March 9, 2026, 8:45 a.m. ET

During the NFL Scouting Combine, the health of Lions safety Kerby Joseph was once again front and center.

After a series of social media posts showing Kerby undergoing specialized knee treatments, let’s analyze what those treatments mean along with a review of Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell’s comments on Joseph at the NFL combine.

Here are key excerpts from my article Kerby Joseph knee injury update: Needling treatments & Lions NFL combine comments available at JimmyLiaoMD.com:

What is this treatment on Joseph’s knee?

The therapy is either acupuncture or dry needling. Either one can involve electrical stimulation.

Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.What is the efficacy of these treatments?

Studies show that these kinds of needle treatments can help with pain. The major caveat with the studies is that the placebo effect is powerful when it comes to subjective measurements like pain. Doing a quality study that controls for the placebo effect with a needling procedure is difficult, if not impossible.

A placebo effect is still a real effect though, so there can be value in these treatments for pain even if it’s entirely placebo.

Whether the needling treatment helps with swelling is debatable. Even if it does help with swelling, it’s the cause of the swelling that is the issue.

What did Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell say about Kerby Joseph at the combine?

“They’re doing whatever they can to get as healthy as possible. In another month or so, we’ll obviously know a lot more,” Brad Holmes said.

”That’s tough to say. We’re treating him. He’s done a few things. We’re slowly working him back. How’s it going to feel a month from now, maybe a month-and-a-half. Is this something where he’s going to be able to handle what it’s going to feel like,” Dan Campbell said.

Visit my article at JimmyLiaoMD.com for the full Kerby Joseph knee injury update analysis including answers to the questions:What is Joseph’s current outlook for the 2026 season?Does the location of the needles tell us anything?Is the needling picture good or bad news?Will another 1 to 2 months of knee rest & rehab make any difference?

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