[Go to the reading](#read)

[Recovery, in plain words](/)

A handbook for choosing care Plain words: on

[What is it?](/start/)

[Is it real?](/approval/)

[How do I find care?](/care/)

[What will I pay?](/cost/)

[What needs checking?](/safety/)

Check the rules that govern your sport

# Could a treatment conflict with sport rules?

Bring the exact product to the body that sets your competition rules. Do that alongside the care conversation, rather than treating it as a separate question for later.

## Questions to work through

Identify the governing list.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) makes rules about banned substances in sport. Its 2026 list names BPC-157 among banned substances without approval for use as medicines.

The 2026 WADA list also bans TB-500 at all times, including outside competition.

Check the date on the list.

The 2027 WADA list takes effect January 1, 2027. Until then the 2026 list applies; both lists were checked September 26, 2026.

Ask about a medical exemption through the right body.

An athlete needing a banned medicine for illness can seek special medical permission, called a therapeutic use exemption. USADA, the US Anti-Doping Agency, explains how to apply.

Ask that body what process applies to you before making a treatment decision.

## A name missing from examples is not clearance

The 2026 WADA rule also bans substances not named in its examples. This rule covers substances not covered elsewhere on the list. If no government health authority anywhere has approved one as a medicine for people, this rule bans it at all times.

Ask the body that sets your competition rules to check the exact substance, even if its name is missing from the examples. Approval in another country matters to this rule, but does not by itself mean your sport allows the medicine.

## Bring a record rather than a nickname

Record the ingredient’s name, how the medicine is given (tablet or injection), and the reason for using it together. Ask the sport’s governing body for an answer that applies to the product and your competition.

Keep this thought

Care decisions and competition permission need their own answers. Keep the date and governing body beside any sport-rule answer.

## Notes for this question

### [WADA: list currently in force](https://www.wada-ama.org/sites/default/files/2025-09/2026list_en_final_clean_september_2025.pdf)

Use the dated list rather than a promotional summary.

### [WADA: the coming list](https://www.wada-ama.org/sites/default/files/2026-09/2027list_en_final_clean_26_august_2026_2.pdf)

This is the published replacement, with its own start date.

### [USADA: the exemption process](https://www.usada.org/athletes/substances/tue/)

The relevant process depends on the athlete’s circumstances.

[What can I ask?](/questions/)  [Is it approved?](/approval/)  [What can go wrong?](/safety/)

Words, unpacked

Anti-doping rules

The sport rules about prohibited substances and methods.

Therapeutic use exemption

A formal medical exemption for an athlete who qualifies.

[What can go wrong?](/safety/) [When can I pause?](/cautions/) [What if I compete?](/sport/)

[Read this page as text](/sport/index.md)

This is a guide for questioning care offers, never a clinic or a place that supplies medicine.

[Begin here](/)  [What can I ask?](/questions/)  [How can I read the evidence?](/sources/)

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