{"id":14498,"date":"2018-02-22T06:17:59","date_gmt":"2018-02-22T06:17:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/?p=14498"},"modified":"2020-05-27T06:09:39","modified_gmt":"2020-05-27T06:09:39","slug":"waterbeds-simulate-weightlessness-help-skinsuits-combat-back-pain-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/waterbeds-simulate-weightlessness-help-skinsuits-combat-back-pain-space\/","title":{"rendered":"Waterbeds simulate weightlessness to help skinsuits combat back pain in space"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
SkinSuit evolution<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Astronauts tend to become taller in weightlessness \u2013 causing back pain and making it difficult to fit into spacesuits. Astronauts may be more likely to suffer from \u2018slipped discs\u2019 after landing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Researchers at King\u2019s College London, UK, have been testing a Skinsuit to combat these problems, using a novel simulation of microgravity: adding magnesium salts to a half-filled waterbed. They were inspired by the Dead Sea, where swimmers float on the surface because of the high salt content. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe high salt content provides additional buoyancy,\u201d explains study leader David A Green. \u201cOur test subjects don\u2019t just sink to the bottom but float on the surface even though the bed is only half full.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFurthermore, as heavier body segments such as hips sink into the bed in proportion to their mass, overall the body lies close to being horizontal in an entirely relaxed state.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDuring our longer trials we\u2019ve seen similar increases in stature to those experienced in orbit, which suggests it is a valid representation of microgravity in terms of the effects on the spine,\u201d explains researcher Philip Carvil.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOn Earth your spine is compressed by gravity as you\u2019re on your feet, then you go to bed at night and your spine unloads \u2013 it\u2019s a normal cyclic process.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBeing supine is thought to help water and other molecules move into the discs between the bony spinal vertebrae, then in the morning you\u2019ll be at your tallest: around 1.5 cm than later in the day, when gravity squashes the discs, leading to a loss of fluid.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Waterbed simulates weightlessness<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIn space there\u2019s no gravitational loading. Thus the discs in your spine may continue to swell, the natural curves of the spine may be reduced and the supporting ligaments and muscles \u2014 no longer required to resist gravity \u2013 may become loose and weak.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The university and the Space Medicine Office of ESA\u2019s European Astronaut Centre have worked together to develop the Skinsuit, a spandex-based garment designed to squeeze the body from the shoulders to the feet like gravity.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is based on a garment conceived at the US Massachusetts Institute of Technology but with a number of design changes to improve wearability. These improvements led to ESA astronauts Andreas Mogensen and Thomas Pesquet testing Skinsuits during their missions to the International Space Station.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe first concepts were really uncomfortable, providing some 80% equivalent gravity loading, and so could only be worn for a couple of hours,\u201d notes Philip.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Mark VI Skinsuit is extremely comfortable, to the point where it can worn unobtrusively for long periods of normal activity or while sleeping.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Mk VI provides around 20% loading \u2013 slightly more than lunar gravity, which is enough to bring back forces similar to those that the spine is used to having.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Studies on Earth involving students lying on the waterbed have used MRI scans to compare the effect on the spine, with and without Skinsuit loading.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe results have yet to be published, but it does look like the Mk VI Skinsuit is effective in mitigating spine lengthening,\u201d says Philip.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn, addition we\u2019re learning more about the fundamental physiological processes involved, and the importance of reloading the spine for everyone.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Astronauts tend to become taller in weightlessness \u2013 causing back pain and making it difficult to fit into spacesuits. Astronauts may be more likely to suffer from \u2018slipped discs\u2019 after landing. Researchers at King\u2019s College London, UK, have been testing a Skinsuit to combat these problems, using a novel simulation of microgravity: adding magnesium salts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":14500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-space-news"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Waterbed_simulates_weightlessness_node_full_image_2.png",256,383,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Waterbed_simulates_weightlessness_node_full_image_2-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Waterbed_simulates_weightlessness_node_full_image_2-201x300.png",201,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Waterbed_simulates_weightlessness_node_full_image_2.png",256,383,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Waterbed_simulates_weightlessness_node_full_image_2.png",256,383,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Waterbed_simulates_weightlessness_node_full_image_2.png",256,383,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Waterbed_simulates_weightlessness_node_full_image_2.png",256,383,false],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Waterbed_simulates_weightlessness_node_full_image_2.png",256,383,false],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Waterbed_simulates_weightlessness_node_full_image_2.png",256,383,false],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Waterbed_simulates_weightlessness_node_full_image_2.png",256,383,false],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Waterbed_simulates_weightlessness_node_full_image_2.png",256,383,false],"newspaper-x-single-post":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Waterbed_simulates_weightlessness_node_full_image_2.png",256,383,false],"newspaper-x-recent-post-big":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Waterbed_simulates_weightlessness_node_full_image_2.png",241,360,false],"newspaper-x-recent-post-list-image":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Waterbed_simulates_weightlessness_node_full_image_2.png",43,65,false],"web-stories-poster-portrait":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Waterbed_simulates_weightlessness_node_full_image_2.png",256,383,false],"web-stories-publisher-logo":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Waterbed_simulates_weightlessness_node_full_image_2.png",64,96,false],"web-stories-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Waterbed_simulates_weightlessness_node_full_image_2.png",150,224,false]},"author_info":{"info":["Amrita Tuladhar"]},"category_info":"Space\/ AstroPhysics<\/a>","tag_info":"Space\/ AstroPhysics","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14498\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.revoscience.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}