Effect of pre vs. post-exercise creatine supplementation on bone mineral in aging adults
D.G. Candow Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. Vol. 42, 2017
Creatine supplementation before and after resistance training may be
an important strategy for increasing aging muscle health; however, it
is unknown whether the timing of creatine ingestion influences aging
bone health.
Using a double-blind, repeated measures design, aging
adults were randomized to one of two groups: Creatine-Before (CR-B:
n=15; 53.2 ± 2.5 yrs, 170.1 ± 9.9 cm, 77.1 ± 15.6 kg; creatine [0.1g·kg-1]
immediately before resistance training and placebo [0.1g·kg-1 corn-starch
maltodextrin] immediately after resistance training) or Creatine-After
(CR-A: n=12; 55.2 ± 3.5 yrs, 173.4 ± 8.2 cm, 86.8 ± 20.1 kg; placebo immediately
before resistance training and creatine immediately after resistance
training). Resistance training (11 exercises) was performed 3 days/week
for 8 months. Prior to and following training and supplementation, bone
mineral content (BMC) and density (BMD) of the whole-body, femoral
neck, lumbar spine, and hip was measured by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry.
There was a time main effect (p=0.04) for femoral neck BMD
(CR-B: pre 0.80 ± 0.11g, post 0.79 ± 0.11g; CR-A: pre 0.87 ± 0.15g, post 0.86 ±
0.13g) and a group x time interaction for hip BMD (p=0.02). Hip BMD was
preserved in the CR-A group over time (pre 1.01 ± 0.15g/cm2, post 1.01 ±
0.15g/cm2) whereas the CR-B experienced a slight reduction (pre 0.98 ±
0.12g/cm2, post 0.96 ± 0.12g/cm2). There were no other differences
(p>0.05).
Creatine supplementation immediately following resistance
training helps preserve hip BMD. Creatine supplementation only on
training days has no effect on bone mineral in aging adults.