Experts from Sheffield Hallam University’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre and School of Sport and Physical Activity collaborated with Hytro, the makers of the world's first wearable Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) device, as well as scientists from Labfront, SpaceX, and NASA, to examine how BFR affects blood flow in zero gravity to help maintain astronauts' bone and muscle health.
Working with the research team, Hytro and Sheffield Hallam academics were able to quickly design a robust study and expedited it to be performed on the first planned mission of the Polaris Program, Polaris Dawn, in under six months.
The research will involve a variety of studies in space to assess how differing levels of blood flow restriction (BFR) impact various aspects of health. The first study will use ultrasound probes and smartwatches to examine how BFR affects blood flow in space and compare this to data captured pre-launch to better understand the lack of gravity's impact on BFR.
Follow-up studies will examine the impact of BFR on muscle and bone health as well as other benefits such as reducing fluid shifts to the head and simulating low-level activity like walking on Earth.
There has been interest in BFR technology for improving exercise effectiveness to maintain muscle and bone health in zero gravity for years. While various researchers have investigated pneumatic BFR devices, their need for expert supervision and potential fire risk in high-oxygen environments prevented their use in space.
Blood Flow Restriction, or BFR, works by tightening a strap around the top of the arms or legs to lock blood in the muscles while performing light exercise or recovery routines. This helps muscles get stronger and recover faster. In zero gravity, where there is no resistance to everyday movement provided by gravity, this is essential for maintaining muscle mass and bone density.
Dr Tom Maden-Wilkinson, Associate Professor in musculoskeletal health at Sheffield Hallam University, said: “The importance of maintaining muscle and bone health is crucial for astronauts and for all of us as we get older, and exercise plays a key role in this. Unlike on Earth, doing exercises that are good for our muscles and bones such as strength training in microgravity are particularly difficult and we need to look at alternative ways of doing this such as BFR. We have previously used BFR with clinical populations and older people and the opportunity to translate that research into spaceflight has been really exciting. It has also been a great opportunity to showcase our research, the university and for some of our Master’s students to be involved in the on-ground research which has been fundamental to the experimental design.”
Polaris Dawn launched from Florida on Tuesday 10 September to spend up to five days in orbit to work towards multiple research objectives.
Raj Thiruchelvarajah, CEO and Co-Founder of Hytro, said: “Hytro has been used by the best athletes on the planet, and will soon be used by the best astronauts off it. The implications for Hytro are profound, opening unprecedented research opportunities and accelerating our growth in both terrestrial and extra-terrestrial markets. It signifies our commitment to innovation and positions us at the forefront of advancements in Blood Flow Restriction. This is a monumental achievement for our team and a major milestone in our mission to enhance human health and performance through BFR technology. We look forward to the ground-breaking developments ahead.”
Dr Joe Handsaker, Chief Innovation Officer at Hytro added “It’s an honour to explore how BFR can improve the health of humans in space. This selection signals the quality and safety of our products. We are embarking on a pioneering research program to understand how BFR affects blood flow in space. While we understand the mechanisms and benefits of BFR on Earth, it’s not been possible to study its effects in zero gravity, where human physiology completely changes.”
