The feet of Stephen Snitzky have touched the ground for the first time since August. This healthy man agreed to assist science by lying still in bed or suspended in a body-length harness for 12 weeks, and now he has taken his first trembling steps.
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Cleveland Hospital |
Scientists at Cleveland Hospital (USA) are conducting research on bone loss and muscle atrophy, hoping that his work will one day benefit astronauts.
Now, 31-year-old Snitzky, from the suburb of Euclid, is preparing to exercise again to regain his health and will return to work next January.
During the study, Snitzky read 29 books and watched 25 movies. He estimates he played solitaire about 1,000 times. While in bed, Snitzky kept his head slightly lower than his feet, and his feet never touched the ground. “It was a strange feeling,” Snitzky said.
He is one of two participants in the trial at the Space Medicine Research Center of Cleveland Hospital, funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Similar studies are also being conducted at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. Participants are suspended in a device that creates a weightless environment for 20 minutes each day, five days a week. Some studies are conducted in a vertical spinning rig to simulate weightlessness, while others, like Snitzky’s, are not. Researchers will later compare bodily responses in these different situations.
The other man involved in the Cleveland study prefers to remain anonymous.
Peter Cavanagh, head of the hospital’s biomedical engineering department, stated that he is looking for an additional 22 participants for this research. These individuals must be non-smokers, aged between 21 and 50, and free of musculoskeletal injuries, bone diseases, and vascular conditions.
Researchers will closely monitor Snitzky this week, after which he will have eight weeks for physical therapy. Cavanagh noted that Snitzky might experience some joint pain.
T. An (according to AP)
