Report: Browns target to undergo knee procedure
It looks like the Cleveland Browns may have dodged a bullet with free agent wide receiver Steve Breaston.
The Browns hosted the five-year veteran this week but Breaston left town without a contract and headed to Pittsburgh, where it was assumed he would sign a contract and reunite with Todd Haley, his former coach in Kansas City and the Steelers current offensive coordinator. (Interestingly, no rumors about Breaston wanting to reunite with Brian Daboll; one year with him in KC was enough).
Turns out that not only does it look like Breaston won’t be signing with the Browns or the Steelers, he may not be playing at all in 2013 as ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that Breaston will be traveling to Germany to undergo Regenokine treatment to repair knee inflammation and early arthritic symptoms.
Yikes!
According to Schefter, during the treatment, which is not approved by the Federal Drug Administration, a small cup of blood is removed from the patient, and then it is incubated at a slightly elevated temperature and spun in a centrifuge to make serum that’s injected to combat inflammation that may resolve the player’s irritation.
Kobe Bryant, Alex Rodriguez and Fred Couples are among a group of athletes that have undergone the procedure (even Pope John Paul II did it), part of a group of treatments that fall under the category of biologic medicine. The theory behind the treatment is based on the philosophy of using your own body to cure what ails you.
Despite the fact that some athletes say it works, the treatment is controversial. According to a 2012 report on ABC’s Nightline, while some orthopedic surgeons in the U.S. call the treatment “promising,” there are others who said that there have not been enough studies done to determine if it is really effective.
In any event, it sounds like the Browns made the right call on Breaston.
(Photo by Getty Images)
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