This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the effects of creatine supplementation on recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage, and is reported according to the PRISMA guidelines. MEDLINE and SPORTDiscus were searched for articles from inception until April 2020. Inclusion criteria were adult participants (≥18 years); creatine provided before and/or after exercise versus a noncreatine comparator; measurement of muscle function recovery, muscle soreness, inflammation, myocellular protein efflux, oxidative stress; range of motion; randomized controlled trials in humans. Thirteen studies (totaling 278 participants; 235 males and 43 females; age range 20–60 years) were deemed eligible for analysis. Data extraction was performed independently by both authors. The Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Tool was used to critically appraise the studies; forest plots were generated with random-effects model and standardized mean differences. Creatine supplementation did not alter muscle strength, muscle soreness, range of motion, or inflammation at each of the five follow-up times after exercise (<30 min, 24, 48, 72, and 96 hr; p > .05). Creatine attenuated creatine kinase activity at 48-hr postexercise (standardized mean difference: −1.06; 95% confidence interval [−1.97, −0.14]; p = .02) but at no other time points. High (I²; >75%) and significant (Chi²; p < .01) heterogeneity was identified for all outcome measures at various follow-up times. In conclusion, creatine supplementation does not accelerate recovery following exercise-induced muscle damage; however, well-controlled studies with higher sample sizes are warranted to verify these conclusions. Systematic review registration (PROSPERO CRD42020178735).

这项系统回顾和荟萃分析检查了补充肌酸对运动引起的肌肉损伤恢复的影响，并根据 PRISMA 指南进行了报告。搜索 MEDLINE 和 SPORTDiscus 从开始到 2020 年 4 月的文章。纳入标准是成人参与者（≥18 岁）；运动前和/或运动后提供的肌酸与非肌酸比较；测量肌肉功能恢复、肌肉酸痛、炎症、肌细胞蛋白流出、氧化应激；活动范围; 人类随机对照试验。13 项研究（共 278 名参与者；235 名男性和 43 名女性；年龄范围 20-60 岁）被认为符合分析条件。两位作者独立进行数据提取。使用 Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Tool 对研究进行批判性评价；使用随机效应模型和标准化平均差生成森林图。在运动后的五个随访时间（<30 分钟、24、48、72 和 96 小时；p  > .05)。肌酸在运动后 48 小时减弱肌酸激酶活性（标准化平均差：-1.06；95% 置信区间 [-1.97，-0.14]；p  = .02），但在其他时间点没有。 在不同的随访时间，所有结果测量的异质性均被确定为高（I ²；>75%）和显着（Chi ²；p < .01）异质性。总之，肌酸补充剂不会加速运动引起的肌肉损伤后的恢复；然而，有必要进行具有更大样本量的良好对照研究来验证这些结论。系统评价注册（PROSPERO CRD42020178735）。