Sport research · Netball

Peptides for netball: landings, pivots and ligament load

Netball is a fast, jumping, stop-start game with one of the highest ACL-injury rates in women’s sport. This page maps those demands onto the evidence radar and lists the anti-doping status of every compound.

Collision sportWADA 2026 status checkedVerified PubMed citations

Tested athletes: read this first

Under the WADA 2026 Prohibited List (in force from 1 January 2026), BPC-157 is named under S0, TB-500 under S2.3, Ipamorelin and Tesamorelin under S2.2.4 and MOTS-c under S4.4.1 — all prohibited in and out of competition. Research peptides with no regulatory approval anywhere are caught by S0’s catch-all wording. Tested athletes: these are banned. South African athletes can check with SAIDS and the official 2026 List.

The demands

What netball asks of the body

Netball’s footwork rule — you cannot run with the ball — means players land, stop and pivot sharply, repeatedly. The result is a high rate of ankle sprains and, most seriously, anterior cruciate ligament ruptures from landing and cutting mechanics. Knee and ankle injuries account for the majority of time lost in the sport.

Collisions happen in the circle and at centre passes, but head impact is uncommon. The main recovery challenge is ligament and tendon health across a season of tournaments where several matches may be played in a weekend.

South Africa is a world-ranked netball nation, with the Spar Proteas, a professional Telkom Netball League and huge participation in schools. Netball South Africa applies the WADA Code and players can be tested by SAIDS. The anti-doping table applies to every tested player.

Mapped to the evidence radar

Each demand below is mapped to one of the ten fixed research areas on our evidence radar. The heavier the weight, the more that area counts when compounds are ranked for Netball: Recovery & Repair ×3, Sleep & Recovery Rhythm ×2, Muscle & Body Composition ×1, Mood & Calm ×1, Longevity & Energy ×1.

ACL and ankle ligaments · Recovery & Repair
Landing and pivoting injuries. Ligament research for the repair peptides is in animal models; ACL rupture is a surgical and physiotherapy pathway.
Tournament weekends · Sleep & Recovery Rhythm
Several matches in a few days. Sleep-rhythm research here is in older adults.
Jump power · Muscle & Body Composition
Explosive landing strength. Compounds on the Muscle axis are named on the WADA List.
Tournament pressure · Mood & Calm
Composure in close matches. The relevant research is Russian clinical anxiety work in patients.

By the evidence

Highest-scoring compounds for Netball

Ranked by weighted evidence score across Netball’s research areas. A reading aid for the literature — not a recommendation, and not a performance claim.

Top three for Netball, overlaid · strength of published evidence per area

Show the scores as a table

Evidence score per research area, 0 to 10
Area	KLOW	Ipamorelin	Tesamorelin
Fat Loss & Metabolism	2	5	8
Appetite Control	1	3	3
Muscle & Body Composition	6	8	7
Recovery & Repair	10	7	6
Skin, Hair & Glow	10	5	5
Gut & Immune	10	5	4
Cognition & Focus	6	4	7
Mood & Calm	5	4	5
Sleep & Recovery Rhythm	3	7	7
Longevity & Energy	9	6	7

KLOW

In stock

7.0Netball match

Recovery & RepairPrimary10/10

Extensive animal and tissue studies demonstrate rapid healing of tendon, ligament, muscle, and bone.

Sleep & Recovery Rhythm3/10

Indirect — studied via anti-inflammatory and nervous-system gene-expression pathways; limited direct sleep data.

Muscle & Body Composition6/10

Promotes myoblast proliferation and accelerates functional recovery after mechanical muscle tears.

S0 + S2.3KLOW contains BPC-157 (named in S0) and TB-500 (named in S2.3). Tested athletes: this is banned.

Research overview View compound

Ipamorelin

Restocking

6.6Netball match

Recovery & RepairPrimary7/10

Enhanced IGF-1 upregulates collagen synthesis and accelerates connective tissue reconstruction.

Sleep & Recovery Rhythm7/10

Growth hormone pulses reinforce deep slow-wave restorative sleep cycles and REM stability.

Muscle & Body Composition8/10

Selectively stimulates potent, pulsatile growth hormone and IGF-1 release without elevating cortisol.

S2.2.4Ipamorelin is named among the growth hormone secretagogues (S2.2.4), non-Specified, prohibited at all times. Tested athletes: this is banned.

Research overview Notify me on restock Glossary

Tesamorelin

Restocking

6.4Netball match

Recovery & RepairPrimary6/10

Raises IGF-1, the axis studied for collagen synthesis and connective-tissue repair.

Sleep & Recovery Rhythm7/10

GHRH signaling deepens Stage 4 slow-wave restorative sleep architecture.

Muscle & Body Composition7/10

Clinically documented to increase functional lean body mass alongside visceral fat reduction.

S2.2.4Tesamorelin is named as a GHRH analogue (S2.2.4), non-Specified, prohibited at all times — even though it is an approved medicine elsewhere. Tested athletes: this is banned.

