FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 2, 2009
Contacts: Scott Trappe
Office: (765) 285-1145
strappe@bsu.edu
Christine Guilfoy
Office: (301) 634-7253
cguilfoy@the-aps.org
Astronauts May Need More Intense Workouts To Maintain
Muscle Fitness In Space
 MUNCIE, Ind. — A new study in the
The Journal of Applied Physiology, suggests that astronauts need to modify
their workouts to avoid extensive muscle loss during missions onboard the
International Space Station (ISS).
The latest NASA-sponsored research from Ball State University's Human
Performance Laboratory (HPL) suggests that changes are needed to optimize the
inflight exercise regimen for astronauts to improve their muscle performance
while in space for extended stays.
Average stays on the ISS run about six months, and preservation of crewmember
health in zero-gravity environments is paramount for safety and mission success.
Since exercise is the primary course of action to protect the cardiovascular
system, bone, and skeletal muscles, astronauts need to find the optimal
exercises to stay fit.
The findings of the Ball State study were based in part on muscle biopsies taken
from the astronauts, the first time this procedure has been allowed on
crewmembers who have completed long-flight missions, according to Scott Trappe,
HPL director.
Working with NASA, Marquette University's biological sciences department, Wyle
Integrated Science and Engineering Group in Houston, and the Medical College of
Wisconsin, Trappe found that even while the crewmembers exercised, they still
lost an average of 15 percent muscle mass and 20 to 30 percent loss of muscle
performance.
"By clinical standards, this is a massive loss," Trappe said. "This approaches
what we see in aging populations in comparisons of a 20-year-old versus an
80-year-old. This poses risks to the crewmembers and could have a dramatic
impact on locomotion and overall health, which would impact a variety of
crewmembers' activities including future goals of planetary exploration."
Trappe and the HPL team have been conducting NASA-funded, ground-based bed rest
studies of long duration — between 60 and 90 days — parallel to their ISS
research.
Trappe said, "From our bed rest studies, we found that when high-intensity
resistance and aerobic exercise are balanced correctly, this is an effective
prescription that is quite therapeutic in protecting skeletal muscles in a
simulated microgravity environment. The next step is to apply what we have
learned from the ISS experience and implement the next generation of exercise
prescription programs into the space environment. Intensity wins, hands down."
In November 2008, NASA delivered an Advanced Resistance Exercise Device (ARED)
to ISS that now offers astronauts greater capability to exercise at higher
workloads and intensity. In addition to new equipment, the astronaut trainers
have provided new exercise prescriptions customized for each crewmember during
ARED use. Studies are underway at NASA to further develop and validate
resistance exercise prescriptions designed to improve astronaut performance and
health, as well as mitigate risk, according to Judith Hayes, NASA deputy chief,
human adaptation and countermeasures division based at the Johnson Space Center
in Houston.
(Note to editors: For more information, contact Trappe at 765-285-1145
or
strappe@bsu.edu. To reach a source at NASA, contact William Jeffs at
281-483-5111 or william.p.jeffs@nasa.gov.)
|
