THE EXERCISE AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF CREATINE

WHAT IS CREATINE?

Creatine is one of the most widely used and thoroughly researched sports nutrition supplements. At its core, creatine is a naturally occurring amino acid found predominantly in red meat and seafood. The human body stores close to 95% of the total creatine in skeletal muscle and 5% in the brain. This is important, as in both tissues, creatine plays a key role in energy production, under the form of ATP (adenosine triphosphate). This takes place through the phosphocreatine system, which can generate energy very quickly when needed.

Now that we covered the basics of creatine, let’s take a look at the various exercise and health benefits provided by creatine supplementation.

WHAT ARE THE EXERCISE AND HEALTH BENEFITS OF CREATINE?

EXERCISE PERFORMANCE

The positive effects that creatine supplementation has in combination with resistance training on muscle strength, power and gains in muscle mass have been established in the scientific literature for some time¹. A large body of scientific evidence also indicates that creatine supplementation improves sprint time, jump performance and other physical measures ^2,3 that play an important role in team-sports performance. Accordingly, strength athletes, bodybuilders and team sports athletes across the world are supplementing with creatine throughout their competitive season to maximise their performance.

RECOVERY FROM EXERCISE

Recent scientific advancements show that creatine supplementation can accelerate recovery from intense bouts of exercise by reducing various aspects of muscle damage, including post-exercise inflammation and muscle soreness, and helping to restore the body’s ability to produce force during exercise ⁴. Although the mechanisms through which creatine can accomplish these effects are not fully known, the positive effects on exercise recovery have so far been shown in the scientific literature following a range of different exercise modalities including resistance training, long-distance running and Ironman competitions ⁴.   

MUSCLE INJURY REHABILITATION

No matter the lengths we go through to prevent them, muscle injuries are unfortunately part of every athlete’s career. Several scientific studies show that creatine supplementation may represent an effective strategy for accelerating rehabilitation from muscle injuries. Specifically, chronic creatine supplementation improved the regeneration of whole muscle and fiber-type-specific cross-sectional area after a 10-week rehabilitation program following cast immobilization ⁵. In a separate study, creatine supplementation also led to better lean tissue maintenance and improved muscle strength and endurance following arm immobilization ⁶.

COGNITIVE FUNCTION & PERFORMANCE

Apart from its effects at a muscular level, recent scientific studies also focused on the relationship between creatine, cognitive function and cognitive performance. Creatine administration leads to increased energy being delivered to neurons and it is also thought that creatine participates in neuronal plasticity ⁷.

When it comes to the effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive performance, several studies are showing improved short-term memory and intelligence/reasoning in healthy individuals ⁷ with this supplementation strategy.

Mental fatigue, anxiety and depression were also highlighted recently in the scientific literature to be potentially reduced through creatine supplementation, although more research is required to firmly establish these effects  ⁸.

NEUROPROTECTIVE EFFECTS

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI), including concussions suffered while playing sports, are prevalent and can lead to a range of long-term negative symptoms. Creatine supplementation has shown potential benefits for individuals with TBI, predominantly by supporting cellular energy production in the brain, which is decreased during these conditions ⁸. Through increasing energy availability in the brain, creatine supplementation can potentially aid in reducing brain oxidative stress, inflammation and neuronal damage, promoting a better recovery of cognitive function following TBI ⁸.

Given these mechanisms of action, creatine supplementation is also considered a potential therapeutic strategy for delaying the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer disease,  Parkinson disease and others. Nevertheless, more clinical trials are currently required before a consensus can be reached on the effectiveness of creatine supplementation in neurodegenerative diseases.

WHO SHOULD SUPPLEMENT WITH CREATINE?

Although the scientific literature has initially focused on young healthy males, the beneficial effects of creatine supplementation have since been also established in females, both pre- and post-menopausal. In fact, creatine supplementation may provide more potent cognitive benefits for females by supporting a pro-energetic environment in the brain⁹. Apart from young adult individuals, the scientific body of evidence also shows beneficial effects for creatine supplementation in adolescents and elderly, with a recent review highlighting the use of creatine throughout the lifespan ¹⁰.

HOW MUCH CREATINE SHOULD I SUPPLEMENT WITH?

For creatine to be effective, it needs to be supplemented chronically, so consistency is key. To get the most and fastest out of this supplement, you should load with creatine for 5-7 days with 20g daily. This can be split into four servings of 5g each and consumed either alone with water, or in combination with your protein shake or other drinks. Following this loading stage, you should continue to supplement with 5g of creatine daily. Alternatively, if you wish to skip the loading stage, you can just supplement with 5g of creatine daily from day one.  However, with this strategy, it will take longer until your muscle and brain creatine stores will be fully saturated and until you will fully benefit from this nutritional strategy.

SHOP SiS CREATINE HERE.

REFERENCES

1. Rawson, E.S. and Volek, J.S., 2003. Effects of creatine supplementation and resistance training on muscle strength and weightlifting performance. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 17(4), pp.822-831.

2. Mujika, I., Padilla, S.A.B.I.N.O., Ibanez, J.A.V.I.E.R., Izquierdo, M.I.K.E.L. and Gorostiaga, E.S.T.E.B.A.N., 2000. Creatine supplementation and sprint performance in soccer players. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 32(2), p.518.

3. Izquierdo, M.I.K.E.L., Ibanez, J.A.V.I.E.R., González-Badillo, J.J. and Gorostiaga, E.M., 2002. Effects of creatine supplementation on muscle power, endurance, and sprint performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 34(2), pp.332-343.

4. Wax, B., Kerksick, C.M., Jagim, A.R., Mayo, J.J., Lyons, B.C. and Kreider, R.B., 2021. Creatine for exercise and sports performance, with recovery considerations for healthy populations. Nutrients, 13(6), p.1915.

5. Hespel, P., Op’t Eijnde, B., Leemputte, M.V., Ursø, B., Greenhaff, P.L., Labarque, V., Dymarkowski, S., Hecke, P.V. and Richter, E.A., 2001. Oral creatine supplementation facilitates the rehabilitation of disuse atrophy and alters the expression of muscle myogenic factors in humans. The Journal of physiology, 536(2), pp.625-633.

6. Johnston, A.P., Burke, D.G., MacNeil, L.G. and Candow, D.G., 2009. Effect of creatine supplementation during cast-induced immobilization on the preservation of muscle mass, strength, and endurance. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 23(1), pp.116-120.

7. Avgerinos, K.I., Spyrou, N., Bougioukas, K.I. and Kapogiannis, D., 2018. Effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function of healthy individuals: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Experimental gerontology, 108, pp.166-173.

8. Candow, D.G., Forbes, S.C., Ostojic, S.M., Prokopidis, K., Stock, M.S., Harmon, K.K. and Faulkner, P., 2023. “Heads Up” for Creatine Supplementation and its Potential Applications for Brain Health and Function. Sports Medicine, 53(Suppl 1), pp.49-65.

9. Smith-Ryan, A.E., Cabre, H.E., Eckerson, J.M. and Candow, D.G., 2021. Creatine supplementation in women’s health: a lifespan perspective. Nutrients, 13(3), p.877.

10. Smith, R.N., Agharkar, A.S. and Gonzales, E.B., 2014. A review of creatine supplementation in age-related diseases: more than a supplement for athletes. F1000Research, 3.