A 120 day limited mobility experiment with young male rats and its results, including retarded growth and degenerative changes in the cardiac muscle, are described. A 120 day strict bedrest experiment with 10 human volunteers and its results are described and discussed. Early subjective complaints, subsequent adaptation and eventual progressive changes in excitability and reactivity, reduction in functional capability of the cerebral cortex, and disturbances in water-salt, protein and fat metabolism, including development of precursors of atherosclerosis, as well as poor results of the orthostatic test after 4 months, are presented. These results are explained as applied to sedentary workers and recommendations are given for such persons to exercise in the morning, at work and in the evening in order to prevent hypokinesis and its physical, mental and physiological effects

Kovalenko, Y. A.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

NASA TECHNICAL MEMORANDX'J NASA TM-77202 
LIFE IN MOTION, IN NOTION! 
Ye. A .  Kovalenko 
Translation of "V dvLzhen'ye zhizn', v dvizhen'ye!", 
Zdorov'ye (Moscow). IJo. 5(317). 198@, on.  7-8. 
(NASA-fH-77202) L I F E  II H C I I C B ,  I I  HO'IIOH! 883-24 136 
(National Aeronautics and FEace 
Administration) 7 F BC A O 2 / H F  A01 CSCL 06C 
Uoclas 
63/51  11620 
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION 
WASHINGTON, D. C . 20546 MARCH 1983 
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19830015865 2020-03-21T04:40:47+00:00Z
STANDARD TITLE PAGE 
~ 
V4 KOY words (waeted by Aotnor(s)) 
. .  
4. Ttdo ond kbrt lo LIFE I N  MOTION , IN'.MOTIONI I 
18. Dirtributlon Storaont This copyrighted 
Soviet work is reproduced and sold by 
NTIS under license from VAAP, the So- 
viet  copyright agency. No further 
copying is permitted without permis- 
sion from VAAP, 
I -. 
7- ~ & o t b )  Ye.A.  Kovalenko Porloming Orgonit0ti.n Ropoct No. 
(of thio &or0 20. Sonurity Cloroil. (of thio pogo) 21. NO, 01 P.0.r 
Unclassified Unclassff led 
10. Work Unit No. 
21. 
9. Perfoaming Oqaniaotron Nom. and Addtoar 11. bntroct 01 Gtonr No. 
1% tyro of Roport ond Pmtiod b v o d  Rqdwood City,  Ca l i fo rn ia  94063 
'Leo - Kanner A s s  o c i a t  es --t- Trans la t ion  .. , - 
83. Sgonsoring Agoncv N o m  on4 M d n o s '  
National Aeronautics and Space Admlnis- 
t r a t i o n ,  Washington, D.C. 20546 
Trans la t ion  of "V dvizhen'ye zhizn' , v dvizhen'ye!", Zdcrov'ye 
1s. Supplunon~or) Noma 
(MosCOY), NO. 5(317), 1 ? e n ,  " 9  7-80 
- ~ ~~ ~~ 
16. ~brt8oct  A 1 2 0  day limited mobii i ty  expc-iment w i t h  yamg male 
ra ts  -2nd i t s  r e s u l t s ,  includrnq retardzd grzwth anC degenera- 
t i v e  changos i n  t h e  card iac  mcsclz, are described. 'A 1 2 0  day 
s t r i c t  bedrest  experlment with 19 h m a n  v-d?unteers and i t s  
r e s u l t s  ape deecribed-and discussed.  
p l a i n t s ,  subsequent adapta t ion  and eventual  progrese:ve 
changes i n  e x c i t a b i l i t y  and r e a c t i v i t y ,  reduct ion i n  funct lona 
capab i l i t y  or t h e  ctlnebril  cc r t ex ,  and d is turbances  i n  watcr- 
sa l t ,  p'rotein and f a t  metabol+sm, inc luding  developntert of 
precursors  of athei-osclerosis ,  as w e l l  as poor r e s u l t s  of t h e  
o r t h o s t a t i c  test a f t e r  4 months, are presentsd.  The'se res<l%s 
are explained as gipplied'to sedentary workers and rwommenda- 
';ions are gsven f o r  Such persons t o  exercfse  i n  t h e  morning, 
a t  work and i n  t h e e v e n i n g i n  order  t o  prevent hypokinesia and 
i t s  p h y s i c a l ,  mental, and physiological  effects  
E a r l y  sub jec t ive  corn- 
\ . 
