The Effects of Functional Re-Adaptive Exercise Device Intervention for Lumbopelvic Reconditioning in Astronauts and Terrestrial Populations

Lindsay, Kirsty (2021) The Effects of Functional Re-Adaptive Exercise Device Intervention for Lumbopelvic Reconditioning in Astronauts and Terrestrial Populations. Doctoral thesis, Northumbria University.

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Abstract

Lumbopelvic muscle deconditioning after long-duration spaceflight and Chronic Low Back Pain can lead to dysfunction, pain, and lost workdays. Reconditioning Lumbar Multifidus and Transversus Abdominis have so far proved to be challenging. To improve rehabilitation outcomes, a novel exercise device called the Functional Re-adaptive Exercise Device (FRED) was developed to target the lumbopelvic muscles specifically; however, it has only been tested in healthy participants.
This Thesis aimed to test if FRED could be used as a rehabilitation tool in patients with Chronic Non-Specific Low Back pain and a simulated post-flight astronaut population after 60-days of head-down-tilt-bed rest. A holistic mixed-method approach was taken, with primary outcome measures considering patient-reported outcomes for function and pain, Lumbar Multifidus and Transverse Abdominis muscle size using ultrasound and MRI and static and functional balance performance.
This thesis is the first to use FRED in two target populations. In the first study of Chronic Low Back Pain, patients did FRED for three 15 minutes sessions per week for six weeks, with improvements in self-reported function and pain symptoms and increased Lumbar Multifidus cross-sectional area. In the second study, during the Artificial Gravity ESA/ NASA bed rest study, daily FRED exercise for 13 days for up to 30 minutes improved pain perception. It increased the Lumbar Multifidus muscle cross-sectional area. FRED had the greatest improvement of dynamic movement control in participants who did not receive an artificial gravity intervention. There was also intriguing new evidence that FRED might have a role in physical fatigue monitoring. The results show that FRED can be used successfully as a rehabilitative and reconditioning tool in clinical and simulated spaceflight populations.

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