NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Foot Forces during Treadmill Exercise on the International Space StationExercise has been the primary countermeasure to combat musculoskeletal changes during the approximately 6 month missions to the International Space Station (ISS). However, these countermeasures have not been successful in preventing loss of bone mineral density in the spine and hip of astronauts. We examined lower extremity loading during typical bouts of on-orbit exercise performed by 4 ISS crew members on the ISS treadmill (TVIS) and during locomotor activities on earth (1g). In-shoe forces were monitored at 128Hz using force-measuring insoles placed inside the shoes of the exercising crewmember, stored temporarily on Flash cards, and down-linked via satellite for analysis. Custom software extracted peak forces from up to 30 minutes of locomotor activity. All on-orbit loading conditions for walking and running resulted in peak forces and impact loading rates that were significantly less than those measured in 1g. Typical single leg loads on-orbit in walking and running were 0.860 plus or minus 0.04 body weights (BW) and 1.339 plus or minus 0.07 BW compared to 1.2 plus or minus 0.036 BW and 2.36 plus or minus 0.07 BW in 1g BW respectively. These results indicate that typical exercise on the ISS treadmill does not generate 1g-like loading conditions. This may be partly responsible for the loss of bone mineral density that has been observed in these and other crew members. Since on-orbit treadmill exercise requires a restraining load to return the crew member to the treadmill surface, more studies are required to enable comfortable full body weight loading to be applied.
Document ID
20060022556
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Cavanagh, Peter R.
(Cleveland Clinic Foundation Cleveland, OH, United States)
Rice, Andrea J.
(Cleveland Clinic Foundation Cleveland, OH, United States)
Maender, Christian C.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Gopalakrishnan, Raghavan
(Cleveland Clinic Foundation Cleveland, OH, United States)
Genc, Kerim O.
(Cleveland Clinic Foundation Cleveland, OH, United States)
Kuklis, Matthew
(Cleveland Clinic Foundation Cleveland, OH, United States)
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2006
Subject Category
Aerospace Medicine
Meeting Information
Meeting: 2006 BMES Annual Fall Meeting
Location: Chicago, IL
Country: United States
Start Date: October 11, 2006
End Date: October 14, 2006
Sponsors: Biomedical Engineering Society
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available