The Effect of Support Unloading on the Shape of the Spine
摘要
The article presents the results of a study of posture after a 21-day Dry Immersion (DI), which is a ground-based model of the physiological effects of weightlessness. The study involved eight men (M ± SD: 29.8 ± 3.8 years, 176.1 ± 3.8 cm, 75.6 ± 11.2 kg). The assessment of the shape of the spine in the sagittal plane was performed using the Video Analysis-3D Biosoft software and hardware package developed by specialists from Biosoft Scientific and Medical Company. The shape of the spine was recorded before the start of the experiment, on days 7–8 and on days 13–14 of immersion exposure. It was shown that under the influence of simulated microgravity, the angles of cervical lordosis and thoracic kyphosis increase by 3.8 and 4.7 degrees, respectively, on the 7th day of immersion. In the lumbar spine, the angle of lordosis varied in different directions: in four subjects, the angle of lumbar lordosis decreased by 2° (becomes more pronounced), in four subjects, the angle increased by an average of 4°. For one subject, the angle did not change. By the 14th day of immersion, the average angle of lumbar lordosis in the group increased by 3°. A decrease in thoracic and lumbar scoliosis was observed in three subjects by the 7th day of immersion. This trend continued until the 14th day of DI.