This product has also become commercially available and there are several companies that are now marketing the product. There have also been anecdotal reports by numerous college level trainers that their athletes, who have used creatine supplementation, have experienced a delayed muscle cramping and soreness. It is currently not known whether the use of creatine is related to cramping and muscle strain experienced by these athletes. The objective of this literature review will be to better determine if indeed there is a link between creatine supplementation in the diet and enhanced strength performance. Also the association between creatine supplementation and delayed muscle cramping will be examined.
Creatine is a substance found naturally in the diet as well as the human body.
It is synthesized in the liver and kidney and its final breakdown product is creatinine, a substance that is entirely excreted by the kidney. Creatinine is unique because it is neither reabsorbed or secreted by the kidney and because of this property its excretion rate is used to measure kidney function. Energy production by all cells, including muscle, originates in a process called oxidative phosphorylation. The breakdown of ATP produces energy which is then used to drive reactions needed for cell survival. ATP is also used as the energy source of muscle contraction.