Effect of 12 months of creatine supplementation and whole-body resistance training on measures of bone, muscle and strength in older males.

BACKGROUND: The combination of creatine supplementation and resistance training (10-12 weeks) has been shown to increase bone mineral content and reduce a urinary indicator of bone resorption in older males compared with placebo. However, the longer-term effects (12 months) of creatine and resistance training on bone mineral density and bone geometric properties in older males is unknown.

AIM: To assess the effects of 12 months of creatine supplementation and supervised, whole-body resistance training on bone mineral density, bone geometric properties, muscle accretion, and strength in older males.

METHODS: Participants were randomized to supplement with creatine ( n = 18, 49-69 years, 0.1 g·kg-1 ·d-1 ) or placebo ( n = 20, 49-67 years, 0.1 g·kg-1 ·d-1 ) during 12 months of supervised, whole-body resistance training.

RESULTS: After 12 months of training, both groups experienced similar changes in bone mineral density and geometry, bone speed of sound, lean tissue and fat mass, muscle thickness, and muscle strength. There was a trend ( p = 0.061) for creatine to increase the section modulus of the narrow part of the femoral neck, an indicator of bone bending strength, compared with placebo. Adverse events did not differ between creatine and placebo.

CONCLUSIONS: Twelve months of creatine supplementation and supervised, whole-body resistance training had no greater effect on measures of bone, muscle, or strength in older males compared with placebo.