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TB-4 Frag vs full TB-500 for tendon rehab, what are you actually running?

Posted by holly763 in Protocols & Stacks - 3 points, 4 comments.

My knee OA is still a work in progress tbh, and my PT thinks my left patellar tendon is grumpy too from compensating. I keep going back and forth between TB-4 Frag and full TB-500 for the tendon side of things.

The frag appeals to me bc the smaller size might get into the tendon better, and daily dosing seems easier to plan around. But I see a lot more human talk about TB-500 at 2-5mg twice a week for loading. Has anyone here actually tried the frag for a grumpy tendon and noticed anything? How long did you run it before you could tell?

Also wondering if running both at once is overkill or if there's any logic to stacking them during a loading phase. I'd rather not throw money at a protocol I can't justify. 🦵

Citations welcome if anyone's got them, I'm trying to read more and post less.

Comments

  • data_vet: Ok so I went the frag route on a cranky achilles last year. Did about 8 weeks, 250mcg ed, and it kinda seemed to help around week 3 but honestly could have been the eccentric work I was doing at the same time. Hard to separate. From what I've read, the frag is supposed to hit tissue locally while TB-500 is more systemic. Stacked them doesn't really make sense to me unless you're trying to cover both angles, which gets pricey fast. What does the PT say about load management? That stuff matters
  • holly763: 8 weeks is solid info, ty. Yeah the PT is big on load mgmt, single leg press work and not letting the knee grind through full rom too early. I think I'll start frag solo first, give it a real 6-8 weeks at 250mcg ed, and see if I notice anything around week 3 like you did. Stacking just to stack sounds dumb when I think about it, better to know what's doing what tbh. Did you split the ed dose or just do one shot? 👀
  • night_dad: Yeah the load management piece is the one nobody wants to hear lol. Eccentrics did more for my patellar tendon than anything I injected tbh. Frag gave me a little something around week 3 too but same caveat, who knows what did what. Curious if your PT has you on a heavy slow resistance thing?
  • holly763: Lol yeah she has me doing slow squats on a decline board rn, hurts in a good way i guess. Eccentrics really did more than i expected tbh, i was skeptical at first bc it felt too simple. Week 3 on the frag, ok that's helpful. I kept reading people saying 2-4 weeks before anything and i was getting impatient. How long did you run the frag total? And did you dose it daily or skip days?

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