Weightless Musculoskeletal Injury and Protection

The long-term microgravity environment will cause negative effects on the human body, among which weightless muscle atrophy and bone loss are particularly serious. Exercise training can slow down the musculoskeletal decline to a certain extent, but it cannot be completely avoided. Since musculoskeletal tissues are typical mechanically sensitive tissues, proper mechanical stimulation can promote muscle and bone growth, therefore exercise training has been an important method for astronauts to counteract musculoskeletal system decline in microgravity environments. The main exercise methods include resistance training, treadmill running and bicycle ergometer exercise. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the role of biomechanical factors in microgravity bone loss and muscle atrophy, and based on this, introduce the mechanism and development of exercise training counteracting muscle atrophy and bone loss.