Kirsty studied Space Physiology and Health at King’s College London in 2013, and completed a BHSc (Hons) in Physiotherapy from York St John in 2010. She also spent two years at the European Space Agency working with Ground based Facilities and Human Spaceflight as a Young Graduate Trainee, before returning to the UK to undertake her current research. Kirsty’s research interests include using physiology and physiotherapy to help maintain astronaut health and improve clinical care for back pain patients on Earth.
The Functional Re-adaptive Exercise Device (FRED) is a modified cross trainer which provides and unstable base while exercising. This unstable base helps to automatically recruit the lumbopelvic muscles which can be adversely effected with low back pain and post-spaceflight. These muscles, namely Lumbar Multifidus and Transverus Abdominus, are notoriously hard to rehabilitate voluntarily using current best practice techniques, so it is hoped FRED can offer a new, more effective rehabilitation method for people with low back pain. The current research project uses FRED as a six- week exercise rehabilitation intervention with chronic low-back-pain patients. Future research will evaluate FRED following dry-immersion in collaboration with King’s College London and in an ESA/ NASA funded long term bed-rest study to simulate post spaceflight rehabilitation.
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