Creatine supplementation as a potential therapeutic aid in peripheral arterial obstructive disease rehabilitation

Abstract

Creatine (Cr) Supplementation has been efficient and safely used as a therapeutic aid in many health and sickness conditions including muscle weakness, atrophy and metabolic disturbances. In Peripheral arterial obstructive disease (PAOD), chronic ischemia leads to muscle fiber atrophy and denervation, negative muscle metabolism alterations, thus reducing strength and endurance, impairing general physical fitness. Adding the studied benefits of Cr supplementation and the clinical frame of PAOD, it presents Cr Supplementation as a potential therapeutic aid to be considered. Objective: To make a systematic review in scientific literature, searching for studies involving Cr supplementation in PAOD individuals. Method: A search for Portuguese and English written articles, published over the last ten years, including terms related to PAOD and Cr supplementation, was conducted on PubMed SciELO, and LILACS. Results: Only one study evaluated the influence of Cr supplementation in the desired sample (PAOD), describing positive effects in walking distance and blood properties. Due to lack of scientific data, the use Cr supplementation in PAOD population, including metabolic, functional and structural considerations was discussed. Conclusion: Despite the presented discussion for using Cr supplementation in PAOD as a potential therapeutic aid, only one previous study could verify its benefits. Therefore, it still has a gap in scientific literature, leaving several possibilities for future studies researching for possible benefits to counteract the loss of functional fitness and impairments in musculoskeletal structure and metabolism of diseased individuals.