Creatine for veterinary professionals (Part 2): Women, aging, dosing, risks, and should you take it?

In part two of this two-part miniseries, Aaron Shaw, OTR/L, CHT, CSCS, and Jennifer Edwards, DVM, ACC, ELI-MP, turn from the science of creatine to the practical question of whether veterinary professionals should take it. The conversation focuses on women in the profession, examining creatine's role in muscle preservation and bone health through perimenopause and menopause, and framing the supplement as one component of a broader routine that depends on resistance training. Shaw and Edwards cover dosing, the case for and against a loading phase, potential side effects including gastrointestinal upset and temporary water retention, and the conditions that warrant a conversation with a licensed physician first. Both hosts return throughout to the theme of recovery, and the capacity to absorb the physical demands of the work day after day while preserving strength and mobility across a long career.

Below is a partial transcript, which has been lightly edited for improved clarity.

Aaron Shaw, OTR/L, CHT, CSCS: This is probably going to come as no surprise to anybody, but the vast majority of research on creatine, like so many things, is on men, and it's a disservice. But as you mentioned, that is changing, and there's more women-specific research happening. I think generally across medicine, but I'm excited to see specifically with this supplement that I'm talking about, creatine, there has been more research specifically for women, and it is long overdue, to say the least.

Most of the research, and certainly the initial research, was on young male athletes and bodybuilders, and I think that has been sadly stamped as some crazy bulking, protein, muscle-bound supplement, and it's not. This is an opportunity for us to have this discussion and frame this valuable topic—which you can listen to part one and get into some of the science behind it—but recognize that there are absolutely benefits for all of us, and specifically women. Women experience really unique physiological changes across a lifespan. Obviously, we're talking about perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause.

I'm going to acknowledge I'm a guy, first of all, but I'm also a strength and conditioning specialist and a science nerd. To recognize that as all of us age, we tend to lose muscle mass. We tend to lose muscle strength. We tend to lose bone density. We reach our peak far too early, frankly, normally in our early 30s. But the impact on women is greater. These risks of losses are greater around the perimenopausal timeframe. So thinking about things that we can do to minimize these losses is hugely important, and even more so if you are in a physically and emotionally demanding career like veterinary medicine.

Exploring creatine, exploring this little supplement that we're talking about, is just an opportunity to make the best of these physiological changes that we may really hate, but we're all bound by them at the same time. This isn't really about simply living longer; it's really about preserving your physical capacity for as many years as possible. I think that we all know what it's like to be sick, and when you don't have a certain amount of physical capacity, the only thing that matters is being healthy again. This is what we really want to talk about for vet professionals, knowing that you need strength, stamina, mobility, balance, and durability throughout your entire career, so that's where creatine is worth talking about.