Creatine and muscle
3 papers in the library, strongest Moderate.
Graded Moderate · An analysis of eleven trials with random assignment; the strength gain is small, and six trials carried a high risk of bias, mainly from missing data.
Papers 3
- Creatine Adds a Small Strength Gain to Training After 60Moderaten = 112026Frontiers in nutritionOlder adults who took creatine alongside strength training gained a little more strength than those who trained alone. The extra gain was small, but it showed up clearly in the pooled data. That matters later in life, because low muscle strength is seen as the key sign of possible age-related muscle loss. The researchers pooled eleven trials. In each one, chance decided who got creatine and who got a dummy supplement. Everyone was 60 or older, about 67 on average, and mostly healthy. Both groups followed the same training program. A common dose was 5 grams a day for 12 to 14 weeks. Neither the dose, the length of training nor sex reliably explained differences between the trials. For muscle mass and physical performance, no clear difference was detected, and the evidence there is thin. Six of the eleven trials also had a lot of missing measurements. Frail people and those who had already lost muscle were barely included, so the results cannot simply be applied to them.
- Creatine After 45: More Strength Even Without TrainingModeraten = 732026Journal of the International Society of Sports NutritionAdults aged 45 to 65 who had barely exercised took creatine for twelve weeks. Even without training, they gained lean mass, meaning mostly muscle. After twelve weeks the gain averaged about 1.1 kilograms, with wide uncertainty. They also got stronger on the bench press and the leg press than people taking a dummy powder. The study enrolled 73 healthy, inactive adults. Each first chose whether to join a program of exercise and a weight-loss diet. Then chance decided who took 5 grams of creatine twice a day and who got an identical-looking dummy powder. The exercise group did supervised strength and endurance training three times a week. In the end, 64 people finished. With exercise and diet, creatine also added lean mass and strength, and body fat percentage fell further. Memory tests showed only scattered gains, which the researchers call preliminary. Creatinine, a blood value used to check the kidneys, rose slightly. Side effects were rare and similar across groups. The main limit: the four groups ended with only 13 to 20 people each, and exercise was chosen, not assigned by chance.
- Creatine After Menopause: More Strength, No Change in BoneModeraten = 6082026Journal of the International Society of Sports NutritionAfter menopause, women lose muscle and strength faster, and their bone density drops. Creatine, a popular supplement, gave a small edge here. Women who took it ended up with a little more lean mass, meaning mostly muscle. They also pushed more weight on the leg press. Their bones, however, showed no change. The researchers pooled seven trials with 608 women in total. In each trial, chance decided who got creatine and who got a dummy pill. With creatine, lean mass was on average 0.37 kilograms higher. In three trials that included strength training, women lifted 7.5 kilograms more on the leg press. The gain showed up mainly when higher doses of creatine were paired with strength training. Trials using small doses without training found no measurable effect. Side effects were mild and about as common as with the dummy pill. Kidney values did not change. The analysis rests on only a handful of trials, so the estimates are imprecise. It is also unclear whether dose or duration matters more, because the longest trials used the lowest doses.
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