Creatine Hurt My Joints

MyAchingKnees.com received this comment from Anonymous, our previous post Link between Creatine and Chronic Joint Pain?:........"I have absolutely concluded that cycling creatine for 4-6 weeks for me has caused terrible knee pain, when i cycle off creatine my knees feel great, then when im back on it starts to hurt again, so for me ill get off of it for good this time and yes yes yes I drink plenty of water."

I used to take Creatine as well as alot of other "supplements of the week, month or year". I experienced pain in my elbows and knees and concluded that it was the Creatine. I stopped the Creatine and the pain went away. One of my close friends works out like a fiend and takes a lot of different supplements.....NOS, Amino Acids, all sorts of protein drinks and powders, herbal energy products, etc. We finally came to the point in our decades long experiment with our bodies, exercise and supplements that what a person really needs is an daily advanced dose of quality nutrients in order to give our bodies the nutrients it's needs for an functioning immune systems and restorative process.

Sure there are other products that can help as well,...we call them optimizers,...like the pharmaceutical grade Glucosamine which I attribute to my knee and back pain going away. I also take an alike quality Saw Palmetto product and I have seen by PSA level go from 3.9 to 0.8

Anyway, beware of the latest fad in supplements....and these are mostly targeted towards athletes, like body builders, who spend a great deal of time , effort and oney on building muscles. I just don't think they do a person much good unless that person gets the required daily nutrient's in their proper amounts to have a healthy functioning body.


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Reader Comment on Prior Creatine Post

MyAchingKnees.com received an Anonymous new comment on your post "Link between Creatine and Chronic Joint Pain?",...“I just wanted you to know three times I have gone on Creatine Monohydrate and three times within 5 days my shoulders and elbows hurt so bad I cannot pick up a gallon of milk. I am done with the stuff... it has a side effect on me and I know it is what causes the pain in my shoulders and elbows. No change in weights or routine, just tried to add the creatine back in, third to fifth day impossible to live with the pain.”

Boy, how many times I have heard that? I forwarded this message to a friend of mine who has been weight training the past 30 years. He is also someone who I have exposed our pharmaceutical grade Glucosamine as well as the Omega 3 Fatty Acids supplement to which he has been taking for over a year now and loves it as he has greatly reduced his previous joint pain which he attributes to the Glucosamine and Omega 3’s.

His reply to me on the above reader comment: People don’t listen. You can tell them over and over not use Creatine and they still will. I know what the drive for muscle and the latest edge is all about as I have lived it for almost 36 years. You can probably take Creatine if your a kid or in your twenties, in small amounts, but it can cause a heart attack if you do too much cardio too hard. If you are 35 to 40 years old or older, it causes tendonitis and it occurs in multiple tendons at the same time. I tell the young guns in the gym about Creatine all the time. They don’t listen. They also insist on taking those steroid precursors and amino acids, etc., which I used for year until I found out that they were garbage products. The most important supplement is a daily nutritional supplement and the stuff I take for my joint pain.

Well there you have it. Actually, people just need to be individually responsible……responsible for researching on their own, and ultimately, the phrase “let the buyer beware” stills rings true.

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Creatine - No Need to Use It

Norman Bryant is an Albuquerque based fitness and nutrition guru. MyAchingKnees.com suggest that readers befriend Norm on Facebook to receive his daily health tips. Norm replies to a question about Creatine, a substance Body Builders and others use to as a supplement in their quest for bigger muscles, leaner bodies and longer endurance.

"Hi Joe. First of all, creatine is not a fundamental nutrient that gives you better health. Creatine supplements are sometimes used by athletes, bodybuilders, and others who wish to gain muscle mass.

As far as side effects on health, the Mayo Clinic states that creatine has been associated with asthmatic symptoms and warns against consumption by persons with known allergies.

