Can peptides cause joint or muscle pain?

Each answer says whether joint or muscle pain was reported, and how often where that’s known. “Not reported” means the label or trials didn’t list it, not that it can’t happen. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist about any symptom that worries you.

From a product label 24

What the prescribing information says, with rates against placebo where the label gives them.

AbaloparatideApproved drug

LabelJoint pain 7% vs 1% and bone pain 2% vs 0% in men; back pain 8.6% in ACTIVE (EU label). Leg and back muscle spasms are reported.

CalcitoninApproved drug

LabelBack pain 5% vs 2% on placebo with the nasal spray; joint pain 4% vs 5%. The UK label lists muscle and joint pain as common.

CerebrolysinApproved drug

LabelVery rare: limb and lower back pain, usually as part of an allergic reaction (EU and Russian labels).

GHRP-2Approved drug

LabelLow back pain is listed with frequency not known. Joint and muscle pain aren’t listed for the single IV test dose.

GonadorelinApproved drug

LabelPain is listed as uncommon (under 1 in 100); joint or muscle pain isn’t named specifically in the UK label.

L-CarnitineApproved drug

LabelLeg cramps: 4% vs 13% on placebo in the label’s dialysis trials, so no excess.

LeuprolideApproved drug

LabelJoint problems: 8% vs 0% on placebo in endometriosis and 8% vs 3% in fibroid trials; musculoskeletal pain 11% on Camcevi. Bone pain can flare in the first weeks.

MecaserminApproved drug

LabelJoint pain and limb pain in 5% or more of children; fast growth can slip the hip’s growth plate. Adults on high doses reported jaw and joint pain.

Melanotan 1Approved drug

LabelMuscle, back and joint pain are common (1 to 10 in 100) in the EU label; joint stiffness and muscle spasms are uncommon.

OctreotideApproved drug

LabelJoint pain and backache in 1–4% on daily injections; joint pain in 26% in an open-label Mycapssa study. Treating acromegaly eased joint pain in trials.

PalopegteriparatideApproved drug

LabelBack pain 8% vs 0% on placebo (US label); joint pain, muscle pain and muscle twitching are common (EU). Twitching and cramps can signal low calcium.

PramlintideApproved drug

LabelJoint pain: 7% vs 5% on placebo in type 1 diabetes.

PT-141Approved drug

LabelMuscle pain, joint pain and limb pain each occurred in under 2% of users, slightly more often than on placebo.

SetmelanotideApproved drug

LabelJoint pain 19% and back pain 33% in the year-long POMC, PCSK1 and LEPR trials, which had no placebo group.

Somatropin (HGH)Approved drug

LabelJoint pain: 17.3% vs 4.2% on placebo in adults (Genotropin), and 36% vs 11% in HIV wasting. Carpal tunnel syndrome affected 2% of 3,031 adults in extension studies.

TeriparatideApproved drug

LabelJoint pain: 10.1% vs 8.4% on placebo; leg cramps 2.6% vs 1.3%. Serious back cramps or pain have been reported within minutes of an injection.

TesamorelinApproved drug

LabelJoint pain 13% vs 11%, muscle pain 6% vs 2% and limb pain 6% vs 5% on placebo; carpal tunnel syndrome (hand numbness) 1% vs 0%.

Thymosin Alpha-1Approved drug

LabelRare: Indonesia’s label lists pain in several joints with hand swelling, and brief muscle wasting. Italy’s label lists no joint or muscle effects.

TriptorelinApproved drug

LabelBone pain 12.1–13.2% and joint pain 2.3–7.5% in US trials; back pain is very common in the UK label. Bone pain can worsen in the first weeks.

ZiconotideApproved drug

LabelMuscle spasms 6% vs 4% and limb pain 5% vs 2% on placebo; muscle aches with raised CK and, rarely, muscle breakdown occur.

CosyntropinApproved drug

LabelNot listed after a single test. Repeated depot use can cause steroid-type muscle weakness and wasting, bone thinning and tendon rupture (UK label).

