Department of Biomedical Engineering, Center for Injury Biomechanics, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
Department of Biostatistics and Data Science, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
Ann Biomed Eng. 2022 Jul;50(7):816-824. doi: 10.1007/s10439-022-02968-3. Epub 2022 Apr 22.
Prolonged microgravity results in muscle atrophy, especially among the anti-gravity spinal muscles. How individual paravertebral muscle groups change in size and composition with spaceflight needs further exploration. This study investigates lumbar spine musculature changes among six crewmembers on long-duration space missions using non-invasive measurement of muscle changes with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Pre- and post-flight lumbar images were analyzed for changes in cross-sectional area, volume, and fat infiltration of the psoas (PS), quadratus lumborum (QL), and paraspinal [erector spinae and multifidus (ES + MF)] muscles using mixed models. Crewmembers used onboard exercise equipment, including a cycle ergometer (CEVIS), treadmill (T2/COLBERT), and the advanced resistive exercise device (ARED). Correlations were used to assess muscle changes related to exercise modality. There was substantial variability in muscle changes across crewmembers but collectively a significant decrease in paraspinal area (- 9.0 ± 4.8%, p = 0.04) and a significant increase in QL fat infiltration (7.3 ± 4.1%, p = 0.05). More CEVIS time may have protected against PS volume loss (p = 0.05) and PS fat infiltration (p < 0.01), and more ARED usage may have protected against ES + MF volume loss (p = 0.05). Crewmembers using modern onboard exercise equipment may be less susceptible to muscle changes. However, variability between crewmembers and muscle size and quality losses suggest additional research is needed to ensure in-flight countermeasures preserve muscle health.
长时间的微重力会导致肌肉萎缩，尤其是对抗重力的脊柱肌肉。个体的脊柱旁肌肉群在太空飞行中如何发生大小和组成的变化，需要进一步探索。本研究使用磁共振成像（MRI）对非侵入性肌肉变化的测量，调查了六位长期太空任务的机组人员的腰椎脊柱肌肉变化。对飞行前后的腰椎图像进行分析，以评估腰大肌（PS）、腰方肌（QL）和脊柱旁肌肉（竖脊肌和多裂肌[ES+MF]）的横截面积、体积和脂肪浸润的变化，使用混合模型。机组人员使用了船上的运动设备，包括自行车测力计（CEVIS）、跑步机（T2/COLBERT）和高级阻力运动设备（ARED）。使用相关分析来评估与运动方式相关的肌肉变化。在机组人员之间，肌肉变化存在很大的可变性，但总体上脊柱旁区域的面积显著减少（-9.0±4.8%，p=0.04），QL 脂肪浸润显著增加（7.3±4.1%，p=0.05）。更多的 CEVIS 时间可能有助于防止 PS 体积损失（p=0.05）和 PS 脂肪浸润（p<0.01），更多的 ARED 使用可能有助于防止 ES+MF 体积损失（p=0.05）。使用现代船上运动设备的机组人员可能较少受到肌肉变化的影响。然而，机组人员之间的可变性以及肌肉大小和质量的损失表明，需要进一步研究以确保飞行中的对抗措施能保持肌肉健康。
