Contractile behavior of the gastrocnemius medialis muscle during running in simulated hypogravity

  • Vigorous exercise countermeasures in microgravity can largely attenuate muscular degeneration, albeit the extent of applied loading is key for the extent of muscle wasting. Running on the International Space Station is usually performed with maximum loads of 70% body weight (0.7 g). However, it has not been investigated how the reduced musculoskeletal loading affects muscle and series elastic element dynamics, and thereby force and power generation. Therefore, this study examined the effects of running on the vertical treadmill facility, a ground-based analog, at simulated 0.7 g on gastrocnemius medialis contractile behavior. The results reveal that fascicle−series elastic element behavior differs between simulated hypogravity and 1 g running. Whilst shorter peak series elastic element lengths at simulated 0.7 g appear to be the result of lower muscular and gravitational forces acting on it, increased fascicle lengths and decreased velocities could not be anticipated, but may inform the development of optimized running training in hypogravity. However, whether the alterations in contractile behavior precipitate musculoskeletal degeneration warrants further study.

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Metadaten
Author:Charlotte RichterORCiD, Bjoern BraunsteinORCiD, Benjamin Staeudle, Julia Attias, Alexander Suess, Tobias WeberORCiD, Katya N. Mileva, Joern Rittweger, David A. Green, Kirsten AlbrachtORCiD
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-021-00155-7
ISSN:2373-8065
Parent Title (English):npj Microgravity
Publisher:Springer Nature
Place of publication:New York
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Year of Completion:2021
Date of the Publication (Server):2022/04/05
Volume:7
Issue:Article number: 32
Length:7 Seiten
Note:
Corresponding author: Charlotte Richter
Link:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41526-021-00155-7
Zugriffsart:weltweit
Institutes:FH Aachen / Fachbereich Medizintechnik und Technomathematik
FH Aachen / IfB - Institut für Bioengineering
open_access (DINI-Set):open_access
collections:Verlag / Springer Nature
Open Access / Gold
Geförderte OA-Publikationen / DEAL Springer
Licence (German): Creative Commons - Namensnennung