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Musculoskeletal Response to Space Flight

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Principles of Clinical Medicine for Space Flight

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the effects of weightlessness on the structural integrity of bone, muscle, and connective tissue, with an emphasis on the biomechanical changes, both as cause and effect. With regard to the human, the dominant spaceflight factor influencing physiological changes is weightlessness. Given that functional loading is known to increase bone and muscle mass, loss of bone and muscle integrity are an expected consequence of space flight where such loading is diminished. Losses of muscle strength and volume have been measured after 5- to 16-day Space Shuttle missions. Increased urinary excretion of calcium indicated increased bone resorption during short duration Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle missions. Longer duration Skylab and Mir missions were required to detect changes in bone density. These observed changes raised early concern that muscle atrophy and bone loss could increase risks of long-term space flight to unacceptable levels unless adequate countermeasures were developed to prevent the losses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Linda C. Shackelford

  2. Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA

    Linda C. Shackelford

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  1. Linda C. Shackelford
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Correspondence to Linda C. Shackelford .

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  1. NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Michael R. Barratt

  2. Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine, University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Ellen S. Baker

  3. Deceased, Formerly Chief, Medical Sciences Division, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Sam L. Pool

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Shackelford, L.C. (2019). Musculoskeletal Response to Space Flight. In: Barratt, M., Baker, E., Pool, S. (eds) Principles of Clinical Medicine for Space Flight. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9889-0_19

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