ArticleMedicine and science in sports and exercise2018
Physiological and Functional Alterations after Spaceflight and Bed Rest.
Article in Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 86 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
86 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 183 citations in OpenAlex.
- Disuse-Induced Muscle Atrophy and Muscle Weakness From Hospitalization to Spaceflight: Exercise Succeeds in Prevention and Treatment-A Meta-Analysis.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of weightlessness on the cardiovascular system: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2024Pooled it
- Introducing the Concept of Exercise Holidays for Human Spaceflight - What Can We Learn From the Recovery of Bed Rest Passive Control Groups.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Pooled it
- Nonuniform loss of muscle strength and atrophy during bed rest: a systematic review.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2021Pooled it
- Exercise effects on bed rest-induced brain changes.PloS one · 2018Trial
- Spaceflight and sport science: Physiological monitoring and countermeasures for the astronaut-athlete on Mars exploration missions.Experimental physiology · 2026Review
- An experimentally informed computational model of neurovestibular adaptation to altered gravity.Experimental physiology · 2026Article
- Blood flow restriction: The acute effects of body tilting and reduced gravity analogues on limb occlusion pressure.Experimental physiology · 2026Article
- A systematic review identifying fitness metrics indicative of simulated astronaut extravehicular activity task performance.NPJ microgravity · 2026Article
- Gait analysis for functional evaluation in a surgical hindlimb suspension model of muscle atrophy.The Journal of physiology · 2026Article
- Integrated cross-species translation and biophysical multi-scale modeling links molecular signatures and locomotory phenotypes in spaceflight-induced sarcopenia.NPJ microgravity · 2026Article
- Perceptual and sensorimotor adaptations to hypogravity: implications for manual task performance and verticality perception.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Neuromotor changes in postural control following bed rest.The Journal of physiology · 2026Review
- Sensory network segregation as a predictor of post spaceflight balance impairments and sensory re-weighting.NPJ microgravity · 2025Article
- Long-duration human spaceflight induces atrophy in the left ventricular papillary muscles.NPJ microgravity · 2025Article
- The Heart in Space: Effects of Microgravity on Different Cell Types and Their Functions in the Cardiovascular System.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Integrated Cross-Species Translation and Biophysical Multi-Scale Modeling Links Molecular Signatures and Locomotory Phenotypes in Spaceflight-Induced Sarcopenia.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Brains in space: impact of microgravity and cosmic radiation on the CNS during space exploration.Nature reviews. Neuroscience · 2025Review
- Dynamic Mechanical Load as a Trigger for Growth and Proliferation in Porcine Epithelial Cells.Biomolecules · 2025Article
- The role of mechanosignaling in the control of myocardial mass.American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology · 2025Review
26 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
17 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
introductionExposure to microgravity causes alterations in multiple physiological systems, potentially impacting the ability of astronauts to perform critical mission tasks. The goal of this study was to determine the effects of spaceflight on functional task performance and to identify the key physiological factors contributing to their deficits.
methodsA test battery comprised of seven functional tests and 15 physiological measures was used to investigate the sensorimotor, cardiovascular, and neuromuscular adaptations to spaceflight. Astronauts were tested before and after 6-month spaceflights. Subjects were also tested before and after 70 d of 6° head-down bed rest, a spaceflight analog, to examine the role of axial body unloading on the spaceflight results. These subjects included control and exercise groups to examine the effects of exercise during bed rest.
resultsSpaceflight subjects showed the greatest decrement in performance during functional tasks that required the greatest demand for dynamic control of postural equilibrium which was paralleled by similar decrements in sensorimotor tests that assessed postural and dynamic gait control. Other changes included reduced lower limb muscle performance and increased HR to maintain blood pressure. Exercise performed during bed rest prevented detrimental change in neuromuscular and cardiovascular function; however, both bed rest groups experienced functional and balance deficits similar to spaceflight subjects.
conclusionBed rest data indicate that body support unloading experienced during spaceflight contributes to postflight postural control dysfunction. Further, the bed rest results in the exercise group of subjects confirm that resistance and aerobic exercises performed during spaceflight can play an integral role in maintaining neuromuscular and cardiovascular functions, which can help in reducing decrements in functional performance. These results indicate that a countermeasure to mitigate postflight postural control dysfunction is required to maintain functional performance.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.