50% Body Weight Reverses Stature, Lumbar Disc Expansion and Vertebral Compliance by Hyper-Buoyancy Floatation.

Acute 50% Body Weight Static Axial Loading Reverses Stature Increases, Lumbar Disc Expansion and Vertebral Compliance Modulation Induced by 4 Hours of Hyper-buoyancy Floatation

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT05590754

Enrollment

Registered

2022-10-21

Start date

2018-06-12

Completion date

2022-03-01

Last updated

2022-12-06

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Intervertebral Disc Compression, Muscle Atrophy, Spine Injury

Brief summary

Study with the aim to see the effect on a space ground analogue , Hyper-Buoyancy Floatation (HBF) on lumbar column and the effect of a supplementary 50% of an axial load.

Detailed description

the aim of this study was to determine the effect of 15min of 1g reloading following 4h HBF unloading with, and without 30s of seated static 50% BW axial loading upon stature, lumbar Intervertebral Disc height (via ultrasound), vertebral compliance changes, and back pain.

Interventions

DEVICEHyper-buoyancy Floatation (HBF)

Participants remained on a waterbed encased within a wooden frame partially (≈50%) filled with water super-saturated with magnesium sulphate at a temperature between 34-36°C regulated by an ultra-thin underbed heater. Participants remained supine and motionless when lay on the HBF except for temporary passive re-orientation to/and back from the prone position for vertebral compliance assessment

DEVICEAxial Load after 4h of HBF

Participants from observational sat upright in a chair without back support for 15 min before post testing (1G), whilst experimental group participants performed a 30s seated squat with 50% of their body weight (BW) before returning to the upright seated position.

Study design

Observational model

CASE_CONTROL

Time perspective

PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 65 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* physical requirements (1.57-1.90m, 50-95kg)

Exclusion criteria

* current back/neck pain, musculoskeletal disorder, cardiovascular disease, spine surgery and being, or suspected to be pregnant

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Height	2 years	Standing stature measured by a commercial stadiometer (Seca 217, Germany)

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Intervertebral Disc Height	2 years	Disc height (L2-S1) measured by ultrasound
Vertebral Stiffness	2 years	Vertebral stiffness from L1 to L5 was assessed passively (in the prone position) with a handheld differential vertebral compliance transducer (PulStar, Sense Technology Inc., USA) in Newtons.
Self-reported back pain	2 years	Pain rating scale (CHAPS) from 0 to 10

Countries

Spain, United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026