Kinesiology professor Saija Kontulainen is leading a team that is studying whether aerobic and resistance exercises can prevent bone loss associated with fat accumulation in muscles and bone marrow, due to inactivity.  It translates to astronauts because of the time spent in zero gravity.

This will be the first time a bed rest test has used volunteers who are older, between the ages of 55 and 65.  Kontulainen says, “With one-quarter of Canada’s population expected to be seniors by 2035, it’s important to understand mechanisms that cause bone deterioration through aging and inactivity.”

The volunteers will be in bed for two weeks with their head down at a six degree angle, which mimics zero gravity. Half of the participants will do daily resistance and aerobic training. The team can then check the bones and muscles to see what the differences are using high tech equipment like an MRI.

Kontulainen adds that one of the team members, Gordon Sarty, has developed a portable MRI device that they will be checking out with this project. If the images are similar to its much larger counterparts, Kontulainen says it can then be used on the International Space Station.
It could also be used in remote and rural areas in Canada and around the world.

This project was awarded $200,000 by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and is part of a larger national project to understand the health impacts of inactivity.