Yo-yos in space by Susan Fuller

A University of Tulsa professor may find the answer to keeping astronauts fit in space.

If you think air travel these days has become a pain, and you are sick of the long lines at security, lost bags, and peanuts for dinner, consider the plight of the astronauts.

Travel to the moon, the International Space Station, and even to Mars, is no longer the stuff of science fiction, but real destinations with travel hassles far beyond the norm.

Space travelers have to be concerned about such things as radiation, water, air, food and bone loss. No kidding, Bone loss, the same kind we earthlings have been warned about if we don’t drink our milk and take our calcium.

Our human bodies rely on gravity to maintain muscular strength and power which, in turn, contribute to bone density.

Without gravitational pull, whether a person is confined to bed or to a weightless environment for long periods of time, muscles begin to atrophy. Bones become brittle and weak and osteoporosis develops.

Osteoporosis increases the risk of bone fracture, impaired fracture healing, and disc rupture. The challenge for astronauts is to maintain muscular strength in a weightless environment.

As we know from our visits to the gym, muscular strength gains occur when we lift weights. While it may seem appealing to heave a 30-pound dumbbell that has been rendered weightless in space, it presents certain difficulties for an effective workout.

The challenge to the NASA experts is to design a fitness routine that preserves or builds muscle mass and bone density in a weightless environment.

John Caruso, assistant professor in the Exercise and Sports Science Department at The University of Tulsa, and formerly of the Johnson Space Center, is an experienced researcher whose specialty is finding solutions for bone loss in space travelers.

Caruso is conducting research on a Swedish exercise invention that provides resistance training by using a flywheel instead of gravity-dependent weights.

He says, “the devise, which weights only 60 pounds, is like a child’s yo-yo, with the strap winding and unwinding around the axle of a fixed flywheel.”

Resistance is generated through the momentum of the spinning flywheel. The yo-yo trains the postural muscles by using eccentric resistance, thought to be more effective for muscle growth than concentric resistance, the kind the muscle uses in lifting a weight.

Caruso says the yo-yo equipment, which is being calibrated for use in his research at TOO, has applications beyond those of space travel. He believes people suffering from certain types of muscular paralysis will benefit from his study. The yo-yo is more “user-friendly” than most gym equipment, requires less space, and is lightweight and easily stored.

In addition to landing the first man on the moon, the space program has given us Tang, Velcro, and now perhaps, the ultimate yo-yo workout.
 

This article appeared in the August 2004 Issue of the TulsaPeople Magazine and has been reprinted with permission