Anabolic steroids have been studied in medicine to help people recover muscle after surgery, burns and illness, and some results are positive. For sports injuries in healthy people, the evidence is thin, and steroids may weaken tendons even as they strengthen muscle.
- Oxandrolone helped burn and surgery patients regain lean mass in clinical trials.
- Evidence for faster recovery from tendon or ligament injuries in athletes is weak.
- Physiotherapy, gradual loading, protein and sleep are the proven recovery tools.
“Steroids help you heal” is a common belief in gyms. Medicine has genuinely explored the idea, especially for people who lose muscle during serious illness. The results are more nuanced than gym lore suggests, and some findings point the other way for tendons. Here is the evidence.
Corticosteroids vs anabolic steroids
First, an important distinction. The “steroid” injections and pills doctors give for inflammation, such as cortisone or prednisone, are corticosteroids. They reduce swelling and pain but can weaken tendons and slow tissue repair with repeated use. Anabolic steroids are related to testosterone and build tissue. They are completely different drugs with different effects.
Where anabolic steroids have helped in medicine
- Severe burns: trials of oxandrolone in burn patients showed faster regain of lean body mass, better wound healing and shorter hospital stays in some studies.
- Weight loss after surgery, trauma or infection: oxandrolone was approved in the United States for weight regain in these situations until its withdrawal in 2023.
- Muscle wasting in HIV, kidney disease and older adults: nandrolone and testosterone increased lean mass and, in some studies, function.
- Rotator cuff surgery (animal studies): nandrolone reduced muscle wasting and fat infiltration after tendon repair in rats and sheep.
Sports injuries in healthy people
The question most people actually ask is whether steroids speed up recovery from a muscle tear, tendon injury or joint surgery in a healthy athlete. There are very few good human studies. A small number of trials after knee replacement or anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery have tested testosterone or nandrolone to limit muscle loss, with mixed results. None shows clearly faster return to sport.
The tendon problem
Muscles respond to anabolic steroids quickly; tendons adapt slowly. Animal studies have found that anabolic steroids can make tendons stiffer and less able to stretch and absorb force, and may change collagen structure. Case reports describe tendon ruptures, often of the biceps, triceps, quadriceps or pectoral tendons, in anabolic steroid users, typically during heavy lifts. The likely mechanism is a mismatch: stronger muscles pulling on tendons that have not caught up.
What actually speeds recovery
- Early, guided movement. For most muscle and tendon injuries, controlled loading beats complete rest. A physiotherapist can set the right progression.
- Progressive loading of tendons. Slow, heavy exercises are a mainstay of tendon rehabilitation.
- Enough protein, about 1.6–2.2 g per kilogram of body weight a day, to limit muscle loss while training is reduced.
- Collagen or gelatin with vitamin C before tendon loading has some early supporting research.
- Sleep of seven to nine hours.
- Avoiding smoking, which slows tissue healing.
In most Canadian provinces you can book a physiotherapist directly without a doctor’s referral; many workplace benefit plans cover part of the cost.
If you already use anabolic steroids
- Increase training loads gradually, especially on pressing and curling movements that stress the pec and biceps tendons.
- Take warning signs seriously: pain at the tendon’s attachment, not in the muscle belly.
- Tell your physiotherapist or surgeon what you use; it affects healing and surgical planning.
- Do not rely on a compound to mask pain; reduced pain does not mean a tendon is healed.
See our guides to nandrolone and joints and oxandrolone for compound details.
Recovery between workouts
Separately from injuries, many people report recovering faster between workouts on anabolic steroids. This fits research showing higher muscle protein synthesis, and is part of why steroids increase muscle. It does not mean connective tissue recovers faster too. See sleep and recovery and cold exposure and recovery.
Frequently asked questions
Do steroids help injuries heal faster?
Anabolic steroids helped some medical patients regain muscle after burns, surgery and illness. Evidence for faster healing of sports injuries in healthy people is weak.
Do steroids weaken tendons?
Animal studies suggest they can make tendons stiffer, and tendon ruptures are reported in users, likely because muscle strength outpaces tendon adaptation.
Is cortisone the same as anabolic steroids?
No. Cortisone is a corticosteroid that reduces inflammation; anabolic steroids are related to testosterone and build tissue.
Photo: Direct Media, StockSnap (public domain).
General information, not medical advice. See a doctor or physiotherapist for any injury.
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