During a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, Joe Rogan found himself in the unusual position of defending stem cell therapy to a skeptical Terry Bradshaw, the four-time Super Bowl champion and longtime Fox NFL Sunday personality.
The topic surfaced after Bradshaw mentioned that his hip had been giving him significant trouble. Rogan quickly asked whether he had ever considered stem cell injections.
Bradshaw immediately dismissed the idea. “I don’t believe in stem cells,” he said.
Rogan disagreed and pointed to his own experience as evidence. Recalling a serious shoulder injury, he explained that doctors initially told him surgery was unavoidable.
“Full tear. My doctor told me I 100% was going to need surgery,” Rogan said.
Instead, Rogan sought treatment from a physician recommended through the UFC and received stem cell therapy in Las Vegas. According to Rogan, the results surprised even his doctors.
Six months later, after undergoing another MRI, he was told the tear had completely healed.
“He goes, ‘I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. It’s gone,'” Rogan recalled. “It literally the tear doesn’t exist.”
He continued to convince Bradshaw by saying, “You’d be silly to ignore breakthrough science like this because there’s a reason why so many people are doing it.”
Bradshaw, however, remained unconvinced. He explained that his skepticism stemmed from watching people around him repeatedly return for additional stem cell treatments.
“They went back and did it again,” Bradshaw said. “Then what happened? They went back and did it again.”
To Bradshaw, the need for repeated treatments suggested the therapy wasn’t truly solving the problem.
Rogan countered by arguing that many of the examples Bradshaw was referring to likely involved severe cases of arthritis, where stem cells can only accomplish so much.
“The amount of damage that you’re trying to repair with stem cells, you’re going to get a little bit of benefit in something like that if it’s that far gone,” Rogan explained.
Despite that limitation, Rogan remained firm in his belief that the treatment works. “But stem cells work,” he added.
Trying to strengthen his case, Rogan brought up a medical example involving regenerative medicine. He described a patient whose bladder was reportedly grown from stem cells using her own skin tissue before being successfully implanted.
“She has a bladder now,” Rogan said.
Bradshaw acknowledged Rogan’s conviction but stopped short of agreeing. “It works for you and you believe it,” Bradshaw replied.
The discussion then took a lighter turn when Bradshaw brought up his famous baby Jesus figurine, which he carries while fishing and credits for helping him land a remarkable number of trout.
Rogan couldn’t resist pointing out what he saw as a contradiction. “You don’t believe in stem cells,” Rogan joked. “But you believe in that little baby Jesus absolutely catches fish for you.”
Despite the back-and-forth, Bradshaw indicated that he wasn’t completely closed off to the idea. He said his opinion might change if a medical professional personally recommended the treatment.
Rogan ended the conversation by extending an open invitation.
“If you ever get injured, holler at me,” Rogan said. “I’ll get you some stem cells and then we’ll have another conversation afterwards.”
