Peptides for injury recovery: what the evidence says
BPC-157 and TB-500 are the peptides people talk about most for tendon, ligament and muscle injuries, often taken together as the "Wolverine stack." GHK-Cu and KPV come up too. Here is what has actually been tested.
This page has not yet been reviewed by a credentialed medical professional. It is educational and is not medical advice.
No peptide has been shown in a randomized trial to heal tendons, ligaments or muscles in people. The evidence for every peptide on this page comes mostly from rats and cell studies.
What people use, ranked by evidence
Strongest evidence first. The numbers come live from PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov.
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BPC-157
Animal studies onlyWhat people use it for: Tendon, ligament, muscle and gut healing. Popular with lifters and runners dealing with injuries.
What the evidence says: Hundreds of rodent studies, mostly from one research group. Human data amounts to three small pilot reports (knee pain, interstitial cystitis and a two-person IV safety pilot).
0 randomized trials 4 registered trials Not approved as a medicine Sport: ProhibitedBPC-157 profile → -
TB-500
Animal studies onlyWhat people use it for: Injury recovery and "tissue repair", often stacked with BPC-157.
What the evidence says: TB-500 itself has essentially no human trials. Full-length thymosin beta-4, a related but different molecule, has been tested in small clinical trials for the eye and heart.
3 randomized trials 18 registered trials Not approved as a medicine Sport: ProhibitedTB-500 profile → -
GHK-Cu
Animal studies onlyWhat people use it for: Anti-aging skincare, wrinkles, hair and wound healing. Common in cosmetic serums.
What the evidence says: Strong lab data and some animal wound-healing work. Reviews note a "surprising absence" of clinical studies of GHK-Cu in wrinkle products, and no human data for injection.
1 randomized trial 3 registered trials Approved for: Cosmetic ingredient (topical); no approved drug use Sport: Check listGHK-Cu profile → -
KPV
Animal studies onlyWhat people use it for: Gut and skin inflammation. A short fragment of the hormone alpha-MSH.
What the evidence says: Cell and animal studies of inflammation. No controlled human trials found.
0 randomized trials 0 registered trials Not approved as a medicine Sport: Check listKPV profile →
Common questions
Does BPC-157 work for tendon injuries?
It improved tendon healing in rat studies, but a 2025 systematic review found 35 of 36 studies were preclinical. In people there are only small uncontrolled pilot reports and no randomized trials.
Is TB-500 better than BPC-157?
There is no human head-to-head evidence. Both are supported mainly by animal research, and the human trials often cited for TB-500 used a different molecule, full-length thymosin beta-4.
Are injury peptides legal?
Neither BPC-157 nor TB-500 is an approved drug in the US or Canada, and both are prohibited in tested sports. Health Canada has warned against injecting peptides bought online.
Go deeper
Other goals
"What people use it for" describes common claims, not recommendations. Educational only, not medical advice.