Tendon rupture is associated with the use of anabolic steroids. A likely explanation is the rapid effects of anabolic steroids on muscle strength compared to the relatively slow increase of tendon strength. This leads to a disbalance between the biomechanical strength the muscles can exert and the relatively impaired strength of the tendons. It seems that anabolic steroids could even hurt tendon integrity by lowering tendon collagen content, but this has not been demonstrated in humans, only in animal and petri-dish studies.
Regarding joint pain, nandrolone is often touted for its ability to make joints feel good again. There is a study backing this claim. In a small study, 18 men who were on TRT and had joint pain added half of their testosterone dose with nandrolone, resulting in about 100 to 150 mg of Nandrolone per week. 72% of the participants noted reduced joint pains with an average of 52% reduction in pain. The study added nandrolone to the testosterone dose the participants were already receiving. This makes the before and after situation not comparable: men were simply taking more androgens during the trial than before. Also no placebo group was present, so we don’t know whether patients felt relieved knowing they were injecting something ‘extra’ (the placebo effect). Lower scores of joint pain have also been reported by men starting TRT, so maybe anabolic steroids themselves benefit joint pain. Most steroids increase collagen synthesis of the bones, but I don’t know research that shows it also does this for other joint tissues. I could also not find evidence that nandrolone increases synovial fluid production. Synovial fluid is the substance that makes joints move smoothly.
The study seems promising and together with the reports of people having less pain with the use of nandrolone there might be some benefit to be experienced for joint pain. But do note that joint pain could often be due to low estrogen or too much stress in the gym. Make sure you address these first and refrain from masking it with painkillers or even using nandrolone as this could further deteriorate any underlying and anatomical reason for the pain.
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