Last year I sustained a pretty bad injury.Basically a 7 pound object fell from a height of about 35 feet and struck me right on the back of my neck.I was performing work duties so i was leaning over so my upper body was parallel to the ground.Kind of like a guillotine only instead of a sharp blade falling it was a blunt object.

The next day I went to my Primary doctor, he examined me and stated that it was merely "whiplash"and I will be fine just ice it up and take some ibuprofen and i will be fine.So like a jackass I continued to work.The work that I do is physically demanding and in fact sometimes downright brutal but I love it!

After a few weeks the pain was unbearable.When I would turn my head either left or right , or up or down , it would sound like a gearbox on a 1986 Suzuki quadracer 500.I got to the point where i began to lose the feeling in my arms.When they were functioning and i could actually make a grip with my hand, the pain would almost bring me to tears.

I finally had to bite the bullet and made an appointment with an orthopedist that specializes in Sports related Injuries.Had an MRI done that finally revealed the problems.The first pic is one of the many images that was taken.What is clearly visible is the inflammation on the back of my neck.At that time it looked like i was wearing a flesh-tone neckbrace.You can also see the bulging discs between C-3,4,5,6.What is not visible in this Image is what they referred to as a "Perineural Cyst" which they found and stated that it was benign.Basically as a result of the blunt force a small bubble of spinal fluid was formed directly on the nerve root of the C-5/C-6 Cervical Vertebrae.Doctors use the term benign in regards to this type of cyst only in regards to it not being cancerous.Most Doctors' opinions are that these type of cysts do not cause any symptoms.I would honestly have to disagree and it is my opinion that most doctors only say that to cover their lack of true understanding on the subject.

The pain was getting progressively worse. I began to have painful muscle spasms from hell.The Source/Root of the nerve was being pinched by the newly formed cyst.The nerve was constantly sending false signals to the brain and muscles.My whole upper body was in a constant painful state of contraction.I began to have some crazy involuntary muscle movements.My back, arms , and chest would just begin to twitch and flex uncontrollably.

The doctors then ran some nerve tests.In the end it was deemed as "Benign Fasticulations" caused by the nerve impingement.They ruled out that it was not a neurological issue or multiple sclerosis or something of that sort.

So now im in serious pain,Im twitching like a fish out of water, and no matter what my muscles would not relax.I was faced with a whole lot of uncertainty at this point.

The Orthopedist said there are two ways to go about this.Option #1:Pain Management, Corticosteroid Injections.Gain some relief and then take it from there depending on results.
Option #2: A long road of physical therapy, stretches, strength exercises, a more holistic approach.

Knowing the type of person that I am , if i had chose option1 and the pain disappeared or if i didnt feel it I would be off and running.Beating my body back into the ground until i would end up needing surgery.

I decided to go with option 2.I started with the standard Physical Therapy and after some time I saw little to no improvement.Maybe a few hours of relief but by the next day it was right back to square one again.A friend told me about a place that did deep trigger point massage therapy,chiro, acupuncture etc.After several weeks of the massage therapy sessions my muscles would begin to release from contraction and relax.The only problem was they would not hold, so by the next appointment it was like starting from the beginning once again.

By this point im starting to get angry and aggravated.Thinking Im fucked and thats it.Things will never be the same ever again.

So I started to do some research and I came across something called THYMOSIN BETA4,or TB500.After reading about it I honestly thought it was merely some VOODOO magic Bullshit.I didnt have anything to lose at all and its not in my nature to give up or give in.

So I decided to give it a trial.I decided to use it @ 5mgs per week, for a total of 8 weeks.Here is a brief summary of the notes from my experience.
WEEK 1:No signs of any change at all.
WEEK 2:Serious migraine headache one day after pinning, uncertain if related to use.
WEEK 3:Muscle Spasms and Twitching starting to slow down in frequency.
WEEK 4:Pain and Discomfort beginning to diminish.
WEEK 5:Gaining range of motion in arms without pain,arms beginning to feel better.
WEEK 6:Spasms are almost non existent, Pain is minimal,begun light training using resistance bands.
WEEK 7:Muscle spasms are gone, associated pain is gone,begin using 25 pound dumbbells and high reps to begin building strength up again.
WEEK 8: Almost feeling somewhat normal again, continue light weight training,stretching, therapeutic trigger point massage.

***I did not feel comfortable doing spot injections at the injury location so I used delts , quads, glutes intramuscular.

***It is important to note that I did 3 months of massage therapy before I introduced TB-500 into the picture.Within those 3 months I had very minimal improvement.The relief of symptoms was short lived, not lasting for more than one week.

The Therapist could not believe that all of a sudden the adhesions/knots in my back were breaking up.
The muscles were finally relaxed and maintaining proper physical position.
The twitching and spasms had disappeared.
Most importantly all of the associated pain was gone.

I have come to the conclusion based on my experience that TB-500 had a positive influence on my recovery.I took it for 8 weeks only.I have read that one should continue with a monthly maintenance dose after the loading phase.I decided not to continue with the maintenance dose as its been stated that once TB500 is discontinued the symptoms will return.I wanted to test that theory in my case.
My Last dose of TB500 was taken in march.As of this writing none of the symptoms i had previously have returned.Picture #2 is me recently doing a hammercurl with a 40 pound powerblock dumbbell with the arm that was pretty much dead to me about 4 months ago.

In Conclusion It is my opinion that the use of tb500 has definitely helped with my positive recovery from injury.
Did it miraculously re-align my neck and pop my discs back into place? definitely not

Would it have helped me if I continued to do the same things that caused the problems and symptoms in the first place?Most probably not.

If you sustain a type of injury to muscle tissue, connective tissue , or if your symptoms of injury are located within those areas , I feel it will definitely help in recovery.

It afforded me the opportunity to rehabilitate without discomfort.It is not a miracle cure within itself.It is merely one piece of a giant puzzle.

Just Like the use of AAS is a tool to aid in your muscle recovery time.Same with the use of tb500.It is merely one tool of many in the arsenal.

The bottom line is, it is up to you the individual to make the best choice for you.The tools will only work if you put in the effort and use them wisely.

Lastly I would like to extend my gratitude to this community here at eroids.Without this wealth of information at my fingertips I probably would of never even heard of TB500.Quite possibly i could of still been in severe pain, hooked on pharmaceutical pain killers.Headed down a completely different path.
For that I say Thank You.