LIFE I N  MOTION, I N  MOTION! 
Y e . A .  Kovalenko 
I n  our century of the atom and space,  e l e c t r o n i c s  and chemistry,  - /7# 
mechanization and automation, " i n t e l l i g e n t  machines" which ease l abor  
i n  indus t ry  and i n  l i fe ,  t he  fate of man i s  less and less phys ica l  
e f f o r t .  H i s  r o l e  i s  gradual ly  being reduced t o  con t ro l  and monitor- 
i n g  of the  ac t ion  of h i s  mechanical a s s i s t a n t s .  After t r a n s f e r r i n g  
t h e  major p a r t  of the phys ica l  work t o  them, modern men began t o  ex- 
per ience a tremendous d e f i c i t  of motion. H e  was not  forced t o  ex= 
pect t h e  results: t h e  motor d e f i c i t  gave rise t o  hypokinesia o r  
hypodynamia, a state caused by a reduct ion  i n  the amount and fo rce  
of muscle cont rac t ions ,  which t h r e a t e n s  human health. 
Hypokinesia, which has become a mass phenomenon, i s  c a l l e d  t h e  
d i sease  of t h e  century.  Extensive,  convincing experimental  and c l i n -  
i c a l  material i s  evidence of the d e s t r u c t i v e  e f f e c t  which i t  has on 
p r a c t i c a l l y  a l l  organs and sys tems of t h e  body. I t e l l  of only two 
experiments. 
Young ra ts  were divided i n t o  two groups. The animals of t h e  
first group were placed i n  narrow cages which sharp ly  l i m i t  movement 
f o r  120 days. The ra t s  of t he  con t ro l  group moved freely.  It turned 
out  t h a t  t h e  gas and energy metabolism of t h e  rats, the motor ac t iv -  
i t y  of which was r e s t r i c t e d  (hypokine t ic ) ,  changed and they began 
t o  lag behind t h e  con t ro l  group animals i n  weight and growth. I n  
100 days,  the a c t i v e  rats increased  i n  weight an 'average of 150 and 
the hypokinetic rats only 7 grams. 
I n  a series of a d d i t i o n a l  tests of the animals, t hey  were com- 
p l e t e l y  immobilized, and they then becan t o  d e t e r i o r a t e  catastroph-  
i c a l l y .  The reason? Serious d i s rup t ion  of metabolism i n  the  mus- 
B N M e r s  i n  t he  margin I n d i c a t e  paginat ion i n  t h e  fo re ign  t e x t .  
c l e s ,  as a r e s u l t  of which the  p l a s t i c  processes  slowed down and the  
weight of t he  muscles decreased. But t h e  heart a l s o  is  a muscle! 
Hence the absence of motion d id  not pass  without t r a c e  f o r  i t .  I n  
t h e  ca rd iac  muscle of t h e  immobilized ra t s ,  t h e  i n v e s t i g a t o r s  found 
degenerat ive changes: i nd iv idua l  s e c t i o n s  of muscle t i s s u e  degener- 
ated i n t o  connective t i s s u e ,  which never again becomes working muscle 
t i s s u e .  
T h i s  experiment i n d i c a t e s  how negat ive ly  the  iack of s u f f i c i e n t  
motor a c t i v i t y  a f f e c t s  performance, mental a c t i v i t y  and heal th  of 
man. Ten volunteers  l a y  i n  a s t r i c t l y  h o r i z o n t a l  p o s i t i o n  f o r  120 
days. They were only permitted t o  t u r n  from side t o  side and from 
the  back t o  the  stomach. Eating, phys io loglca l  func t ions  and hygienic  
procedures were a l l  performed i n  t h e  ho r i zon ta l  pos i t i on .  A s t r i c t  
account was kept of foods tu f f s - and  water consumed and wastes. 
