By Dr. Jeffrey Peng, MD · Published April 3, 2026 · 8 min read Watch the Full Video There is now MRI evidence that platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections can help facilitate the regrowth of knee cartilage. A 42-year-old physically active male developed a progressive osteochondral defect after snowboarding. He tried rehabilitation, corticosteroid injections, and even standard PRP — none of which resolved his condition. His orthopedic surgeon recommended arthroscopic surgery.

By Dr. Jeffrey Peng, MD · Published April 1, 2026 · 10 min read Watch the Full Video Can PRP actually heal a torn rotator cuff? A brand new 2026 randomized controlled trial has provided some of the clearest evidence we have ever had. Researchers used MRI to measure actual tear volumes before and after treatment, and the group that received platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on top of physical therapy showed significantly greater structural healing than the group that received physi

By Dr. Jeffrey Peng, MD · Published March 8, 2025 · 6 min read Watch the Full Video If you are over 40 and have had a shoulder MRI, there is a very good chance your report mentions something about your rotator cuff — tendinopathy, a partial tear, maybe even a full-thickness tear. Those words sound alarming. But a landmark study published in JAMA Internal Medicine is challenging everything we thought we knew about what these findings actually mean. The researchers scanned ov

By Dr. Jeffrey Peng, MD · Published March 6, 2026 · 6 min read Watch the Full Video Platelet rich plasma injections and stem cell injections are two of the most talked-about orthobiologic treatments for knee osteoarthritis. Both have demonstrated clinically significant pain relief and functional improvement in clinical trials. However, stem cell therapy is often marketed as a superior treatment and comes with a much higher price tag. But does the evidence actually support th

By Dr. Jeffrey Peng, MD · Published March 4, 2026 · 6 min read Watch the Full Video A Baker's cyst — also called a popliteal cyst — is a fluid-filled swelling that develops in the back of the knee. Named after the British surgeon Dr. William Baker, who first described the condition, it can range from a painless incidental finding on an MRI to a significant source of discomfort that limits everyday activities like bending, squatting, and walking. In my practice, Baker's cysts

By Dr. Jeffrey Peng, MD · Published March 4, 2026 · 12 min read Watch the Full Video Meniscus tears are among the most common knee injuries, affecting athletes and older adults alike. They can cause significant pain and disability in some people, yet in others they produce no symptoms at all. This disconnect is one of the main reasons there is so much confusion surrounding meniscus tear treatment — patients often receive conflicting advice from different providers. As a boar

Written by Dr. Jeffrey Peng, MD — Board-Certified Sports Medicine Physician Published: March 4, 2026 | Last Updated: March 4, 2026 Back pain is one of the most common complaints I encounter in my sports medicine practice — and one of the most misunderstood. Patients arrive convinced they have a serious spinal problem, that their MRI findings explain their symptoms, or that rest is the only safe path forward. These beliefs are not only unsupported by current evidence; they ac

Written by Dr. Jeffrey Peng, MD — Board-Certified Sports Medicine Physician Published: March 4, 2026 | Last Updated: March 4, 2026 Knee cartilage lesions — including chondromalacia and osteochondral defects — have long been considered irreversible. Once cartilage wears down or detaches, the conventional wisdom has been that it simply cannot regenerate on its own. However, emerging evidence suggests that platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections may not only reduce pain and impr

Written by Dr. Jeffrey Peng, MD — Board-Certified Sports Medicine Physician Published: March 2, 2026 | Last Updated: March 2, 2026 Shoulder cracking and popping sounds can be unsettling, especially when they seem to come out of nowhere. Many patients walk into my clinic concerned that a click or pop in their shoulder means something is seriously wrong — perhaps a rotator cuff tear or the beginning of arthritis. The good news is that in the vast majority of cases, these mecha

Written by Dr. Jeffrey Peng, MD — Board-Certified Sports Medicine Physician Published: March 2, 2026 | Last Updated: March 2, 2026 If you have ever been told that an MRI holds the key to understanding your joint pain, you may be surprised to learn that it might not be telling you the full story. In my practice, I frequently see patients who come in with MRI reports showing tears, arthritis, or degenerative changes — fully expecting these findings to explain their pain. But i

Medically reviewed by Dr. Jeffrey Peng, MD — Board-Certified Sports Medicine Physician Published: March 1, 2026 | Last Updated: March 1, 2026 Knee pain is one of the most common complaints I see in my sports medicine practice. While occasional soreness after exercise is usually nothing to worry about, there are certain warning signs that should prompt you to seek evaluation sooner rather than later. After treating thousands of patients with knee pain, I've identified three c

If you're over 40 and you've had a shoulder MRI, there's a 99% chance your report says something is wrong with your rotator cuff. Tendinopathy. Partial tear. Maybe even a full-thickness tear. That sounds terrifying. But a brand new study just scanned over 600 random people's shoulders — people with pain AND people without — and what they found completely changes how we should think about these results. Hey everyone, Dr. Jeff Peng here. I'm a sports medicine doctor currently p