Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield said he's "tottering around" like an "old duffer in an old folks” home as he goes through rehabilitation and gets used to gravity again after five months in space.
Hadfield is currently in Houston, Tx. where he spoke to media via video connection on Thursday.
The 53-year-old astronaut returned from space on Monday night after spending months in space, the last three of which he was the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station.
"It's very confusing for my body right now," Hadfield said.
"Without the constant pull down of gravity your body gets a whole new normal... It's a very empowering environment where you can touch the wall and do somersaults, move a refrigerator around with just your fingertips and never worry about which way was up. Well, all that suddenly changed when our Soyuz suddenly slammed back into Earth."
The main symptoms of that transition, he said, are a feeling of dizziness and soreness. Hadfield related it to coming off of an amusement park ride and noticing that your "eye and inner ear are telling you different things."
Hadfield's blood flow has not yet returned to normal either. He said he is still wearing a G-suit underneath his clothing in order to help push blood into his upper body and head.
"And I haven't held my head up for five months so my neck is sore and my back is sore. It feels like I played a hard game of rugby or full contact hockey yesterday and I haven't played in a while. My body is sore and I'm dizzy but it's getting better, measurably, by the hour."
There is value to the struggle to recover. Hadfield said the changes are similar to those one undergoes as they age, and therefore medical researchers can gain new insights into the process by studying the changes in his body.
"My blood vessels have hardened, my cardiovascular system has changed, how my body regulates blood pressure -- all those things have changed rapidly and now they're readapting so we have researchers here looking at how does the body actually control those things."
"I'm a lab rat but I'm a full-sized human lab rat and there's no other way to make this transition happen on Earth. It's just a gift of weightlessness."
When asked what his next steps will be, and what he plans for an "encore" performance, Hadfield said he's more concerned with learning how to walk again and being able to stand up in the shower without getting dizzy.
"Talk to me in two or three months," he said.
Hadfield posted hundreds of photos and videos during his time in space, accumulating close to one million followers during his five-month stint.
He also led one million students in song for Music Monday, recorded a performance video of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” and held numerous interactive Q and A sessions with students.
