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“I have back pain”

Back pain in astronauts:
good for us “earthlings”

Four in five people suffer from back pain. Also astronauts are most likely to get struck by back pain, sometimes very painful, although their muscles, tendons, and bones should be relieved by microgravity. Paradoxical?

Scientists wanted to know: what is the reason for the back pain? Can microgravity be blamed for it? Or are they indirectly due to the change of movement patterns?

For the German-Russian MIR ’97 mission, a system was developed with ultrasound electrodes to be attached to the back: sonoSens. Today, this system assists in diagnosing the causes for back pain on Earth and to prevent them, respectively.

Fields of application for sonoSens

RECARO uses sonoSens to find out during a seat test with test candidates what shapes of car seats are the most back-friendly ones.

© RECARO Automotive Seating

Musicians are a risk group for back pain. They play several hours a day and often take on unfavourable postures. This may cause the geometry of the spine to change in the course of time. Thanks to sonoSens, the spine can quite simply be monitored over a longer period of time. In this way, false postures are detected that can then be treated in a targeted manner.

© julenochek/fotolia.com

In physically demanding professions, back pain is to be blamed for high absence from work. At the same time, the working time of many people constantly increases. Healthy employees matter to the companies – by measuring spine movements, working processes can be made more ergonomic to prevent back pain from occurring.

© Anastasiia Usoltceva/fotolia.com

Why sonoSens was developed for space flight – and how it works

Back pain in astronauts has been known long since. The suspicion: intervertebral discs expand in microgravity (astronauts grow by a few centimetres on board a space station), the vertebrae are placed farther apart, in turn they press on the nerves – and there we are: it hurts. But is that really true? Scientists of the German Sports University of Cologne and of Jena University wanted to know for sure, since problems with sudden back pain not only occur in astronauts but also in bed-ridden persons. And knowing the reasons is the only way to treat the pain successfully.

The classical analysis methods: anamnesis by a physician, X-ray, computed tomography or video analysis. None of these are possible in space. Consequently a device was developed, the low weight of which (170 grammes) allows astronauts to take it with them to space and that does not put a strain on the body by radiation or similar: the “Movement Monitor sonoSens”.

sonoSens operates
on the basis of sonometry:

  • Small ultrasonic sensors are affixed to the skin along the spine in pairs.
  • The sensors constantly measure their position towards each other via ultrasound, in all three dimensions.
  • Movement causes the distance between the sensors to change.
  • From this, position, movement and movement patterns of the spine lying underneath can be precisely determined.
  • The data are collected in a small accessory device and transmitted to the personal computer – in this case to physicians on Earth.

© sonoSens

Through this technology, it could be unambiguously clarified that the main cause for back pain is a changed movement pattern. So, microgravity can only be considered an indirect reason and a specially adapted training on board the space station will prevent back pain.

Example case:
sonoSens in medicine

Back pain can have a variety of reasons. For example, in a
50-year old male: he jogs, plays tennis, does workouts, and is sitting the whole day long in front of the monitor at his workplace. He suffers from deep-seated back pain. No therapy worked so far.

© Teledesign

His back was measured in three dimensions with the sonoSens system: while seating, standing, and during a 20-minute speedy walk. This revealed mistakes in stance and in movements of the spine. The result of the exam: the patient suffers from a false posture in resting condition (and during work at the personal computer), which he adopts one-on-one in walking and jogging. Sports, initially intended as recreation, make the pain worse due to the inappropriate biomechanical stress.

The data obtained with sonoSens clearly revealed the false postures. The solution for the patient: ergodynamic sitting at the workplace and gait training for jogging, in addition strengthening of the muscular system in the neck, back of the neck, and belly.

Goodbye back pain – thanks to space technology made in Germany.

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