ASGSB 1999 Annual Meeting Abstracts

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A KC-135 FLIGHT: EVALUATION OF A GRAVITY-INDEPENDENT CONSTANT FORCE RESISTIVE EXERCISE UNIT (CFREU) AS A POTENTIAL COUNTERMEASURE FOR MICROGRAVITY-INDUCED MUSCLE ATROPHY. P.E. Colosky, Jr.¹, T.M. Ruttley², T.W. Tong³, and V.H. Sutlive¹. ¹Dept. of Exercise and Sport Science, ²Dept. of Biology, ³Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins.

In the spring of 1998, a team of undergraduates from Colorado State University evaluated a uniquely designed gravity-independent constant force resistive exercise unit (CFREU) on NASA’s KC-135 microgravity test plane.  Our KC-135 experiment investigated muscle responses in microgravity during common muscle strengthening routines while exercising with the CFREU.  We hypothesized that the CFREU is capable of providing eccentric and concentric resistive forces on muscles during exercise that are similar to traditional Nautilus®-type machines.  To test our hypothesis, non-invasive surface electromyography (sEMG) was used to obtain muscle activity response during exercise during the microgravity portions of the test flight, and compared to ground-based sEMG data collected during exercise with traditional Nautilus®-type equipment.  Preliminary results indicate that sEMG muscle activity responses during exercise with the CFREU in microgravity were similar to the traditional ground-based Nautilus®-type equipment, confirming our hypothesis that the CFREU is capable of providing traditional resistive forces on muscles during strengthening exercises.  Thus, the CFREU has potential as an in-flight exercise device designed to decrease microgravity-induced muscle atrophy and deconditioning in space.

This project was funded by the CSU Space Grant Consortium.

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