Infusion of BPC157 in Humans: A Pilot Study. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine 31(5):20–24. PMID: 40131143.
  7. Froum S et al. 2026. Case Report: Regenerative peptides for Inferior alveolar nerve injury: a narrative review with hypothesis-generating three clinical cases. Frontiers in Oral Health 7:1907109. PMID: 42876687. DOI: 10.3389/froh.2026.1907109. Authors declared no conflicts of interest.
  8. Venkatakrishnan A et al. 2026. Rising Use of Unapproved BPC-157 (“Wolverine Peptide”) and Associated Patient-Reported Outcomes Curated from Clinical Notes. Preprints.org, posted 7 September 2026. DOI: 10.20944/preprints202609.0501.v1. Preprint; not peer reviewed.
  9. Staresinic M et al. 2003. Gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157 accelerates healing of transected rat Achilles tendon and in vitro stimulates tendocytes growth. Journal of Orthopaedic Research 21(6):976–983. PMID: 14554208. DOI: 10.1016/S0736-0266(03)00110-4.
  10. Krivic A et al. 2006. Achilles detachment in rat and stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157: Promoted tendon-to-bone healing and opposed corticosteroid aggravation. Journal of Orthopaedic Research 24(5):982–989. PMID: 16583442. DOI: 10.1002/jor.20096.
  11. Cerovecki T et al. 2010. Pentadecapeptide BPC 157 (PL 14736) improves ligament healing in the rat. Journal of Orthopaedic Research 28(9):1155–1161. PMID: 20225319. DOI: 10.1002/jor.21107.
  12. Biçer O et al. 2026. Effects of BPC-157 and TB-500 on Achilles tendon healing in rats: A histopathological and biomechanical study. Joint Diseases and Related Surgery 37(3):822–837. PMID: 42542926. DOI: 10.52312/jdrs.2026.2951.
  13. Wartolowska K et al. 2014. Use of placebo controls in the evaluation of surgery: systematic review. BMJ 348:g3253. PMID: 24850821. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.g3253.
  14. Barnett AG et al. 2005. Regression to the mean: what it is and how to deal with it. International Journal of Epidemiology 34(1):215–220. PMID: 15333621. DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyh299.
  15. Page MJ et al. 2016. Manual therapy and exercise for rotator cuff disease. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2016(6):CD012224. PMID: 27283590. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD012224.
  16. Karjalainen TV et al. 2019. Surgery for rotator cuff tears. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 12:CD013502. PMID: 31813166. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD013502.
  17. Cooper K et al. 2023. Exercise therapy for tendinopathy: a mixed-methods evidence synthesis exploring feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness. Health Technology Assessment 27(24):1–389. PMID: 37929629. DOI: 10.3310/TFWS2748. Funded by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research.
  18. MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine. 2025. Rotator cuff problems. Reviewed 2 September 2025; accessed 22 October 2026.
  19. MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine. 2024. Herniated disk. Reviewed 27 August 2024; accessed 22 October 2026.
  20. NHS. 2024. Slipped disc. Page last reviewed 24 April 2024; accessed 22 October 2026.
  21. NHS. 2023. Tendonitis. Page last reviewed 9 June 2023; accessed 22 October 2026.
  22. NHS. 2024. Sprains and strains. Page last reviewed 23 April 2024; accessed 22 October 2026.
  23. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 2026. Certain bulk drug substances for use in compounding that may present significant safety risks. Content current as of 22 April 2026; accessed 22 October 2026.
  24. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 2026. FDA briefing document: TB-500-related bulk drug substances. Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee, 23–24 July 2026. Human safety section (PDF p. 31). Accessed 22 October 2026.
  25. World Anti-Doping Agency. 2025. 2026 Prohibited List. Section S0, non-approved substances; the list in force on 22 October 2026.
  26. U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. 2026. Athlete Advisory: What’s New on the 2027 WADA Prohibited List? Effective 1 January 2027; accessed 22 October 2026.
  27. ClinicalTrials.gov. 2026. NCT07437547: BPC 157 for Acute Hamstring Muscle Strain Repair. Phase 2, recruiting; last updated 27 February 2026. A registry search for BPC-157, BPC 157, BPC157, Bepecin and PL 14736 on 22 October 2026 returned four studies, none with results: NCT07437547, NCT07803250, NCT02637284 (phase 1, status unknown since 2015) and NCT07752381 (single-group study of a "peptide gummies" product, completed).
  28. ClinicalTrials.gov. 2026. NCT07803250: Impact of BPC-157 on Recovery Following Rotator Cuff Repair Surgery. Phase 1, not yet recruiting; estimated start 1 January 2027; last updated 3 September 2026.
  29. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. 2026. Pending EO 12866 regulatory review: Interim Access Policy for Compounding Using Certain Peptides. HHS/FDA, RIN 0910-ZD94, received 14 October 2026; still pending when checked on 22 October 2026.
  30. Mendias CL, Awan TM. 2026. Safety and Efficacy of Approved and Unapproved Peptide Therapies for Musculoskeletal Injuries and Athletic Performance. Sports Medicine 56(8):1921–1935. PMID: 41966639. DOI: 10.1007/s40279-026-02437-0. One author reports consulting fees from an orthopaedic device company for unrelated work.

History

Each entry records a dated change to this article’s content. Link and formatting changes are not listed.

  1. Current version

    Written by InsidePeptides Editorial Team

    Scientific review pending

    Last updated

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