Is space travel a pain in the butt?
We can all remember the TV footage of NASA astronauts “strolling in the park”; (in other words skipping effortlessly across the moonscape) thanks to the reduced gravity on our smaller celestial neighbour. For astronauts on the International Space Station, there is no gravity, as they are in a constant state of “freefall”.
Either way, the problem with reduced gravity is that it can lead to back problems for astronauts when they return to ‘Earthside’. This is thought to be due to the swelling in the discs in their spines, which when subjected to loading on return to the earth’s gravitational field, may painfully stretch, or even herniate.

Staff
- Mr Philip Carvil, BSc(Hons), MSc (University of Chichester) MSc, (University of London) PhD Candidate. Kings College London.
- Professor Alan Breen DC, PhD, M Director
- Dr Alexander Breen BSc(Hons), MSc, PhD, M Technology Lead and Post-Doctoral Research Fellow

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