Comparative Efficiency Analysis of Prophylactic Measures Counteracting Negative Effects of Reduced Physical Activity on Human Physical Performance during a 520-Day Isolation Experiment

Abstract

Insufficient levels of physical activity is among the leading risk factors of some chronic diseases and premature death. Effects of a reduced level of locomotor activity on human physiology were studied under the conditions of a 520-day isolation experiment simulating a space mission to Mars. A cohort of participants included 6 healthy men from different countries. As a prophylactic against negative effects of reduced locomotor activity, the volunteers performed cyclical exercises on an active treadmill (the moving belt was motorized), a passive treadmill (the belt was moved by the force of human legs), and on a bicycle ergometer. Resistive exercises were performed on the strength training device Multifunctional Dynamometer for Application in Space (MDS), a vibration platform, and with expanders. Three breaks in workouts as the control “pure” isolation periods, when training exercises were suspended, were included into the study program design. The experiment design allowed performing a comparative efficiency analysis of workouts on each of the applied devices in the conditions of reduced locomotor activity. According to the multiparametric assessment, the prophylactic devices were evaluated in terms of efficiency in the following descending order: the passive treadmill, the vibration platform, and the MDS strength training device.