Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34199588›Full record

ReviewNutrients2021

Creatine for Exercise and Sports Performance, with Recovery Considerations for Healthy Populations.

Benjamin Wax, Chad M Kerksick, Andrew R Jagim, Jerry J Mayo, Brian C Lyons, Richard B Kreider

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Nutrients, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 97 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
97citing papers in PubMed, 10 pooled it
8.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

97 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 147 citations in OpenAlex.

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  13. Effect ofNutrients · 2026
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  20. Does creatine cause hair loss? A 12-week randomized controlled trial.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2025
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37 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.

Benjamin WaxApplied Physiology Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39759, USA.
Chad M KerksickExercise & Performance Nutrition Laboratory, College of Science, Technology, and Health, Lindenwood University, St. Charles, MO 63301, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0458-7294
Andrew R JagimSports Medicine, Mayo Clinic Health System, La Crosse, WI 54601, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6651-5096
Jerry J MayoDepartment of Nutrition and Family Sciences, University of Central Arkansas, Conway, AR 72035, USA.
Brian C LyonsHealth, Kinesiology, and Sport Management Department, University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Kenosha, WI 53141, USA.
Richard B KreiderExercise & Sport Nutrition Lab, Human Clinical Research Facility, Department of Health & Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3906-1658
Lindenwood University · USMayo Clinic Health System · USMississippi State University · USTexas A&M University · USUniversity of Central Arkansas · USUniversity of Wisconsin–Parkside · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Creatine is one of the most studied and popular ergogenic aids for athletes and recreational weightlifters seeking to improve sport and exercise performance, augment exercise training adaptations, and mitigate recovery time. Studies consistently reveal that creatine supplementation exerts positive ergogenic effects on single and multiple bouts of short-duration, high-intensity exercise activities, in addition to potentiating exercise training adaptations. In this respect, supplementation consistently demonstrates the ability to enlarge the pool of intracellular creatine, leading to an amplification of the cell's ability to resynthesize adenosine triphosphate. This intracellular expansion is associated with several performance outcomes, including increases in maximal strength (low-speed strength), maximal work output, power production (high-speed strength), sprint performance, and fat-free mass. Additionally, creatine supplementation may speed up recovery time between bouts of intense exercise by mitigating muscle damage and promoting the faster recovery of lost force-production potential. Conversely, contradictory findings exist in the literature regarding the potential ergogenic benefits of creatine during intermittent and continuous endurance-type exercise, as well as in those athletic tasks where an increase in body mass may hinder enhanced performance. The purpose of this review was to summarize the existing literature surrounding the efficacy of creatine supplementation on exercise and sports performance, along with recovery factors in healthy populations.

Indexed as

Dietary SupplementsAdenosine TriphosphateAthletesAthletic PerformanceCreatineDatabases, FactualExerciseHumansMuscle, SkeletalPerformance-Enhancing SubstancesAdenosine TriphosphateCreatinePerformance-Enhancing Substancesathletic performanceergogenic aidmuscle damagemuscular adaptationmuscular powerrecoveryresistance exercisesupplementationtrainingweightlifting

Identifiers

PMID34199588
PMCPMC8228369
OpenAlexW3166847864

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.