Salto training could help astronauts prevent the type of cartilage damage they will probably support during the long missions to Mars and the Moon, suggests a new study by Johns Hopkins University.
The investigation adds to the continuous efforts of space agencies to protect astronauts against deconditioning/leaving the form due to low gravity, a crucial aspect of their ability to perform space walks, handle equipment and repairs, and take carried out other physically demanding tasks.
The study, which shows that the knee cartilage in mice becomes healthier after jumping exercises, appears in the newspaper NPJ microgravity.
“Since the next step in human exploration of space is It is what it is, “he said,” he said, “said study author Marco Chiaberge, astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins University, the Institute of Space Telescope Sciences and the European Space Agency. “The positive effect we saw on these mice is huge, and the magnitude of it was unexpected. Basically, they can make their cartilage thicker if they jump. Perhaps astronauts could use similar training before their flight as a preventive measure.”
Healthy cartilage is essential for pain free movement, since the joints fuck and decreases bone friction. But the cartilage heals slowly and does not regenerate as fast as another fabric. Prolonged periods of inactivity, either from bed rest, lesions or space trips, can accelerate the breakdown of the cartilage. Space radiation can also accelerate this effect, and the experiments of the European Space Agency have shown evidence of cartilage degradation in astronauts that spend several months aboard the International Space Station.
“Think about sending someone on a trip to Mars, they get there and they can’t walk because they developed knee osteoarthritis or hips and joints do not work,” Chiaberge said. “Astronauts also often perform space walks. They served the Hubble space telescope five times, and in the future, they will have to spend more time in space and moon, where we will build larger telescopes to explore the universe and where they will need to keep it healthier possible. “
Previous investigations have shown that running tape race can help slow down the cartilage in rodents. Johns Hopkins’ new study adds to evidence by demonstrating that jump -based exercise can prevent loss of articular cartilage on the knees and could actually improve cartilage health.
The researchers found that mice in a nine -week program of reduced movement experienced cartilage and cell grouping, both early indicators of arthritis. But mice that made jumping training three times a week showed the opposite effect: thicker and healthier cartilage with a normal cellular structure.
The study found that reduced movement mice had a 14% reduction in cartilage thickness, while those of the Salto training group had a 26% increase compared to a control group. In addition, the skipping mice had a thicker cartilage of 110% than the reduced activity group.
Jump also improved bone force. The team found that the bones of the pimples in the skipping mice had a higher 15% mineral density. The trabecular bone – spongy bone tissue that absorbs the impact – was significantly thicker and more robust.
“The strength of the leg is particularly important and the most affected by microgravity, so any procedure that can address multiple aspects of muscle decondition, and perhaps even reducing the two -hour daily exercise requirement in space, would be welcome “said author Mark Shelhamer, a professor of otolaryngology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and former head of the NASA human research program. “The same reasoning applies to bone integrity, including cartilage. There is a growing recognition of the importance of cartilage as a different component in bone integrity, and this study contributes to that understanding.”
While more research is needed to confirm if humans would enjoy the same benefits, the findings offer promising information to protect cartilage and bone structure. Salto exercises could be included in routines prior to the flight to prepare spaces for space trips, and specially designed exercise machines could help integrate similar training in space.
The study could help scientists to explore how jump-based training could not only help patients with arthritis, but also increase cartilage health with generally applicable exercises, said author Chen-Mield Fan, a musculoskeletal biologist from Carnegie Science.
The researchers emphasized the need for greater investigation to determine the volume and frequency of the ideal exercise to preserve and strengthen the cartilage. Future work will also explore whether Salto training could help reverse cartilage loss and if the exercise could help astronauts restrict their cartilage and recover damage to the space flight.
“Now that we obtained our first clue that a type of exercise can increase the cartilage, which was completely unknown before, we could start looking for other types of cartilage. What about the meniscus? Could it also be thicker?” The fan said, he is also an attached professor at Johns Hopkins. “This research could help performance improvement studies, instead of just focusing on pathological conditions and helping athletes or virtually any person interested in doing adequate exercises to improve their performance.”
Other authors are Neelima Thottoppillil, Anderson Furlanetto, Dylan Odell, Christine Wang, Stephen Hope, Stephen Smee, Joseph Rehafus, Colin Norman and Aaron W. James by Johns Hopkins; Anna-Maria Liphardt of Universityätsklinikum Erlangen, Friedrich-Alxander-Universität; Anja Niehoff by Aleman Sport University Colonia; and Marc J. Philippon and Johnny Huard of the Steadman Philippon Research Institute.
This investigation was supported by a Space@hopkins Seed subsidy and the Carnegie Science endowment fund.
#Salto #training #astronauts #moon #Mars #study #mice #suggests
