Domínguez Raúl, López-León Inmaculada, Moreno-Lara Javier, Rico Esteban, Sánchez-Oliver Antonio J, Sánchez-Gómez Ángela, Pecci Javier
Universidad de Sevilla, Departamento de Motricidad Humana Rendimiento Deportivo, Sevilla, Spain.
University of Lavras, Studies Research Group in Neuromuscular Responses (GEPREN), Lavras, Brazil.
J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2025 Dec;22(1):2486988. doi: 10.1080/15502783.2025.2486988. Epub 2025 Apr 9.
Competitive swimmers have a high prevalence of sports supplement (SS) consumption. However, only a few SS are scientifically proven to be safe, effective, and legal. Therefore, before incorporating supplements to enhance performance and health in competitive swimming, it is crucial to conduct an analysis and review to assess their effects. The objective of this study was to analyze the demonstrated effects of SS, as reported in published studies, on the swimming performance of competitive swimmers.
Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search was conducted across six databases for the selection of studies included in this review. Studies that analyzed the effects of sports supplementation compared to placebo were included and subjected to meta-analysis.
This revision included 23 studies, 16 of them (69.6%) qualified as excellent and 7 (30.4%) as good at the methodological level based on the punctuation in the PEDro scale. The systematic review included 422 swimmers (61.8% male, 38.2% female), with distances assessed ranging from 50 m to 800 m, including studies employing interval procedures. Creatine showed a significant effect (ES = -0.46; 95% CIs = -0.75 to -0.17, = 0.002; I = 11%) on swimming performance, while the rest of the analyzed supplements did not show significant effects (all > 0.05).
Creatine supplementation demonstrated ergogenic benefits for competitive swimmers, although the evidence supporting the use of this supplement is still limited. Sodium bicarbonate and β-alanine may enhance performance in distances with higher glycolytic demands, while caffeine is effective at dosages of 3-6 mg/kg administered 60 min before exercise. Further research is needed to confirm the potential ergogenic effects of other supplements, such as beetroot juice.
竞技游泳运动员使用运动补剂（SS）的比例很高。然而，只有少数几种运动补剂在科学上被证明是安全、有效且合法的。因此，在将补剂纳入竞技游泳以提高成绩和促进健康之前，进行分析和评估其效果至关重要。本研究的目的是分析已发表研究中报道的运动补剂对竞技游泳运动员游泳成绩的显著影响。
按照PRISMA指南，在六个数据库中进行系统检索，以选择纳入本综述的研究。纳入分析运动补剂与安慰剂相比效果的研究，并进行荟萃分析。
本综述纳入23项研究，根据PEDro量表评分，其中16项（69.6%）在方法学水平上被评为优秀，7项（30.4%）被评为良好。系统评价纳入422名游泳运动员（男性61.8%，女性38.2%），评估的距离从50米到800米不等，包括采用间歇训练的研究。肌酸对游泳成绩有显著影响（效应量ES = -0.46；95%置信区间CI = -0.75至-0.17，P = 0.002；异质性I² = 11%），而其他分析的补剂未显示出显著效果（所有P > 0.05）。
补充肌酸对竞技游泳运动员有增强体能的益处，尽管支持使用这种补剂的证据仍然有限。碳酸氢钠和β-丙氨酸可能在糖酵解需求较高的距离中提高成绩，而咖啡因在运动前60分钟以3 - 6毫克/千克的剂量服用是有效的。需要进一步研究来证实其他补剂（如甜菜根汁）的潜在增强体能效果。
