TY - JOUR PY - 2014// TI - Effects of five days of bed rest with and without exercise countermeasure on postural stability and gait JO - Journal of musculoskeletal and neuronal interactions A1 - Mulder, E. A1 - Linnarsson, D. A1 - Paloski, W. H. A1 - Rittweger, J. A1 - Wuyts, F. L. A1 - Zange, J. A1 - Clement, G. SP - 359 EP - 366 VL - 14 IS - 3 N2 - OBJECTIVES: We tested whether intermittent standing or a combination of heel raising, squatting and hopping exercises was sufficient to prevent alteration in balance and gait following a 5-day bed rest.

METHODS: This cross-over design study was performed with 10 male subjects during 6° head down tilt: (a) with no countermeasure; (b) while standing 25 min per day; (c) during locomotion-like activities 25 min per day. Gait was evaluated by grading subjects' performance during various locomotion tasks. Equilibrium scores were derived from peak-to-peak anterior-posterior sway while standing on a foam pad with the eyes open or closed or while making pitch head movements.

RESULTS: When no countermeasure was used, head movements led to decreased postural stability and increased incidence of falls immediately after bed rest compared to before. When upright standing or locomotion-like exercises were used, postural stability and the incidence of falls were not significantly different after the bed rest from the baseline.

CONCLUSION: These results indicate that daily 25-min of standing or locomotion-like exercise proves useful against postural instability following a 5-day bed rest. The efficacy of these countermeasures on locomotion could not be evaluated, however, because gait was not found to be altered after a 5-day bed rest.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 1108-7161 UR - http://dx.doi.org/ ID - ref1 ER -