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Topical diclofenac while running BPC-157 for tendon repair, am I working against myself?

Posted by tracker_jade in Healing & Recovery - 1 points, 3 comments.

So I've been dealing with this nagging medial elbow thing, probably golfer's elbow-ish, and I started BPC-157 injectable about two weeks ago at 250 mcg twice a day. Anecdotally I feel like the dull ache is less but it could just be me backing off training volume at the same time.

Here's my question though. I've been using Voltaren gel on the elbow 3-4 times a day because it genuinely takes the edge off when I'm teaching all day and gripping stuff. But diclofenac is a COX inhibitor, and I keep second-guessing whether blunting local prostaglandins is gonna interfere with what BPC is trying to do upstream with VEGF and angiogenesis.

I've heard people say NSAIDs can slow soft tissue healing. Is that mostly an oral NSAID concern because of systemic levels, or does topical matter too since plasma absorption is so low? The diclofenac profile says tissue penetration lasts 12+ hours so it's definitely in the tissue where the peptide is working.

Anyone run both at the same time and still felt like BPC did its thing? Or did you hold off on the gel during a peptide cycle? Trying to figure out if I'm being smart or just sabotaging myself.

Comments

  • night_optimizer: I dealt with something similar with a cranky wrist last year, I was using Voltaren while doing BPC-157 and I honestly couldn't tell if it slowed things down or not, the pain did fade over maybe five weeks but I was also modifying my practice a lot so who knows. 🙋 My gut says topical is probably less of an issue than oral since you're not getting the systemic prostaglandin suppression everywhere, but you're right that the tissue levels at the actual site are still real. I ended up cutting back
  • tracker_jade: Yeah that morning-only approach is kinda what I was leaning toward too. I don't need the gel as much in the evenings when I'm not gripping markers and stuff all day. Did you just tough it out the rest of the day or did you find something else that helped take the edge off? I've been considering just switching to ice after work instead but that feels like it might be its own anti-inflammatory hit on the area.
  • tracker_jade: The morning-only approach makes sense to me. Anecdotally I wonder if the bigger concern is just not smothering the inflammatory signal all day every day while BPC is trying to do its thing. Did you notice any difference in how the tendon felt on days you skipped the gel entirely versus days you used it?

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