Greenwood, M., Kreider, R., Greenwood, L., Earnest, C. P., Farris, J., Brown, L. E., Comeau, M., & Byars, A. (2002). Effects of creatine supplementation on the incidence of cramping/injury during eighteen weeks of collegiate baseball. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 34(5), Supplement abstract 811.

This study investigated if creatine supplementation increased the incidence of muscle cramping or injury. College baseball players (N = 39) served as Ss. One group (N = 21) ingested creatine (15-25 g for five days and then 5 g/d for the remainder of the baseball season). The remaining Ss (N=18) did not use creatine. All Ss had access to carbohydrate supplementation for the season. [The control condition Ss were not randomly assigned.]

The number of injuries and athletic problems was either lower in the creatine group or of similar proportion in both groups. Creatine use did not escalate injury of sport-health related problems.

Implication. Creatine supplementation does not develop injury problems in college baseball players.

Return to Table of Contents for this issue.