Jeremy Burnham, MD

03/10/2026

If you follow sports medicine or regenerative health, you've probably heard about therapeutic peptides like BPC-157, TB-500, and GHK-Cu. They're everywhere right now, from social media to supplement shops.

Here's what we actually know from the peer-reviewed literature:

The preclinical data is interesting. In animal models, BPC-157 has shown improved healing in tendons, ligaments, and muscle. It enhanced MCL ligament repair across multiple routes of administration and accelerated Achilles tendon recovery (Cerovecki et al., J Orthop Res, 2010; Sikiric et al., Pharmaceuticals, 2026).

But here's the honest picture: there are currently zero published human clinical trials for BPC-157 in orthopedic applications. No FDA approval. And a multi-billion-dollar peptide industry that is growing far faster than the evidence supporting it.

A recent editorial in Arthroscopy, one of the top journals in our field, called on orthopedic surgeons to stay informed, because patients and athletes will continue to seek these treatments regardless (DeFoor & Dekker, Arthroscopy, 2024).

And a comprehensive review in JAAOS concluded plainly: "Although preclinical studies are promising, there is a current lack of clinical trials" (Rahman et al., JAAOS Global R&R, 2026).

My take: Dismissing emerging science because it's new isn't evidence-based either. The preclinical data warrants our attention. The clinical gap warrants our patience. I give my patients honest answers about what we know and what we don't, and I'm following this data closely.

When the human trials come, surgeons who've been paying attention will be ready to lead the conversation. The field is moving fast. Don't get left behind.

Swipe through the slides for a quick breakdown of the evidence.

03/09/2026

Proud of our team member Savannah Knighton for presenting at the 2026 ATPPS Annual Conference in Cincinnati this past week.

Her presentation, "Moving Beyond the ACL: The Role of Rotatory Knee Stabilizers on ACL Injuries and Treatment," tackled one of the most important concepts in ACL surgery: rotatory instability.

The ACL gets all the attention, but successful outcomes depend on understanding the structures around it. Savannah broke down the three critical factors we focus on when addressing rotatory instability:

1. Meniscus status, including root integrity
2. The anterolateral complex and its contribution to rotational control
3. Posterior tibial slope and its biomechanical influence

She also presented our Loop and Tack lateral extra-articular tenodesis (LET) technique with all suture anchors for patients with persistent rotatory instability.

Savannah is a residency-trained athletic trainer and one of the hardest-working, most intelligent clinicians in our group. She represents the caliber of athletic trainers making an impact across orthopaedics and sports medicine today. When ATs are embedded in a physician practice setting and given the opportunity to engage at this level, the entire care team benefits.

Representing Ochsner-Andrews Sports Medicine Institute

03/09/2026

Our technique for applying Arthrex Amnion™ Matrix to the quad tendon harvest site during ACL reconstruction was featured on the Orthopaedic Video Theater at this year's AAOS Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

Quadriceps tendon autograft is increasingly favored for ACL reconstruction because of its robust mechanical properties and reduced donor site morbidity. However, harvest site complications remain a real consideration: re**us femoris retraction, persistent quadriceps atrophy, and delayed neuromuscular recovery can all affect the timeline for getting back to sport.

Our approach uses Arthrex Amnion™ Matrix applied directly to the quad tendon harvest site as a biologic adjunct. Amniotic tissue provides anti-inflammatory properties, serves as a scaffold for tissue regeneration, and contains growth factors that promote tendon healing and reduce adhesion. The goal is to optimize donor site healing so the patient can focus on their ACL recovery, not the harvest site.

The OVT video illustrates the case of a 23-year-old male athlete undergoing ACL reconstruction with quad tendon autograft and amnion augmentation, walking through graft harvest, membrane application, and post-operative rehabilitation.

🔗 Watch the full video:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0wp24k6c1M
Arthrex: https://www.arthrex.com/resources/VID1-005775-en-US/use-of-arthrex-amnion-matrix-in-quad-tendon-acl-reconstruction

Co-authors: Tommy Drazick, MD, Savannah Knighton, MAL, ATC, OTC, Luke Bunch, PT, DPT, OCS, SCS

03/08/2026

Proud to share that Tommy Drazick, MD, our orthopaedic research fellow, presented our technique for ACL reconstruction utilizing all-suture button femoral fixation with loop and tack lateral extra-articular tenodesis at the AAOS 2026 Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

The Orthopaedic Video Theater (OVT) is one of the premier presentation formats at AAOS. Accepted videos are narrated 4K surgical technique demonstrations, eligible for publication in the Journal of the AAOS and continuing medical education designation.

