35. Does space travel cause muscle degeneration? How long before the process begins? Which muscles are the first to weaken and how can we prevent this? (A K2S Question)

From The Space Library

Your body is very sensitive to its environment. When you exercise, you can feel it right away, and your body adapts. When you do not have gravity your body has less work to do and becomes de-conditioned. Your skeletal muscles, the ones that help you sit, stand, walk, run, or type on a computer are affected almost right away. NASA is working on exercise programs and researching other options as counter-measures to this muscle loss. And when you get back to Earth and are exercising your muscles by dealing with gravity, you get those muscles back.

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Answer provided by Col. USAF Dr. Richard S. Williams

Question and Answer extracted from the book Kids to Space - by Lonnie Schorer

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