DesmopressinApproved drug

LabelJoint pain isn’t a listed side effect. Muscle weakness, spasms or cramps are listed among the warning signs of low sodium.

hCGApproved drug

LabelNot listed in the urine-derived hCG labels. Back and body pain were reported by under 2% of women in recombinant hCG trials, whatever the cause.

LiraglutideApproved drug

LabelNot listed for adults on Saxenda. Back pain: 4–5% vs 3% on placebo in Victoza’s diabetes trials; limb pain 4% vs 2.4% in Saxenda’s teen trial.

From human studies 14

What published trials and case reports found.

MazdutideApproved drug

TrialJoint pain: 6.9% vs 6.4% on placebo in the 56-week US phase 2 trial (177 adults), so no clear excess.

OxytocinApproved drug

TrialNasal spray: muscle pain 3.4% vs 0.7% and joint pain 1.4% vs 0.7% on placebo over 24 weeks, in small numbers. Not listed for IV use.

AOD9604Human studies

TrialBack pain: 8.2% of all 502 people in the 24-week trial, with no pattern by treatment. Joint pain wasn’t singled out.

ARA-290Human studies

TrialScattered reports: joint pain, stiffness, muscle or back pain each in 1–2 of 46 people on 1–8 mg; muscle spasms and limb pain were as common on placebo.

Kisspeptin-10Human studies

TrialOne of 18 people given repeated IV doses over 40 hours had muscle breakdown (rhabdomyolysis) after the study visits; the registry doesn’t say whether it was linked. No placebo group.

Melanotan 2Human studies

TrialA man who injected 6 mg developed body aches and muscle breakdown (rhabdomyolysis). Bremelanotide’s label lists muscle and joint pain as less common (under 2%).

MK-677Human studies

TrialMuscle pain: 14 of 43 vs 2 of 22 on placebo over a year; joint pain made 2 people lower the dose and later withdraw. Carpal tunnel syndrome was reported.

NAD+Human studies

TrialMuscle pain was among the most common side effects in a review of 10 oral NADH and precursor trials (489 people). No data for injections.

SurvodutideHuman studies

TrialJoint pain: 7.4% vs 6.5% on placebo in the phase 2 obesity trial and 6.1% vs 15.2% in the MASH trial, so no clear excess.

Thymosin Beta-4Human studies

TrialJoint pain in 2 of 53 on the gel vs 0 of 18 on placebo (pressure ulcers); limb pain in 3 of 55 vs 1 of 17 (leg ulcers).

Follistatin-344Preclinical

TrialPain was recorded in all 3 boys in the Duchenne gene-therapy trial, which injected the gene into muscle; the Becker and myositis trials reported no adverse effects.

GlutathioneApproved drug

TrialNot listed in the label. Body aches were among symptoms in the 2026 outbreak tied to contaminated supplement-grade injections.

CagrilintideHuman studies

TrialJoint pain 1–6% vs 7% on placebo, and limb pain 0–2% vs 7%, in the 26-week trial, so no more common than placebo.

RetatrutideHuman studies

TrialJoint pain wasn’t a reported side effect. In TRIUMPH-1, knee arthritis pain fell 3.2–3.6 points on a 10-point scale vs 1.9 on placebo.

From user reports 3

Commonly reported by people who use it, not established in a study.

CJC-1295 with DACHuman studies

CommunityUsers report joint aches, which growth hormone labels tie to fluid retention. They aren’t among the side effects FDA summarized from the short trials.

IpamorelinHuman studies

CommunityUsers report joint aches. FDA’s adverse-event database holds one report of elbow pain after 2 months of an ipamorelin and sermorelin mix.

CJC-1295 (no DAC)Preclinical

CommunityUsers report joint and muscle aches, which growth hormone labels tie to fluid retention. No study has measured this for this peptide.

A precaution, not measured 2

A concern that follows from how it works or from a related drug.

