title: Countermeasures against lumbar spine deconditioning in prolonged bed rest: resistive exercise with and without whole body vibration.
abstract: To evaluate the effect of short-duration, high-load resistive exercise, with and without whole body vibration on lumbar muscle size, intervertebral disk and spinal morphology changes, and low back pain (LBP) incidence during prolonged bed rest, 24 subjects underwent 60 days of head-down tilt bed rest and performed either resistive vibration exercise (n = 7), resistive exercise only (n = 8), or no exercise (n = 9; 2nd Berlin Bed-Rest Study). Discal and spinal shape was measured from sagittal plane magnetic resonance images. Cross-sectional areas (CSAs) of the multifidus, erector spinae, quadratus lumborum, and psoas were measured on para-axial magnetic resonance images. LBP incidence was assessed with questionnaires at regular intervals. The countermeasures reduced CSA loss in the multifidus, lumbar erector spinae and quadratus lumborum muscles, with greater increases in psoas muscle CSA seen in the countermeasure groups (P ≤ 0.004). There was little statistical evidence for an additional effect of whole body vibration above resistive exercise alone on these muscle changes. Exercise subjects reported LBP more frequently in the first week of bed rest, but this was only significant in resistive exercise only (P = 0.011 vs. control, resistive vibration exercise vs. control: P = 0.56). No effect of the countermeasures on changes in spinal morphology was seen (P ≥ 0.22). The results suggest that high-load resistive exercise, with or without whole body vibration, performed 3 days/wk can reduce lumbar muscle atrophy, but further countermeasure optimization is required.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Muscle and Bone Research, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany. belavy@gmail.com
authors.forename: Daniel L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Belavý
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Armbrecht
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Gast
authors.forename: Carolyn A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.forename: Julie A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hides
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Felsenberg
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001510:Bed Rest / Q000009:adverse effects*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D018475:Head-Down Tilt; D006801:Humans; D007403:Intervertebral Disc / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D016014:Linear Models; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009133:Muscular Atrophy / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D055070:Resistance Training; D013026:Space Flight; D013131:Spine / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014732:Vibration / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018544:Weightlessness Countermeasures; D018474:Weightlessness Simulation / Q000009:adverse effects*