Creatine and strength and power output: grade A

Three meta-analyses of placebo-controlled trials (23 to 69 studies each) find that creatine taken alongside resistance training increases upper- and lower-body strength, a fourth finds the same in older adults, and an older synthesis of 60 RCTs finds a small lower-limb strength effect. The largest independent synthesis (63 studies, n = 1489, no conflicts declared) reports g = 0.54 and 0.55. Direction is consistent, but effects were smaller or non-significant in women and older adults in two analyses, and handgrip and leg press were null in one. A 2026 meta-analysis of 7 placebo-controlled trials in postmenopausal women found a leg-press gain (7.5 kg) with at least 5 g a day plus resistance training; one of its authors chairs an Alzchem-supported advisory board. Two of the other meta-analyses have one author with creatine-industry advisory roles. One synthesis has confirmed university funding and no declared conflicts; funding for several other supporting syntheses was not stated in the records checked, so the industry-funded modifier does not apply.

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