IGF-1 DESPreclinical

PrecautionNo human data for DES. Mecasermin lists joint pain and limb pain in 5% or more of patients; in children it can cause hip growth-plate slippage.

IGF-1 LR3Preclinical

PrecautionNo human data for LR3. Mecasermin lists joint pain and limb pain in 5% or more of patients; in children it can cause hip growth-plate slippage.

Studied in people, not reported 34

Labels or trials covered enough people and didn’t report it. It can still happen.

CetrorelixApproved drug

Not reportedNot listed in the US or EU labels, whose trials gave it to 949 women for a few days per IVF cycle.

DasiglucagonApproved drug

Not reportedJoint or muscle pain isn’t listed in the adult single-dose trials.

DSIPApproved drug

Not reportedNot listed in the Deltaran label or reported in the small IV studies (single doses to about 3 weeks of injections).

DulaglutideApproved drug

Not reportedJoint or muscle pain isn’t among the label’s common side effects, from placebo-controlled trials of 1,670 adults treated for about 24 weeks on average.

EcnoglutideApproved drug

Not reportedJoint or muscle pain wasn’t among the reported side effects in the published diabetes trials (249 people on ecnoglutide, 20–24 weeks).

EnlicitideApproved drug

Not reportedJoint or muscle pain isn’t listed in the label (52-week trials in about 3,200 adults, nearly all also on statins).

ExenatideApproved drug

Not reportedJoint or muscle pain isn’t listed in the label, whose 30-week trials included 963 people on exenatide.

GanirelixApproved drug

Not reportedNot listed in the US or EU labels; the US trials gave it to 794 women for 1–14 days per IVF cycle.

GlucagonApproved drug

Not reportedJoint or muscle pain isn’t listed; the rescue trials gave single doses to about 300 adults.

IcotrokinraApproved drug

Not reportedJoint pain isn’t a listed side effect. Whether it helps psoriatic arthritis is being tested in phase 3 trials.

LinaclotideApproved drug

Not reportedNot listed in the labels’ trials (over 2,000 adults, up to 26 weeks). A 2025 analysis of US adverse-event reports found a muscle-spasm signal, which can’t prove cause.

LixisenatideApproved drug

Not reportedJoint or muscle pain isn’t among the label’s common side effects, from placebo-controlled trials of 2,869 people on lixisenatide.

MacimorelinApproved drug

Not reportedNot reported in the main study of 154 adults given a single dose.

OrforglipronApproved drug

Not reportedJoint or muscle pain isn’t listed in the label, whose weight trials followed 3,155 people on orforglipron for up to 72 weeks.

PlecanatideApproved drug

Not reportedNot listed in the label’s trials (about 1,600 adults on 3 mg, 12 weeks). A 2025 analysis of US adverse-event reports found a muscle-spasm signal, which can’t prove cause.

SelankApproved drug

Not reportedNot listed in the Russian label or reported in the small Russian trials of 60–70 patients each.

SemaglutideApproved drug

Not reportedJoint or muscle pain isn’t a listed side effect in the 68-week trials of 2,116 adults on 2.4 mg. In STEP 9, knee arthritis pain eased more than on placebo.

SemaxApproved drug

Not reportedNot listed in the Russian labels or reported in the small Russian trials (27–187 patients, mostly 10-day courses).

SS-31Approved drug

Not reportedNot a listed side effect. Joint pain: 1% vs 5% on placebo over 48 weeks in 117 adults; muscle spasms 3% vs 7% in a 4-week trial.

TeduglutideApproved drug

Not reportedJoint or muscle pain isn’t a listed side effect in the US or EU labels, based on 24-week trials in 109 adults.

ThymalinApproved drug

Not reportedNot listed in the Russian label, which names only allergic reactions; published trials, mostly small and from Russia, gave few safety details.

TirzepatideApproved drug

Not reportedJoint or muscle pain isn’t a listed side effect in the labels, whose weight trials followed 2,519 adults on tirzepatide for up to 72 weeks.

