Creatine has been shown to increase strength and muscle mass in young adults in practically hundreds of studies at this point. Additionally, there was scant studies examining its effects on older individuals until more recently. The greatest threats to an aging adult’s abilities to stay healthy is the constant reduction of lean body weight (muscle groups and bones in particular) as they age. The clinical term for the loss of muscle is sarcopenia, and it’s going to get the respect it deserves by the healthcare and scientific community. For decades, that community has focused on the weakening of bones (osteoporosis) of aging adults but paid not enough attention to the loss of muscle mass which effects a man’s ability to be truly useful as they age just as much – if not more so, then a loss of bone mass.
What identifies sarcopenia from a medical perspective?
Sarcopenia can be defined as the age-related loss of muscle mass, strength and functionality. One thing is completely clear: it’s much easier, cheaper, and more results-oriented to prevent sarcopenia, or at minimum dramatically slow its progression, then it is to treat it later in life. Sarcopenia in most cases occurs after age of 40 and increases soon after the age of approximately 75. Although sarcopenia is commonly seen in physically inactive individuals, it is also frequently found in women and men who stay physically active throughout their lives. Therefore, it’s clear that even though physical activity is very important, physical inactivity is not actually the only contributing key to sarcopenia. Just like osteoporosis, sarcopenia is a multifactorial process that may normally include decreased hormone ranges (in particular, human growth hormone, IGF-1, and testosterone), a lack of necessary protein and calories in the diet, oxidative stress, inflamation related processes, as well as the decreasing activity of motor neurons.