I have been having a problem with my right shoulder, pain on the top where the bone protrudes. It is sore to touch and I have pain when I do certain exercises. This mornin I could only do one set of Bench Presses as it was painful. Also when running on the treadmill I am noticing more pain in my knees. I have been on Creatine for 24 days now. Is this a coincidence or could it be linked to the Creatine use ? I have been taking the Joint Care all along. Maybe I need to increase it while on the Creatine?

Leslie

LT
I am no doctor so I have no good advice here but, I have never heard of creatine causing joint problems I'd say coincidence. I would look more into sloppy form (no offense) with the shoulder pain. Maybe bodyfat could have changed either up or down this could affect knees as well the treadmill may need maintenance. I would look at many variables before the creatine.
Jimmy

LT,

The wierd thing is my joints feel better on creatine. Ive been off it for about 2 mos now, really off most supps, except Aminos and MP and MM. Ive actually noticed since dropping it Ive been complaining about joint problems more now than I ever have. I think I normally do better with it in there maybe due to holding more water. Not sure. As I begin a new diet and supplement stack in the New Year Ill see if I improve. But I was coming to the opposite conclusion on my end. Maybe it has nothing to do with creatine for either of us, lol. Maybe its just the cold weather.

Lets see what others have experienced.

Jason Theobald

www.geocities.com/chezburger10/JASONTHEOBALDBIO.html

LT

Doubtful creatine is the culprit.

Shoulders
Sounds like a rotator injury. When the cuff (s) are injured tendon pain at the top of the hsoudler is possible even if the cuff (s) does not hurt. Back off on the pressing movements a bit. Start doing internal an external rotations for the shoulders. Try cuban presses, do a search on the net if you are not familiar with them.

Make sure that you spend adequate time workign the back of your body. IE if you do lots of bench press and shoulder press work, DO the same for your back IE deadlifts and rows. Many times we neglect the back of the body and end up with a musle imbalance and injury.

On top of that be sure you are spending some time stretching the cuff muscles.

Finally take a page from the powerlifters when you bench, keep your feet on the floor, when you get under the bar pinch your shoulder blades together (keeps the shoulders from rotating), bench slightly below the ****** line (forget the move the bar up in an arch garbage) and use a narrower grip. Save the wide grips stuff for max effort work. This will take the chest further out of the bench press but will protect the shoulders. When the shoulders are hurt everything for the upper body will suffer. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of effort.

Ray

LT, as usual, Ray has given some excellent advice ... and in Jasons response I saw a key word that I always try to incorporate into any discussion with my clients about creatine ... WATER. Though, if I may add a little different twist of a response to your question, it may not directly benefit you, but someone may find it helpful. I always try to discourage use of creatine with any relative newcomers to the world of resistance training (I realize that you may be more 'seasoned') for at least the first several months, and sometimes even longer in the case of the more 'mature' trainee. Here is my reasoning ... with the ability of creatine to transport and hold more WATER intracellularly (INTO the muscle), the muscle WILL become larger, more efficient, and as a result stronger ... bottom line, you will move more weight. Despite this desired effect, herein it also CREATES the problem. It is more desireable to gradually aclimate the body to strength gains, so that all of the connectve tissue, the tendons, ligaments, insertions and yes, even the JOINTS are not only capable to handle, but PREPARED for the increased load. The addition of creatine into ones arsenal, MAY not allow this to happen at this gradual pace, hence causing problems in the form of a tendonitis, inflamations, tears, etc... as you can see, this potential problem could even be more of an issue with a client 'new' to training, or someone of advanced years (like me ) that may have lost some of the flexibility of their connective tissue. Again, this may not fit your question, but it may be an issue worth consideration when trying to diagnose ... If you have not increased your WATER intake in conjunction with the addition of the creatine, that may be something to consider ... Also, dont shy away from extra Joint Care ... I take a couple with each meal and at least a couple after training ... in my opinion they are an 'unsung hero' in my being able to enjoy training the way I need to in the pursuit of the talented 'Young Bucks' like Ray (ETX) ... good luck, and thanks ... tom

Thanks for the imput. I see some valuable tips in the replies. I have been training at various levels for 15 years and have done many creatine cycles over the years. My response each time has been the same. I am able to lift slightly, not dramaticaaly, more weight. I started the Creatine select two weeks after my last competition, and jsu hit week four on it. I am going to take 4 weeks off from it then go back to it again.

Tom, I think you made a real valid point:

quote:

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... bottom line, you will move more weight. Despite this desired effect, herein it also CREATES the problem. It is more desireable to gradually aclimate the body to strength gains, so that all of the connectve tissue, the tendons, ligaments, insertions and yes, even the JOINTS are not only capable to handle, but PREPARED for the increased load. The addition of creatine into ones arsenal, MAY not allow this to happen at this gradual pace, hence causing problems in the form of a tendonitis, inflamations, tears, etc... as you can see, this potential problem could even be more of an issue with a client 'new' to training, or someone of advanced years (like me ) that may have lost some of the flexibility of their connective tissue.

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I know I did not increase my intake consistently while taking the Creatine Select. Some days I do, others days I get busy, on the road, and forget!!
So next time around I will pay attention to more water, and stretching, as far as the AGE factor...hmm, not much can be done there!!

Leslie