Page 186 - International Space Station Benefits for Humanity, 3rd edition.

The support unloading compensator.
Image credit: Aerospace Medical Center
and Technology

of the heel and metatarsal support zones, and intervals
between stimulation of the right and left foot.
However, the disturbances of muscle tone and
coordination of movement are not inherent exclusively
to weightlessness. Diseases of the central nervous The support unloading compensator used
system, brain injuries of various types, long-term on children.
motor unloading in aging, as well as some specific Image credit: Aerospace Medical Center
occupational conditions are also accompanied by and Technology
the development of the aforementioned changes.
Based on these data, IBMP scientists are working
jointly with commercial companies to introduce motor
disturbances corrective measures that were developed
for weightlessness into the practice of treating and The use of the support stimulation method in children
rehabilitating patients with profound motor lesions that during the early recovery phase after surgical treatment
are due to cerebral palsy, stroke, and brain and spinal for fractures of the calf bones has facilitated the
cord injuries. reduction of edema by 17% to 20%, and an increase
Between 2005 and 2011, the Center for Aerospace in the range of motion in the ankle joint by 45% as early
Medicine developed a clinical version of the support as the first 72 hours after surgery. Children who do not
unloading compensator—the Korvit—and obtained receive such treatment experience edema lasting 6 to
all approval documents and licenses. 8 days, which hinders motion in the injured limb and
retards regenerative processes.
Today, this technology is being used in the most
acute phase of stroke and facilitates more significant The use of the Korvit apparatus in the integrated
regression of motor disturbances and earlier recovery rehabilitation of cerebral palsy patients has made
of locomotion than traditional treatment methods. Of it possible to maximize restoration of the balance
particular interest are the data on prevention of muscle of strength between extensor and flexor muscles,
spasticity development of limbs affected by paresis in particularly in an upright position, and to normalize
cases when the Korvit device is used in the first hours the functions of standing and walking, as well as
after the onset of a stroke. coordination control of various classes of movements.

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