It would have seemed tha t  they had t o  l i e  down and rest. Yet 
the v o h n t e e r s  began t o  complain on t h e  second o r  t h i r d  day of head- 
ache, pain i n  var ious parts of the body and d i f f i c u l t y  i n  f a l l i n g  
asleep. By the  end of the  first week, pa in  and unpleasant s ensa t ions  
decreased, t h e  tes t  s u b j e c t s  began t o  be q u i e t e r ,  and they  adapted t o  
hypokinesia. Moreover, it continued t o  have i t s  e f f e c t  on t h e  body. 
I n  weeks 4 and 5, t h e  s p e c i a l i s t s  recorded dev ia t ions  i n  a c t i v i t y  of 
t h e  nervous system, pr imar i ly  of i t s  vege ta t ive  s e c t i o n s ,  changes i n  
behavior of t h e  volunteers  appeared, and the  sleep func t ion  was di3- 
rupted. These phenomena increased  a l l  t h e  time and, by t h e  end of’ 
t he  second month, c l e a r  vegetat ive-vascular  d i s func t ion  and neuropsg- 
c h i a t r i c  a s then iza t ion  ( co l l apse )  were noted. 
From the second t o  the  middle of t h e  fou r th  month, p rogress ive  
changes i n  e x c i t a b i l i t y  and r e a c t i v i t y ,  a reduct ion  i n  t h e  func t fona l  
c a p a b i l i t i e s  of the  c e r e b r a l  cor tex  ( rap id  f a t i g u e ,  d i s t o r t i o n  of re- 
sponses and rap id  onset  of somnolence) were observed. 
Disturbances of the water-salt, p r o t e i n  and fa t  metabolism a l s o  
were found i n  t h e  volunteers .  The c h b l e s t e r o l  and l i p i d  content of 
2 
the blood increased,  i.e., t he  a c t u a l  p r e r e q u i s i t e s  f o r  t h e  develop- 
ment of a t h z r o s c l e r o s i s  appeared. 
The so c a l l e d  o r t h o s t a t i c  tes t  proved t o  be  very d i f f i c u l t  f o r  
them. 
t i o n .  
turned out that  the o r t h o s t a t i c  s t a b i l i t y  of  t h e  test s u b j e c t s  de- 
t e r i o r a t e d  so much that brief loss of consciousness of fou r  of them 
was observed i n  the attempt t o  s tand .  
It only c o n s i s t s  of immediately s tanding  from t h e  prone posi-  
This  test  was conducted at t h e  end of t h e  f o u r t h  month, and i t  
It is completely m i e r s t a n d a b l e  t h a t  t he  locomotor system suf- 
fered from the inac t ion .  
hypokinesia not l imi ted  t o  weakening of the  muscles and ligaments 
which, i t  would seem, alone are concerned with movement, and why do 
t hey  extend t o  flearly a l l  t h e  remaining body func t ions?  One of t h e  
main reasons is the lack of nerve impulses which, i n  any movement, 
rush from t h e  working muscles and j o i n t s  t o  the b r a i n  and s t imu la t e  
i t s  a c t i v i t y .  There is  no s t imu la t ion ,  and the performance of t h e  
b ra in  is s h a r p l y  decreased. Since t h e  a c t i v i t y  of a l l  organs i s  con- 
t r o l l e d  and d i r e c t e d  by the  highest  cen te r ,  the  b r a i n ,  w i t h  reduct ion  
o r  t h e  lack of rronitorlng t h e i r  d i s t i n c t  smooth performm?>e i s  upset .  
But why are the negat ive  consequences of 
"But a c t u a l l y  the condi t ions of t h e  10 volunteers  are practical- 
l y  not found i n  l i fe , "  the  reader may ob jec t ,  "hence a l l  these 'hor- 
r o r s '  do not  t h r e a t e n  us." 
No they are a threat! Actually,  even t h e  most i n v e t e r a t e  lazy- 
bones moves more than  the test  p a r t i c i p a n t s .  But the  f s c t  is that  
the  incomplete r e s t r i c t i o n  of  requi red  motor a c t i v i t y  u l t imate ly  leads 
t o  almost t h e  same r e s u l t  as i n  the  experiment. The phys ica l  and men- 
t a l  performance of a man deteriorate, s luggishness  develops, he begins  
t o  s u f f e r  from inpomnia, l ack  of appetite . . . I n  a word, t h e  body 
weakens and a background i s  c rea t ed  which predisposes  t o  t h e  develop- 
ment of disease. It is not  a c c i d e n t a l l y  that s p e c i a l i s t s  c a l l  hypo- 
kfnes ia  a r i s k  f a c t o r  and cons ider  a t  one of t h e  causes of such severe  
diseases of the card iovascular  s y s t e m  and metabalim as hypotension, 
3 

macy, although it is very simple,  motion. 
