he Impact of a Short-term Creatine Supplement Consumption on Speed Performance and Muscular Strength of Young Soccer Players

Abstract

Introduction: The current study investigates the impact of Creatine monohydrate supplement as an 
ergogenic aid on speed and strength performances, as well as on the body composition of the soccer club 
players.
Material and Methods: 20 soccer club players were selected and then randomly categorized into two 
homogeneous groups, each consisting of 10 players. One group was considered as the placebo group (control 
group) and the other one as the consumer of Creatine supplement (empirical group). The performance of the 
participants was evaluated in a double blind study including sprinting (20-meter and 40-meter running courses, 
long-term running courses including 60-meter and 100-meter, and 30 frequent 5-second sprints with 10 
seconds active rest between each two), and muscular strength in knee extension. The study lasted 7days (a 
seven-day daily consumption of 0.3 gram of dextrose for every kilogram of body weight in control group and 
the same amount of monohydrate Creatine by the empirical group.) The natural distribution of the variables 
was determined by Kolmogorov Smirnov test. Also, Pre-test and post-test results were analyzed using 
statistical paired T test (in each group) and independent T test (between two groups).
Results: In performance variables, as compared to equal basic state, there was a significant change in the 
Creatine supplement group, while no significant change was observed in the placebo group (P≥ 0.05). The 
observed changes occurred in the following variables: 20, 60, and 100 meter running courses (seconds) and 
1RM knee extension (P≤ 0.001), 40-meter running course (seconds) (P≤ 0.02), and in the course the 
participants took in frequent speed performances (P≤0.03). However, the results of independent t test showed 
that there was no significant difference in the average distribution of these variables between Creatine and 
placebo groups.
Discussion and Conclusion: The results revealed that short term Creatine consumption improved the 
performance of young soccer players in short term sprints (20 and 40 meters), long term sprints (60 and 100), 
the test evaluating the endurance performance of football players in frequent sprints (30 five-second sprints 
with a 10-second rest between each two sprints), and muscular strength in knee extension (P≤0.05).

Keywords

• Creatine supplement
• Young soccer players
• Speed performance
• Strength performance

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