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# Creatine helps improve muscle function, bone health
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/creatine_muscle_function_bone_health_1123131053/
- Published: 2013-11-23T11:51:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T16:15:52.000Z
- Description: A roundup of creatine research: 16 non-elite swimmers taking creatine held their speed better and saw smaller heart rate rises across repeated 50-meter sprints, and an Endocrine meta-analysis found creatine plus resistance training improved muscle and bone mass and strength.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Supplements, Nutrition, #vivvo-import

**Summary:** Creatine helps improve muscle function and performance, maintain bone health, help fight muscle fatigue after resistance training and boost muscle strength and vitamin C andn vitamin E reduce muscle damage indices during aerobic exercises.

**Creatine supplements help anaerobic performance and heart rate variations in swimmers**

Saturday Nov 23, 2013 (foodconsumer.org) -- Creatine supplementation in trained swimmers improves anaerobic performance and heart rate variations, according to a study led by V. Dabidi Roshan from College of Physical Education and Sport Science Department of Sport Physiology University of Mazandaran in Babolsar, Mazandaran, Iran and colleagues.

The study released in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness tested creatine supplements in comparison with placebo to examine how the creatine supplements can help sixteen healthy non-elite swimmers aged 19 years on average.

For the study, swimmers were asked to "perform six repeated sprints swimming bouts of 50-m departing every 120 seconds." The study shows that swimmers using creatine supplements had lower percentage of speed decrement after 3rd swimming bout and a lower increase in their heart rates was also lower.

**Creatine supplementation helps aging musculoskeletal health**

A meta-analysis published in Endocrine shows creatine supplementation together with resistance training improved aging musculoskeletal health including increased muscle and bone mass and strength. 

Progressive loss of muscle mass or sarcopenia can lead to cachexia, bone loos and frailty. Resistance training can provide some benefits, but with creatine supplementation, resistance training works even better. The review led by G. Darren and colleagues shows creatine improves bone mineral density and indices of bone biology.

**Creatine as an antioxidant maximizes strength gain in rats subject to resistance training**

Another study published in European Heart Journal suggests creatine is an effective antioxidant that can increase catalase in the heart of rats indicating that creatine can help improve cardiac antioxidant defense. Rats subject to both resistance training and creatine supplementation experienced the greatest strength gain.

J.P. Alves from Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre in Porto Alegre, Brazil and colleagues conducted the study and found creatine can maximize strength gain in rats receiving resistance training. The dose of creatine used in the study was 0.3 g/kg/day of creatine monohydrate during the first seven days and then 0.05/kg/day for the last seven days.

**Creatine improves lower and upper body muscle function**

Creatine supplements increased concentrations of intramuscular phosphorylcreatine and improved lower- and upper-body muscle function in patients with fibromyalgia, according to a study in Arthritis Care & Research.

Christiano R. R. Alves and colleagues conducted the study in patients with fibromyalgia and 16-week creatine supplementation resulted in an significant improvement in both muscle strength and isometric strength.

**Which creatine?**

Creatine sold on the market can be either creatine monohydrate or creatine hydrochloride. Both provide the same effect on muscle endurance performance, according to a study led by K Naylor and colleagues and published in Journal of Exercise.

**Dont' forget vitamin C and vitamin E**

While creatine can help improve muscle strength and potentially muscle-related benefits such as bone health, vitamin C and E supplementation is also important for those who actively engage in physical activity or resistance trainining because these antioxidants can reduce muscle damage indices during aerobic exercises at least in female athletes, according to a study led by M. Taghiyar and colleagues and published in Journal of Isfahan Medical School. (David Liu PHD)