S p e c i a l i s t s  consider  tha t  modern man ( e s p e c i a l l y  those  who work 
seated) must set aside approximately 10 hours a week f o r  phys i ca l  
exe rc i se s  t o  make up f o r  t h e  shor tage  of muscle loading and compensate 
t h e  motor def ic i t .  
The day should be started wi th  gymnastics. So much proof i s  i n  
favor  of i t  t h a t  i t  should be thought tha t  there is  no need t o  do t h i s  
again.  I wish only t o  state that  it i s  simple t o  make up a gymnastic 
set  onese l f ,  guided by those  exe rc i se s  which are proposed by Cen t ra l  
Televis ion,  r a d i o  and s p e c i a l  popular pub l i ca t ions .  
Be 8ure t o  arrange phys ica l  c u l t u r e  breaks onee o r  twice dur ing  
the  work day. 
t h a t  you a r e  t i r ed ,  your back aches,  i t  has becorne more d i f f i c u l t  t o  
concent ra te  and hence time i tself  does not  e x i s t ,  do not  smoke a 
c i g a r e t t e  o r  Crink a cup o f  co f fee?  Do a few simple exe rc i se s  a f te r  
v e n t i l a t i n g  t h e  room. It i s  better t o  do such exe rc i se s  one and a 
half t o  two hours before  t h e  d inner  break o r  before  t h e  end of  work. 
Do not  regret 5-7 minutcs f o r  exe rc i se s .  They help f igh t  f a t i g u e  and 
r e s t o r 2  e f f i c i e n c y .  
When you work behind a desk o r  kullmann and you feel  
The fatigue accumulated during the day can be removed in the eve- 
ning by exercises. In distinction from the morning warmup, it is 
called relaxing. Do some slow, easy exercises for 10-15 minutes at 
least one and a half to two hours  before bedtime. If possible, after 
relaxing walk in the fresh air and shower before going t o  bed. 
These exe rc i se s  should be r egu la r .  T r y  no t  t o  miss a s i n g l e  day 
without a s p e c i a l  reason f o r  i t .  I n  add i t ion ,  s k i ,  s w i m ,  J o i n  a h e a l t h  
group, and i f  there i s a  ga rdenp lo t  work i n  i t .  I n  a word, t r y  t o  f i n d  
gaps i n  the s o l i d  wall of everyday affairs and u t i l i z e  any p o s s i b i l i t y  
of moving. 
For example, you s tand  t e n  minutes a t  the  bus stop wai t ing  t o r  a 
5 
. 
bus. Don't get t i r e d .  Two o r  three stops can and even must be tra- 
veled ori foot .  
among other  th ings ,  t h i s  is  an exce l l en t  means of condi t ion ing  the  
card iovasculs r ,  r e s p l r a t o r y  and nervous systems. Wallclng l i k e  o t h e r  
types of physPcal a c t i v i t y  improves metaiwlism m d  prevents  obes i ty .  
It is accessible t o  everyone, it does not reqQlred apecia!. t r a in t r ig  
and i t  knows no season. 
Vnfortunately,  many do not take walking serlously b u t ,  
As desired, tha t  minimum phys ica l  load  which csnnot be avoided 
is easily en tered  i n  t he  dally rou t ine  o f  any pereon. It is only 
necessary t o  reduce the t e l e v i s i o n  vlewing time o r  t k e  time s i t t i n g  
on t h e  couch and involve exe rc i se s  and a p o r t s  breaks, working gym- 
nastlcs ard walking, a c t i v e  r e c r e a t i o n  af ter  work and on days off  i n  
the  c o n t r o l  of hypokinesis. It 1s only nocessary once and f o r  all t o  
understand that;, without regular condi t ioning,  without phys ica l  a+ 
t i v i t y ,  hea l th  is unthinkable ,  L i f e  i n  motion, i n  motion! 
6 


Life in motion, in motion!

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