Posted by boomer on January 10, 1997 at 20:52:49:
In Reply to: Best AS for Ligaments? posted by Get'n Old on January 09, 1997 at 23:02:34:
: About 6 months ago I was doing a bicep curl and,
: on the down stroke, heard and felt one of my biceps
: tear. It turned out to be a ligament that tore away
: from my forearm. A week later, I had surgery
: to re-attach the muscle and it seems to have healed
: very well.
: I'd like to get back into lifting again and
: I was wondering if there is an AS that is especially
: good for making ligaments stronger?
: Thanks for any info!
I think you are referring to tendons, not ligaments.
There are a few kinds of AS that can help ease some joint
pain. Some do so by increasing the synovial fluid in the
joints (heavy androgens), and some do by relieving
inflammation of the whole joint (nandrolones) by some
strange and not totally understood action.
anabolics in general may help heal all tissues in the
body, including tendons. BUT, they can be a double edged
sword! The growth rate of muscle tissue is much faster than
tendons in the body. Many people will get tendonitis in
multiple joints when they come down from a cycle. They are
also more succeptible to tendon tears, like yours. These
can happen in 1 or 2 ways.
#1. Simply the muscle grows so much stronger than it's own
tendons while anabolically enhanced, that the tendon
or tendons will actually start to tear away from the
bone they are attached to. This can lead to chronic
joint pain or even a torn tendon (not pretty).
Having your cortisol level unbelievably lower than
test levels is a factor in this.
#2. While on a cycle, a person has increased lubrication
in most joints of the body. There are no problems
during the cycle, but look out when the person ends
the cycle and the joints dry out. If the person has
been training especially hard during the cycle, it
is quite possible to develop tendonitis. Also, the
very high rise in cortisol at the end of the cycle
can cover the problem further, as cortisol is an
anti-inflammatory. The tendons can be in a fragile
state at this time. If after a cycle you combine
super heavy weights, poor form, overtraining, not
enough protein, and other mistakes, and you are
increasing your chances of rupturing a tendon on
the body.
I read a study in a PT journal a few years ago, where a
doctor was tyring to rationalize why there are so many
athletes on steroids who are getting major tendon
injuries (can you say pro sports athletes on juice----
ALMOST ALL DO OR DID, including women). This doctor was
saying that the rise in cortisol that accompanies the
end of a cycle, or a very long cycle, may actually be
so strong as an anti-inflammatory that it attacks the
connective tissue(tendons) just as much or more than
it attacks muscle tissue. This stuff that you own body
makes may actually eat away at your joints! That is also
the same reason that a person should not get more than 3
cortisone injections in the same spot in a lifetime.
There are a few natural supplements like glucosamine
sulfate and chondroitin sulfate that may help the healing
of your tendon more than AS. If you want to know more about
what you can use, e-mail me and I'll tell you what to get from
your local store.
So in conclusion, I think that a mild amount of any
juice can aid healing of connective tissues in the body,
but they also may be setting you up for more tendon
problems. Especially since you have already torn one from
normal work.
Everyone take heed ---- It is not enjoyable to see your
bicep muscle foll up like a night shade into your shoulder!
Boomer