Creatine After Menopause: Does It Build Muscle or Bone?What Trials Show

Muscle and bone both decline faster around menopause.¹ Creatine, long used by athletes, is now sold to women in midlife with promises about strength, bones and more. Here’s what trials in postmenopausal women show.

Muscle and strength: small gains, with lifting

A 2026 meta-analysis pooled seven randomized trials with about 600 postmenopausal women, average age around 62.¹ Compared with placebo, creatine added:

• About 0.37 kg (under 1 pound) of lean mass¹
• About 7.5 kg (roughly 16 pounds) more on a leg press¹

The benefits showed up when at least 5 grams a day was paired with resistance training. Trials using 3 grams a day without training found no measurable effect.¹ The authors called the gains small but meaningful.¹

Worth knowing: some of the review’s authors have ties to creatine-industry-supported groups, which they disclosed.¹

Bone: no change in density

• Canada, 2 years: 237 women (average age 59) took creatine or placebo while doing weight training 3 days a week and walking 6 days a week. Creatine didn’t change bone density at the hip or spine, though it improved some measures of hip bone shape and slightly sped up walking. It didn’t improve strength in that trial.²
• Brazil, 2 years: 200 women with low bone density (osteopenia) took 3 grams a day or placebo, without a training program. Creatine didn’t improve bone, muscle or physical function.³

The meta-analysis also found no overall change in bone density.¹

Safety

Side effects were mild and similar to placebo, with no change in kidney test results in the trials.¹³ The trials lasted up to two years, so longer-term safety is less clear. Check with your clinician first if you have kidney disease.

What this means for you

• Lifting is the main event. Creatine may add a little on top of it. Our guide to heavy lifting and bone density covers a supervised program that improved bone.
• Don’t count on creatine for bones. Ask about bone density testing and treatment instead. See calcium and vitamin D and weighted vests.
• Plain creatine monohydrate was what the trials used.

Try: “I’ve started weight training twice a week. Would adding creatine help me, and is it safe with my kidneys and medicines?”

My Body Changed. Now What? includes a Visit Brief. Use it to list your supplements and exercise routine for your next checkup. See the book.