Volume 83, Issue 1 , Pages 19-23, January 2002
Oral creatine supplementation enhances upper extremity work capacity in persons with cervical-level spinal cord injury☆1☆2☆3☆4☆5☆6☆7☆8
Abstract
Jacobs PL, Mahoney ET, Cohn KA, Sheradsky LF, Green BA. Oral creatine supplementation enhances upper extremity work capacity in persons with cervical-level spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2002;83:19-23. Objective: To examine the effects of short-term creatine monohydrate supplementation on the upper extremity work capacity of persons with cervical-level spinal cord injury (SCI). Design: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design study. Consists of 2 treatment phases lasting for 7 days, separated by a 21-day washout period. Setting: University research laboratory trial. Participants: Sixteen men with complete cervical-level SCI (C5-7). Intervention: Subjects were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups and received either 20g/d of creatine monohydrate supplement powder or placebo maltodextrin powder for the first treatment phase; the treatment was reversed in the second phase. Incremental peak arm ergometry tests, using 2-minute work stages and 1-minute recovery periods, were performed immediately before and after each treatment phase (total of 4 assessments). The initial stage was performed unloaded, with power output progressively increased 10 watts/stage until subjects had achieved volitional exhaustion. Main Outcome Measures: Peak power output, time to fatigue, heart rate, and metabolic measurements, including oxygen uptake (V̇O2), minute ventilation, tidal volume (VT), and respiration frequency. Results: Significantly greater values of VO2, VCO2, and VT at peak effort after creatine supplementation (P < .001). Conclusions: Creatine supplementation enhances the exercise capacity in persons with complete cervical-level SCI and may promote greater exercise training benefits. © 2002 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Keywords: Creatine, Dietary supplementation, Exercise tolerance, Rehabilitation, Spinal cord injuries
☆1 No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the author(s) or upon any organization with which the author(s) is/are associated.
☆2 Reprint requests to Patrick L. Jacobs, PhD, Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, Dept of Neurological Surgery, University of Miami School of Medicine, 1095 NW 14th Terrace, Miami, FL 33136.
☆3 Suppliers
☆4 a. Champion Nutrition, 2615 Stanwell Dr, Concord, CA 94520.
☆5 b. Monarch AB, Varberg, Sweden; distributed by Quinton Instrument Co, 3303 Monte Villa Pkwy, Bothel, WA 98021.
☆6 c. Sensor Medics Corp, 22705 Savi Ranch Pkwy, Yorba Linda, CA 92687.
☆7 d. FX-Fukuda Denshi Co, 3-39-4 Hongo, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo 113, Japan.
☆8 e. SPSS Inc, 233 S Wacker Dr, 11th Fl, Chicago, IL 60606.
PII: S0003-9993(02)92313-0
doi:10.1053/apmr.2002.26829
© 2002 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Volume 83, Issue 1 , Pages 19-23, January 2002
