Analisa Podgorski February 22, 2011 Creatine Supplementation

Creatine is one of the most popular ergogenic aids for muscular performance. Creatine supplementation has been promoted by several manufacturers as an effective performance enhancer in sports such as weight lifting that depend on short bursts of high intensity activity. These activities derive their energy primarily from the ATP creatine phosphate energy system. Since creatine supplementation increases creatine levels in muscles, it is expected to help athletic performance particularly in power athletes such as weight lifters, but not in endurance athletes such as runners. Research has recently been performed to evaluate the benefits and adverse effects of creatine supplementation. Two recently published studies on creatine supplementation will be reviewed to help in this evaluation. The first study, by S. Bermon, investigated the effects of oral creatine supplementation on the elderly. The second study, by G.J. Groeneveld, investigated the incidence of adverse effects on a different segment of the population. An analysis of the findings of these two studies may be helpful in the formation of an opinion on the merits of creatine supplementation. The first study places the subjects in one of four groups control / creatine, control /placebo, trained /creatine, and trained / placebo based upon their participation in a strength training program and in creatine supplementation. The results showed no significant difference in either anthropometric parameters or isometric endurance tests with creatine supplementation. An increase in weight training repetitions was demonstrated in the trained groups regardless of the use of creatine supplementation. This study concluded that the creatine supplementation does not provide benefits for the elderly.

Analisa Podgorski February 22, 2011 The second study investigated the effects of creatine supplementation on subjects with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Questionnaires and laboratory tests of plasma and urine were used to assess the presence of adverse effects. No significant adverse effects were noted in this population. These two studies were inadequate in a thorough investigation of creatine supplementation. The first study restricted its subject population to the elderly, making it difficult to extrapolate its finding to the younger population involved in power athletics that is targeted by the creatine supplementation manufacturers. Furthermore, the weight training used in this study was insufficiently taxing for the high intensity activity dependent on muscle creatine levels. The second study was also inadequate in its evaluation due to its restricted subject population. This population of subjects with a chronic neurodegenerative disease was also too dissimilar from the target population of young power athletes for a fair extrapolation. The power athletes would be expected to exhibit more demanding activities and more demanding diets that may exacerbate the effects of creatine supplementation. In summary, an analysis of the results of these two studies is inadequate in an evaluation of the merits of creatine supplementation in athletes and further review is necessary.

References Bermon S, Venembre P, Sachet C, Valour S, and Dolisi C. Effects of creatine monohydrate ingestion in sedentary and weight-trained older adults. Acta Physiol

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