Southampton University space muscle research could transform healthcare back on Earth

Pioneering research, including from the University of Southampton, into astronaut muscle health has implications for future space travel and could bring about a step-change in healthcare back here on Earth, it has emerged.

A team from the Hampshire university, led by Charité University in Berlin, assessed the results from 12 astronauts who used a handheld device called a MyotonPRO before, during and after a stay on the International Space Station (ISS), with the findings published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports.

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In space, exercises are carried out by astronauts to counteract the effects of microgravity conditions, which means muscles don't have to work as hard. Researchers were particularly interested in measuring passive muscle stiffness, as it reflects muscle strength.

The work found that astronauts' daily exercise regime was effective in preserving most muscle groups, but crucial lower leg muscles showed signs of deterioration.

MyotonPRO is a smartphone-sized device which measures the properties of superficial skeletal muscles, tendons, ligaments, adipose tissue (fat), and skin. It is non-invasive and uses a 'tap and listen' method.

Professor Dieter Blottner, from the Berlin university, who led the Myotones project, said lower leg muscles had a vital role in gait and ankle joint stabilisation.

"Impaired function could hinder performance on missions during planetary excursions and risk injury on return to Earth’s gravity, so exercises which target these muscles should be included in the astronauts’ exercise regimes going forward."

Meanwhile, back on earth, the assessment of stiffness and other muscle characteristics helps in managing neurological disorders, like Parkinson’s disease and stroke and MyotonPRO offers objective measurements for a more accurate and sensitive assessment of the effects of different treatments.

Southampton university said that such devices could be used in assessments and by patients to monitor drug effects at home, akin to diabetics self-testing their blood.

"This technology and the use of passive muscle stiffness as a muscle health indicator could be used by many health professionals during clinical assessments, " noted Dr Martin Warner, co-senior author of the research paper from the University of Southampton.

"Widespread uptake could revolutionise healthcare in neuro-musculoskeletal, critical care and geriatric medicine, rehabilitation and precision medicine," he added.

Libby Moxon, exploration science officer for Lunar and Microgravity at the UK Space Agency (UKSA), added: "As we approach increasingly ambitious missions that will see us travel deeper into space for longer, it’s imperative we fully understand how space travel impacts human muscle properties, so we can protect astronauts' muscle health on long-duration missions.

"The University of Southampton’s fascinating research, supported by the UK Space Agency, demonstrates how innovative technology can support this goal, taking advantage of the microgravity environment to provide insights that will also help improve healthcare in space and back on Earth."

The study was funded through the UK Space Agency (UKSA), the German Aerospace Agency (DLR), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Science Technology Facilities Council (STFC).