<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The deleterious effects of spaceflight encompass numerous physiological effects that undermine long-term goals of manned round-trip missions to Mars. Among the greater losses are to the human musculoskeletal system due to limited mechanical/load-bearing activity. In-flight exercise and nutritional countermeasures seek to reduce physiological losses. Restoration of mechanical/load-bearing activity in microgravity is achieved with flywheel-based exercise hardware. Research with spaceflight analogs showed exercise done with flywheel-based devices abated muscle mass and strength losses with modest increases in net energy costs. This led to the installment of flywheel-based hardware on The International Space Station (ISS). To date, exercise with flywheel-based hardware has reduced musculoskeletal losses, with more success achieved for muscle-, versus bone-based, outcomes. In-flight exercise may better address bone losses with hardware that imparts high rates of impulse loading to the engaged musculoskeleton.</p></abstract>

The deleterious effects of spaceflight encompass numerous physiological effects that undermine long-term goals of manned round-trip missions to Mars. Among the greater losses are to the human musculoskeletal system due to limited mechanical/load-bearing activity. In-flight exercise and nutritional countermeasures seek to reduce physiological losses. Restoration of mechanical/load-bearing activity in microgravity is achieved with flywheel-based exercise hardware. Research with spaceflight analogs showed exercise done with flywheel-based devices abated muscle mass and strength losses with modest increases in net energy costs. This led to the installment of flywheel-based hardware on The International Space Station (ISS). To date, exercise with flywheel-based hardware has reduced musculoskeletal losses, with more success achieved for muscle-, versus bone-based, outcomes. In-flight exercise may better address bone losses with hardware that imparts high rates of impulse loading to the engaged musculoskeleton.

Physiological Effects of Spaceflight/Unloading and the Mitigating Effects of Flywheel-Based Resistive Exercise

Gravitational and Space Research

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The deleterious effects of spaceflight encompass numerous physiological effects that undermine long-term goals of manned round-trip missions to Mars. Among the...

Physiological Effects of Spaceflight/Unloading and the Mitigating Effects of Flywheel-Based Resistive Exercise

Article Category: Review Article

Published Online: Jul 17, 2020

Page range: 64 - 77

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/gsr-2016-0006

Keywords
Countermeasures, Nutrition and Metabolism, Body Mass, Cardiovascular Changes, Oxidative Stress, Muscle Atrophy, Strength Loss, Bone Demineralization, Mechanical Loading, Strain Rates

© 2016 Prashant Parmar et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Figure 1

Physiological Effects of Spaceflight/Unloading and the Mitigating Effects of Flywheel-Based Resistive Exercise

Article Category: Review Article

Published Online: Jul 17, 2020

Page range: 64 - 77

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/gsr-2016-0006

KeywordsCountermeasures, Nutrition and Metabolism, Body Mass, Cardiovascular Changes, Oxidative Stress, Muscle Atrophy, Strength Loss, Bone Demineralization, Mechanical Loading, Strain Rates

© 2016 Prashant Parmar et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Figure 1

Keywords
Countermeasures, Nutrition and Metabolism, Body Mass, Cardiovascular Changes, Oxidative Stress, Muscle Atrophy, Strength Loss, Bone Demineralization, Mechanical Loading, Strain Rates