Author: Gaffney CJ1,2, Fomina E3, Babich D3, Kitov V3, Uskov K3, Green DA4,5
Affiliation: <sup>1</sup>Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP), Moscow, Russia. chrisjamesgaffney@gmail.com.
<sup>2</sup>Centre of Human & Aerospace Physiological Sciences (CHAPS), King's College London, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, Guy's Campus, London, SE1 1UL, UK. chrisjamesgaffney@gmail.com.
<sup>3</sup>Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP), Moscow, Russia.
<sup>4</sup>Centre of Human & Aerospace Physiological Sciences (CHAPS), King's College London, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, Guy's Campus, London, SE1 1UL, UK.
<sup>5</sup>KBRwyle, European Astronaut Centre, Linder Höhe, D-51147, Cologne, Germany.
Conference/Journal: Sports Med Open.
Date published: 2017 Nov 13
Other:
Volume ID: 3 , Issue ID: 1 , Pages: 40 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1186/s40798-017-0107-y. , Word Count: 337
BACKGROUND: Isolation and long duration spaceflight are associated with musculoskeletal deconditioning. Mars500 was a unique, high-fidelity analogue of the psychological challenges of a 520-day manned mission to Mars. We aimed to explore the effect of musculoskeletal deconditioning on three outcome measures: (1) if lower limb muscle strength was reduced during the 520-day isolation; (2) if type I or II muscle fibres were differentially affected; and (3) whether any 70-day exercise interventions prevented any isolation-induced loss of strength.
METHODS: Six healthy male subjects (mean ± SEM) (34 ± 3 years; 1.76 ± 0.02 metres; 83.7 ± 4.8 kg) provided written, informed consent to participate. The subjects' maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) was assessed isometrically in the calf (predominantly type I fibres), and maximal voluntary isokinetic force (MVIF) was assessed in the quadriceps/hamstrings (predominantly type II fibres) at 0.2 and 0.4 ms-1 using the Multifunctional Dynamometer for Space (MDS) at 35-day intervals throughout Mars500. Exercise interventions were completed 3-7 days/week throughout the 520-day isolation in a counterbalanced design excluding 142-177 days (rest period) and 251-284 days (simulated Mars landing). Exercise interventions included motorized treadmill running, non-motorized treadmill running, cycle ergometry, elastomer-based resistance exercise, whole-body vibration (WBV), and resistance exercise using MDS.
RESULTS: Calf MVC did not reduce across the 520-day isolation and MDS increased strength by 18% compared to before that of 70-day exercise intervention. In contrast, there was a significant bilateral loss of MVIF across the 520 days at both 0.2 ms-1 (R 2 = 0.53; P = 0.001) and 0.4 ms-1 (0.4 ms-1; R 2 = 0.42; P = 0.007). WBV (+ 3.7 and 8.8%) and MDS (+ 4.9 and 5.2%) afforded the best protection against isolation-induced loss of MVIF, although MDS was the only intervention to prevent bilateral loss of calf MVC and leg MVIF at 0.2 and 0.4 ms-1.
CONCLUSIONS: Mars500 induced significant loss of quadriceps/hamstrings MVIF but not calf MVC. Collectively, these data suggest that muscles with predominantly type I fibres were affected less by isolation compared to type II dominant muscles. MDS and WBV afforded the best protection against isolation-induced loss of strength and thus may have virtue in exploration class missions.
KEYWORDS: Confinement; Ground-based analogue; Intervention; Mars500; Muscle strength; Spaceflight; Spaceflight analogue
PMID: 29134470 DOI: 10.1186/s40798-017-0107-y