delivra topical creatine combined with oral creatine for improving muscular power

Conditions: Muscle Weakness

Summary: creatine is a nutritional supplement that is often ingested to improve exercise performance. the advent of a new product that is applied to the skin overlying muscle offers potential benefit, if the creatine can be targeted to specific muscles. the investigators are testing a novel creatine cream to determine the effects on human muscular performance. the investigators are assessing whether 7 days of topical creatine application is additive to orally-ingested creatine for improving muscular power (determined by knee extension).

creatine monohydrate is a popular nutritional supplement with athletes involved in sports involving strength and power. when creatine is orally ingested it combines with inorganic phosphate to form phorylcreatine (pcr) in skeletal muscle . adenosine triphosphate (atp) is the immediate source of energy in muscle - during exercise atp is broken down to adenosine diphosphate (adp) and inorganic phosphate. duration of high-intensity exercise is limited to a few seconds based on limited atp stores in muscle. pcr acts to re-phosphorylate adp to form atp so that muscle contraction can continue at high intensities. after creatine monohydrate is ingested, high-intensity exercise capacity is increased because of the increased pcr stores in muscle. traditionally, creatine is consumed orally as a supplement. delivra inc. has developed a topical cream containing creatine that is designed to penetrate the skin. the study purpose is to determine whether topically-applied creatine is additive with orally-ingested creatine for improving muscular strength and power. the hypothesis is that topically-applied creatine is additive with orally-ingested creatine for improving muscular performance. the study involves a double-blind placebo-controlled parallel group design. participants (n=132) will be randomized to receive either oral creatine supplementation or placebo (21 g/d) for 7 days. one leg of each participant will be randomized to receive topical creatine (3.5 ml/d) and the opposite leg placebo for 7 days. the baseline assessment involves measuring muscular power during 5 sets of 15 repetitions of knee extension on a dynamometer, with each set separated by 1 minute rest, with each leg tested separately. additional measures include assessment of body composition and body water content. participants will then receive either oral creatine (21 g/d) or placebo for 7 days. one leg of each participant will be randomized to receive topical creatine (3.5 ml/d) and the opposite leg placebo for 7 days. the same assessments as done at baseline will then be repeated after the 7 days of creatine supplementation. the primary outcomes are average and peak power output.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * physically active and able to pass physical activity readiness questionnaire exclusion criteria: * allergies to any ingredients in the cream * answering "yes" to physical activity readiness questionnaire * currently pregnant or breastfeeding, * presence of significant medical disorder that would compromise the participant's safety to take part in the trial (eg: cancer, immunosuppressed) * history of alcohol or drug abuse within the past year * anyone using recreational drugs * use of performance enhancing drugs or supplements within 2 months including caffeine and creatine in supplement form * currently using other topical agents for treatment of pain or inflammation