VIPApproved drug

Not reportedNot listed in Invicorp’s label. In a 196-person trial of 3-day IV infusions, no side effect type except diarrhea was more common than on placebo.

ArgirelineHuman studies

Not reportedNot reported in the small skin trials (up to 60 people, mostly 4–8 weeks); the most reliable lab tests found almost none reaches deeper skin.

GHK-CuHuman studies

Not reportedNot reported in the small topical studies (13–86 people, mostly 8–12 weeks), which gave few safety details. Injection hasn’t been studied in people.

GHRP-6Human studies

Not reportedNot reported in single-dose studies or 24-hour infusions in healthy men. Repeated daily use hasn’t been studied.

HexarelinHuman studies

Not reportedNot reported: 60 children and young people had no side effects after one IV dose, and studies of up to 16 weeks gave few safety details.

LarazotideHuman studies

Not reportedNot more common than on placebo in a pooled analysis of four trials (626 people with celiac disease, up to 12 weeks).

LL-37Human studies

Not reportedNot among the side effects reported in the ulcer trials (about 200 people, up to 13 weeks), which applied it to wounds.

MatrixylHuman studies

Not reportedNot reported in the skin trials (93 women for 12 weeks; 196 using a mix for 8 weeks), where it was well tolerated.

SermorelinHuman studies

Not reportedJoint or muscle pain wasn’t listed in the Geref trials (350 patients) or seen in a 6-week study of 11 older men.

SNAP-8Human studies

Not reportedNot reported in two small patch studies that mixed it with other actives (24 people for 28 days; another for 12 weeks); SNAP-8 alone hasn’t been studied.

TesofensineHuman studies

Not reportedNot listed among common side effects in published trials, the largest lasting 24 weeks.

BPC-157Preclinical

Not reportedNot reported in the small human studies, including knee injections in 16 people followed for up to a year; these studies gave few safety details.

No human safety data 17

No one has been given it in a published study, so it can’t be ruled in or out.

DihexaHuman studies

No dataNo human data for dihexa itself. It wasn’t among side effects seen in 4% or more of people taking its injected prodrug for 26 weeks.

5-Amino-1MQPreclinical

No dataNo human safety data: no published study has given it to a person.

AdamaxPreclinical

No dataNo human or animal safety data; Adamax has never been studied.

AHK-CuPreclinical

No dataNo human safety data: AHK-Cu has never been tested in people, on the skin or by injection.

CartalaxPreclinical

No dataNo human data: no study of cartalax in people has been published, so side effects are unknown.

EpithalonPreclinical

No dataNo human safety data: FDA found no study that assessed safety, and its one placebo-controlled trial (40 women, 20-day spray) didn’t report side effects.

FOXO4-DRIPreclinical

No dataNo human data: no one has been given FOXO4-DRI in a published study, so side effects are unknown.

HGH Fragment 176-191Preclinical

No dataNo human safety data for this peptide.

HumaninPreclinical

No dataNo human data: no one has been given humanin or its stronger version HNG in a published study, so side effects are unknown.

KPVPreclinical

No dataNo human safety data: FDA’s 2026 review found no study and no adverse-event report for KPV by any route.

MGFPreclinical

No dataNo human safety data: no published study has given MGF to a person.

MOTS-cPreclinical

No dataNo human safety data for MOTS-c itself. In a 4-week trial of a modified version, CB4211, injection-site reactions were the only side effect in over 10% of the 11 treated.

PE-22-28Preclinical

No dataNo human data: PE-22-28 has never been given to a person in a study.

PEG-MGFPreclinical

No dataNo human safety data: FDA found no human exposure data for PEG-MGF by any route.

PinealonPreclinical

No dataNo useful human safety data: the few small Russian reports on pinealon gave no details of side effects.

SLU-PP-332Preclinical

No dataNo human safety data: no published study has given it to a person.

TB-500Preclinical

No dataNo human safety data: FDA found no study that has given TB-500 to a person.

Sources

Each answer comes from the compound’s own page, under “Can it cause …?”, where its sources are listed.