Research overview Notify me on restock Glossary

Epitalon

Restocking

6.4Netball match

Recovery & RepairPrimary5/10

Supports immune surveillance and restorative cellular maintenance cycles.

Sleep & Recovery Rhythm9/10

Restores youthful nocturnal melatonin rhythm in clinical gerontology trials.

Muscle & Body Composition3/10

Indirect — studied via neuroendocrine and melatonin regulation in ageing models; limited direct muscle data.

S0Not named. Epitalon has no current approval as a medicine anywhere we can find, which is the S0 test. Tested athletes should treat it as banned.

Research overview Notify me on restock Glossary

BPC-157

In stock

6.0Netball match

Recovery & RepairPrimary9/10

Extensive animal and tissue studies demonstrate rapid healing of tendon, ligament, muscle, and bone.

Sleep & Recovery Rhythm3/10

Indirect — studied via gut-brain and dopaminergic/serotonergic modulation in rodents; limited direct sleep data.

Muscle & Body Composition5/10

Promotes myoblast proliferation and accelerates functional recovery after mechanical muscle tears.

S0BPC-157 is named by the 2026 List as an example of a non-approved substance (S0), prohibited in and out of competition. Tested athletes: this is banned.

Research overview View compound Glossary

Cerebrolysin

Restocking

6.0Netball match

Recovery & RepairPrimary8/10

Robust stroke and traumatic brain injury rehabilitation trials prove functional neuroplastic recovery.

Sleep & Recovery Rhythm5/10

Small studies report EEG normalisation in dementia; sleep-specific data are limited.

Muscle & Body Composition2/10

Little or no published research links this compound to this area.

M2.2Not named, and approved as a medicine in a number of countries. Its trials use intravenous infusions; outside hospital care, IV infusions over 100 mL per 12 hours are a prohibited method (M2.2).

Research overview Notify me on restock Glossary

Scores (0–10) rate the strength of the published research link in each area — large human trials score highest, then smaller human studies (Russian clinical research counted at full weight), then animal and lab work. They describe the literature, not an outcome for any person or athlete. All compounds are supplied strictly for laboratory research purposes and are not for human consumption.

The literature

What published research says about netball

Review of BPC-157’s preclinical record across muscle, tendon, ligament and bone.[1]
Thymosin β4 promoted cell migration and repair in a mouse model.[2]

Brain health

Head impact, concussion and the neuro research

Netball involves collisions that can cause concussion, so brain-health research is part of the honest picture. Two evidence reviews on this site cover it without the marketing: neuropeptides and brain injury (concussion, traumatic brain injury and CTE — including the trials that found no benefit) and Cerebrolysin and stroke.

The short version: no peptide has been shown to prevent or treat sport-related brain injury, and there is no proven treatment for chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Anyone with concussion symptoms should be removed from play and assessed by a doctor, and return to sport should follow a graded protocol.

Anti-doping

WADA 2026 status of every compound on this page

Quoted from the WADA Prohibited List 2026 (in force 1 January 2026). Where a compound is not named, we say so and explain how the List’s wording applies.

WADA 2026 Prohibited List status per compound
Compound	Status	What the 2026 List says
KLOW	Prohibited — named · S0 + S2.3	KLOW contains BPC-157 (named in S0) and TB-500 (named in S2.3). Tested athletes: this is banned.
Ipamorelin	Prohibited — named · S2.2.4	Ipamorelin is named among the growth hormone secretagogues (S2.2.4), non-Specified, prohibited at all times. Tested athletes: this is banned.
Tesamorelin	Prohibited — named · S2.2.4	Tesamorelin is named as a GHRH analogue (S2.2.4), non-Specified, prohibited at all times — even though it is an approved medicine elsewhere. Tested athletes: this is banned.
Epitalon	Treat as prohibited · S0	Not named. Epitalon has no current approval as a medicine anywhere we can find, which is the S0 test. Tested athletes should treat it as banned.
BPC-157	Prohibited — named · S0	BPC-157 is named by the 2026 List as an example of a non-approved substance (S0), prohibited in and out of competition. Tested athletes: this is banned.
Cerebrolysin	Method limit (IV) · M2.2	Not named, and approved as a medicine in a number of countries. Its trials use intravenous infusions; outside hospital care, IV infusions over 100 mL per 12 hours are a prohibited method (M2.2).

FAQ

Netball: common questions

Are netball players drug tested in South Africa?

Yes. Netball South Africa operates under the WADA Code and SAIDS tests players, including in the Telkom Netball League. The 2026 List names BPC-157, TB-500, Ipamorelin, Tesamorelin and MOTS-c.

Is there research on peptides after ACL reconstruction?

Not in humans in any robust form. The ligament research is animal work. ACL rehabilitation is led by a surgeon and physiotherapist.

Why is netball not flagged as a head-impact sport?

Collisions occur, but head impact is uncommon compared with rugby or combat sports. The page focuses on the knee and ankle injuries that dominate the sport.

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