Half of space travelers experience back pain – Futurity: Research News

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With growing numbers of humans venturing into space, experts predict an increase in the number of people experiencing back pain.

The prediction comes in a new report in the journal Anesthesiology, based on a comprehensive review of past studies measuring the effects of space travel on the spine, and exploring methods to prevent, diagnose, and treat back pain.

The scientists say further study among astronauts of these methods—including specialized suits and certain exercises—may provide insights for treating back pain in the estimated 80% of Earth-bound people who experience some form of it over their lifetimes.

Steven Cohen, professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine and a retired Army colonel, states, “Perhaps more importantly, insight into back pain in space travelers may provide usable information to treat back pain in other populations.”

Back pain in space

According to the review, past studies of astronauts have shown that 52% of space travelers report some form of back pain in the first two to five days of space travel. That figure is based on a retrospective study of 722 space flights worldwide published in Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance in 2012. The condition is now dubbed “space adaptation back pain,” and although 86% of cases were mild, the pain was enough to hinder an astronaut’s ability to complete tasks.

In addition to the studies among astronauts, a study from the University of Innsbruck in Austria showed that nearly half of military helicopter pilots and crewmembers who experience fluctuating gravitational forces report low back pain. The pilots are almost three times more likely to develop lumbar (lower back) disc herniation—an injury to the soft connective cushioning in the spine—compared with the general population.

Astronauts are more than four times as likely to herniate a disc, according to a NASA study in 2010, and the risk was even higher in the first year after returning to Earth.

Gravity and the spine

Penchev says the high prevalence of back pain among these groups is understandable because the human spine is built to support our bodies under the gravitational forces experienced on Earth.

One prominent feature is the spinal curvature—an S-shaped bend in the spine that allows it to resist gravity, remain flexible, and absorb weight and impact. However, in microgravity, this curve reduces. Some of the earliest data from space explorations, say the researchers, showed astronauts “grew” over 3 inches in space due to the loss of this curve. More recent studies using MRI scans showed modern-day astronauts have a reduced curve in their spine.

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Source: https://www.futurity.org/back-pain-space-travel-2648632-2/