Section:
B
The University Daily Kansan
Entertainment
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28, 2000
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Illustration by Kyle Ramsey/KANSAN
The Creatine Question
Performance-enhancing drug's long-term effects unknown
By Gary Cloward
writer@kansan.com
Special to the Kanon
Tim Bowers, a Kansas football player, took a drug called Creatine to pack on the pounds fast and speed along his strength training during the season.
Despite warnings from University of Kansas trainers and researchers that creatine-monohydrate — a legal and widely-used drug — may have unknown long-term side effects, Bowers continued to take the drug regularly.
“It's really not a concern to me,” said Bowers, a senior linebacker on the Kansas football team last year. “I guess, it's kind of in the future and you don't worry about things like that. Plus this will probably be the last year I use it, unless I go on to the NFL or something. And I don't think I've used it long enough or anything for it to have much of an effect.”
Fred Roll, director of strength conditioning, administers Creatine to the football team and is wary only of higher doses of the drug.
"It's an American syndrome of more is better — and that's not always true with this stuff," Roll said. "I think you need to be careful with how much you take."
The football team is the only program on campus that is supplied Creatine by the athletic department, but any individual can buy it over the counter.
"We supply Creatine for scholarship athletes," Roll said. "The amount we give is determined by our team doctors."
Roll tells those who volunteer to
Performance-enhancing drugs are a prevalent part of the sports society. Ranging from nasal sprays to pills and powders, these drugs are used for performance, regardless of future repercussions.
When using Creatine on the team, there are strict policies the individual must abide by, including signing a document stating that they will not consume more than what is given to them by team doctors.
use Creatine that, at this point,
there is no proof of long-term side
effects, and that they may be taking
a chance by using the drug.
Lawrence Magee, Senior Student Health Physician at Watkins Health Center and Lawrence physician, said that the primary problem with a drug like Creatine, which is new to the market, is the lack of knowledge about the long-term and lasting effects of the drug on the body.
Members of the team have approached Roll after feeling that they have gained all they can naturally and want to give Creatine a try.
Creatine began to be used in the mid-1990s. Today, it is one of the most commonly used supplements.
The use of Creatine increases body mass and strength within a narrow spectrum of activity, mainly weight training.
"Overall, there have not been any confirmed reports of bad side-effects but, on the other hand, there hasn't been a lot of research done into the long-term side effects of Creation," Maege said.
Magee is researching the extensive use and lasting effects of the drug.
"What we try to do is to look at what may be more of some of the potentially dangerous problems that
you could possibly develop using Creatine. "Magee said, 'We are not saying that you are going to the. Two areas we've looked at are the muscle/skeletal system and the other is the cardiovascular system."
A form of the drug is naturally produced by the kidneys, but it is still unclear if adding more Creatine to the system is harmful to the body.
"Creatine has been a nutritional substance that has been used very widely by a large number of people the last four to six years." Magge said. "Anytime you have that large number of people using a substance, there are a lot of misconceptions about it. What the research has shown is it does help increase body weight although most of this is probably fluid retention."
Magee is addressing fluid retention in the muscle, which causes it to expand, adding pressure against the muscle compartments.
"What we have tried to concentrate on is trying to take some of the research findings with Creatine and applying them to a clinical setting." Magee said.
Magee's first study focused on the legs because leg muscle compartments are tighter and the results are easier to determine. The lower leg of the body is divided into several distinct compartments that have tough fibrous capsules. The normal muscle will swell about 20 percent with intensive exercise.
"There has to be enough space in that compartment for the muscle to expand, to accommodate the swelling," Magee said. "In certain individuals, either the spaces are too tight or the muscle swells too
much and develops increased pressure in response to exercise, and there is damage to the muscle."
After studying muscle biopsies and compartment pressure measurements, the group who used Creatine had a significant increase in compartment pressure. Magee said.
"This doesn't mean that you shouldn't take Creatine," Magee said. "But it puts up a red flag concerning one of the things you need to be on the lookout for — and one of the potentially harmful side effects that some people might have with Creatine, especially in higher dosages."
Another possible side-effect that Magee is looking for is high blood pressure.
"There is some concern that because of the fluid retention Creatine may also cause elevation of blood pressure," Magee said. "Not to the extent of being an acute problem like causing a stroke, but to the extent that anytime you have elevated blood pressure that is not treated for an extended amount of time there is some long-term problem with cardiovascular disease. So theoretically, if Creatine does elevate blood pressure then this could be a problem, especially if used for long periods of time."
While researchers attempt to determine the possible long-term side effects of Creatine, the drug circulates in the blood of athletes like Bowers, retaining water, enlarging muscles and perhaps putting their future in jeopardy.
Edited by Ben Embry