A subtle detail has been identified by health experts that could reveal astronaut Sunita Williams‘s health condition.
Williams, along with Barry Wilmore, recently touched down on Earth after a long nine months up in space.
Astronaut Sunita Williams’s health condition raised concerns among onlookers upon her return to Earth
The whole world locked in on the “stranded” astronauts’s long-awaited return to Earth yesterday, March 19. After an unexpected nine months on the ISS, Williams and Wilmore’s dramatic change in appearance surprised viewers.
After landing off the coast of Florida, astronauts stepped out of their SpaceX Dragon capsule. While both astronauts looked tired, Williams, 59, was helped onto a stretcher. In a bid to assure people that she was well, Williams was seen smiling and waving as she was lifted.
However, health experts noticed a small detail that could help reveal the issues Williams might be dealing with now.
Experts said Williams could be dealing with muscle wasting
After Williams waved, experts observed her right arm suddenly going limp and falling heavily to her thighs, which might be a consequence of long exposure to microgravity.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, doctors suggested that this behavior could signal muscle wasting from her 286-day stay in space.
They added that in a low-gravity environment, muscles tend to waste away as they work less to maintain posture since they experience less resistance. On Earth, gravity forces muscles to work against it, creating a mechanical load that prevents atrophy.
The astronaut’s thin wrists and frail appearance point to weight loss and muscle atrophy
The claims come after other experts were concerned about the astronaut’s alarmingly thin wrists. According to the doctors, both details point to weight loss and muscle wasting.
However, according to Dr Vin Gupta, an Air Force surgeon, the fact that she was able to lift her arm to wave at the onlookers was a good sign.
“Anyone who is able to elevate their arm is then also able to lower their arm successfully, should be OK,” he said.
Dr. Gerson said it’s “really hard to maintain muscle mass in space without gravity”
Dr. Stanton Gerson shared that Williams appeared thinner than her male crew member, Butch Wilmore.
“She had more trouble, if you will, than did the other astronaut with standing up,” Gerson told the Daily Mail. In general, men have more muscle mass than women, which can lead to women being more affected by losing a small amount.
“This may be because it is really hard to maintain muscle mass in space without the help of gravity. In space, there isn’t a differential on muscle mass, because there isn’t the stress and strain from gravity and, as a result, from undertaking exercise,” he explained.
Gerson also added that the muscle loss the astronauts experienced is likely to be in the single digits and minimal and that they should be okay in a short time.
NASA said the human body experiences muscle and bone loss in space
One of the biggest changes to the human body comes from spending time in microgravity, which enables astronauts to float inside a spacecraft or outside during spacewalks.
During this period, there is a decrease in muscle mass—due to decreased use and lack of stimulus through exercise—and bone loss, according to NASA.
Without Earth’s gravity, bones that support the body’s weight can lose 1% to 1.5% of mineral density on average per month in space, the agency explains.
Inadequate diet and exercise in space contribute to the muscle loss astronauts experience
Additionally, astronauts experience accelerated muscle loss in microgravity environments due to not having an optimal diet or exercise routines, which would normally help prevent such effects on Earth.
NASA also points out that in microgravity, there is a shift of blood and cerebrospinal fluid from the lower body to the head and eyes, likely causing structural changes in the brain and eyes.
Upon their return to Earth, astronauts undergo thorough medical evaluations as part of their readjustment to Earth’s gravity, yet most recover quickly and do not suffer long-term health impacts.
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