There is less concern today than there used to be about possible kidney damage from creatine, although there are reports of kidney damage; patients with kidney disease should avoid use of this supplement. Similarly, liver function may be altered, and caution is advised in those with underlying liver disease although studies have shown little or no adverse impact on kidney or liver function from oral creatine supplementation.

In theory, creatine may alter the activities of insulin. Caution is advised in patients with diabetes or hypoglycemia, and in those taking drugs, herbs, or supplements that affect blood sugar. Serum glucose levels may need to be monitored by a health care professional, and medication adjustments may be necessary.

Long-term administration of large quantities of creatine is reported to increase the production of formaldehyde, which has the potential to cause serious unwanted side-effects. However, this risk is largely theoretical because urinary excretion of formaldehyde, even under heavy creatine supplementation, does not exceed normal limits.

Extensive research over the last decade has shown that oral creatine supplementation at a rate of 5 to 20 grams per day appears to be very safe and largely devoid of adverse side-effects while at the same time, effectively improving the physiological response to resistance exercise, increasing the maximal force production of muscles in both men and women."

MyAchingKnees knows several body builders who once did but now do not use Creatine as they have developed chronic joint pain in their knees and elbows which they have attributed to use of Creatine both in normal recommended doses and in advanced doses.

It is really amazing that athletes will spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars in body building supplements, some of which are very hard on their bodies, and do not concern themselves with a quality baseline nutritional supplement that provides, in the necessary advanced doses, all the vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants necessary for optimal health. These same people will spend $75 or more twice a month on dinner, but be content to spend $10 a month on a low rated Nutritional Supplement. Again, amazing.

Link between Creatine and Chronic Joint Pain?

Creatine Monohydrate also sold in various other forms under the names of Creatine Anhydrous, Creatine Ethyl Ester, Creatine Phosphate and others, is a chemical normally found in the body, mostly in muscles. The body makes Creatine and it can be obtained from certain foods. Fish and meats are good sources of creatine. Creatine can also be made in the laboratory, hence the supplement - Creatine.

Creatine is commonly used for enhancing exercise performance and increasing muscle mass in athletes. There is some science supporting the use of Creatine in improving the athletic performance of young, healthy people during brief high-intensity activity such as anaerobic sports. However it is believed not to be very helpful for older athletes, say in their early 40's or older.

Creatine use is widespread among professional and amateur athletes and has been acknowledged by well-known athletes such as Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, and John Elway.

Creatine has also been used in treatment for congestive heart failure (CHF), depression, bipolar disorder, Parkinson’s disease, diseases of the muscles and nerves, an eye disease called gyrate atrophy, and high cholesterol. It is also used to slow the worsening of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease), rheumatoid arthritis, McArdle’s disease, and for various muscular dystrophies.

Even though Creatine is allowed by the International Olympic Committee, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and professional sports, MyAchingKnees had found some research to support that Creatine does have side effects, some of which can contribute to chronic joint pain.

Some of the on-line Creatine sellers advertise as follows: ” The best part about creatine-no adverse effects have been reported in any studies. NONE! Creatine is totally safe and effective. Creatine has never been shown harmfully toxic. “

To this I say Bull Crap! I have personally relayed information from several body building friends who will longer use Creatine since they experienced pain and in some cases severe pain in their joints, most notably the knees and elbow joints when cycling Creatine through 4 and 6 week supplementation cycles. In most of these personally relayed accounts, the joint pain stayed chronic for several months, but has not appeared to be permament.

Some of the chronic Joint Pain may be associated with tendonitis, as the tendons and ligaments on the joints cannot catch up with the growth in muscle, leading to pain and sometimes tremendous pain in these joints.

I have had other weight room addicts tell me that Creatine supplementation requires much greater amounts of hydration for the muscle cells and the kidneys and that when they cycle on Creatine they stop running as running not only requires more water, but puts a much greater strain on the knee joints.

Although Creatine appears safe for adults to use at the doses recommended by manufacturers, the long term side effects are just not known. I do not think the possible gains outweigh the potential risks.