What makes this technique unique is the fixation strategy. On the femoral side, we use a novel all-suture cortical button, completely eliminating metal from ACL graft fixation. This removes the weak metal-suture interface of traditional designs and eliminates concerns about hardware prominence, metal sensitivity, and MRI artifact. The all-suture design allows for artifact-free postoperative imaging, especially important for younger athletes. We recently published this technique in Arthroscopy Techniques with Dr. Rachel Frank and colleagues.

For the LET, we use an Arthrex double-loaded knotless anchor with our "loop and tack" method: one suture limb is pulled through the graft with a free needle and looped back around, creating a rip-stop effect for stronger fixation and more precise tensioning. Dr. Adam Anz developed this concept at the Andrews Research and Education Foundation.

Drazick came to us at Ochsner Health from the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine, where he co-founded 3D-MEDICS and conducted research on ACL tunnel orientation using 3D-CT models. Great to see him representing Ochsner-Andrews Sports Medicine Institute on a national stage.

Co-authors: Rachel Frank, MD, Adam Anz, MD, Justin Mitchell, MD, Aaron Krych, MD, Savannah Knighton, MAL, ATC, Chloe Roy, BS

03/07/2026

The quad tendon is becoming one of the most talked-about options in ACL reconstruction, and for good reason.

For 30+ years, patellar tendon (BTB) has been the gold standard, and it remains a great graft. I still use it for the right patients. But the biomechanical and clinical data on quad tendon autograft continues to build:

Biomechanics: 2x the cross-sectional area, 38% greater load to failure, 68% greater stiffness, and 20% more collagen density compared to patellar tendon (Shani et al., Arthroscopy, 2016; Hadjicostas et al., Arthroscopy, 2007).

Clinical outcomes: A meta-analysis of 2,962 patients across 32 RCTs found quad tendon superior on key outcome measures compared to both BTB and hamstring (Yang et al., Int Orthop, 2020). A systematic review of 1,154 patients showed a re-rupture rate of just 2.5% for quad tendon vs. 8.7% for hamstring (p = 0.01), with lower donor site complications (Hurley et al., J ISAKOS, 2022).

At AAOS 2026, we presented our work on biologic augmentation of the quad tendon harvest site. This is a graft I've studied, published on, and use for many of my ACL reconstructions, from high school athletes to professionals.

Every patient is different, and graft selection should be individualized. But the evidence on quad tendon keeps getting stronger. Swipe through to see the data.

02/23/2026

“The known is nothing but the prison of past conditioning, and the unknown is the fertile garden of creativity.”

Multiple great insightful and inspirational comments from , one of the all time greats. His journey is extremely motivating and his mental toughness was next level.

01/28/2026

Honored to have received this recognition from our peers. Our team is passionate about exceptional orthopedic care and keep athletes and active people on the field!

01/21/2026

Looking forward to presenting our & research at one of the premier ACL conferences in the world!

.holmes.clark

10/06/2025

Thank you to the Arthritis Foundation for recognizing our team’s contributions to injury prevention and arthritis prevention. Female high school athletes have a 7-8x higher risk of ACL injury than their male counterparts, and up to half of people with ACL tears go on to develop post-traumatic osteoarthritis - making prevention of these injuries even more important.

Support from organizations like the Arthritis Foundation makes research into more effective treatments and prevention of these injuries possible. Congrats to Savannah Knighton, MAL, ATC, OTC, Chloe Roy, Tommy Drazick, MD, and Skylar Culmone, MMS, PA-C on all of the hard work they’ve done that led to this recognition. Honored to be mentioned alongside Ronald Ceruti Jr and Mark ‘Ty’ Garon, MD at this event.

10/01/2025

Enjoyed going on to talk about the Bone Bash! The is an important supporter of medical research that leads to better prevention and treatment options for arthritis and cartilage damage. Please consider supporting the foundation by buying tickets for the event this Saturday at Lod Cook Alumni Center at LSU: http://arthritis.org/bonebashlouisiana

09/24/2025

Early sports specialization puts kids at risk for overuse injuries and burnout. Learn prevention tips and how Ochsner experts help young athletes.

09/17/2025

Louisiana has an amazing sports culture! Rotating through different sports keeps athletes healthy and makes sports even more enjoyable. Learn more about the injury prevention work we're doing at Ochsner Orthopedics and Sports Medicine Institute.

Participating in sports can teach kids countless life lessons. But too much of anything can lead to burnout, and kids are just as susceptible as adults. Here’s