The invention provides a method for treating a condition in which growth hormone administration is beneficial, for treating osteoarthritis, for increasing chondrocyte, proteoglycan or collagen production or quality or repair or promoting cartilage tissue formation or repair, for promoting or improving muscle, ligament or tendon mass, repair, form or function, or for treating inflammatory, traumatic or genetic diseases of muscle or connective tissue, comprising administering to a subject an effective amount of a peptide comprising a carboxyl-terminal sequence from a growth hormone and not the IGF-1 domain of growth hormone. It also provides a method of treating a condition involving insufficient functional chondrocytes or insufficient functional cartilage tissue, the method comprising administering to a subject in need thereof a peptide comprising a carboxyl-terminal sequence from a growth hormone and not the domain of growth hormone responsible for IGF-1 production.