Obituary: Joern Rittweger (1962-2025)
Mechanical vibration world: how it works, and how it will be without Joern Rittweger.
Mario Bernardo-Filho1, Danúbia da Cunha de Sá-Caputo1, Redha Taiar2 and LAVIMPI Team1
1- Laboratório de Vibrações Mecânicas e Práticas Integrativas (LAVIMPI), Departamento de Biofísica e Biometria, Instituto de Biologia Roberto Alcantara Gomes and Policlínica Universitária Piquet Carneiro, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, 20950-003, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
2- Université de Reims, MATériaux et Ingénierie Mécanique (MATIM), F-51687 Reims, Cedex 2, France.
Unfortunately, the scientific community that works with mechanical vibration in science and on clinical approach received unexpected and sad news. Last week, our colleague Joern Rittweger passed.
The scientific contribution of Joern is fantastic and admirable. Only in PubMed there are more than 350 publications. Several books and numerous chapters of books were also published by him.
The studies published by Joern have been very important to understand how the mechanical vibrations work in the body to generate relevant biological effects. Your scientific contribution to try to understand the best biomechanical parameters associated with the mechanical vibration and the role of gravity to the comprehension of the response of the body to the mechanical stimulus was exceptional.
The studies developed by Rittweger have also been important to aid to understand the effect of the microgravity in the man in the Aerospatiale journeys.
Besides being a scientist, Joern was a special human being, an admirable friend. Your ideas and criticisms were always welcome because he participated in discussions and aided to improve the works that were been developed. He was always trying to involve the colleagues, and students to reflect on and integrate ideas.
Moreover, he stimulated the growing of scientific Sociates, as the World Association of Vibration Experts (WAVex), and the Brazilian Association of Mechanical Vibration in Biosciences.
The knowledge that Joern is leaving to us, it will be important to understand more as the mechanical vibration works nowadays and in the future.
Science loses one of the most representative scientists in the world in the field of different approaches of movement/motion and in the physiology of space.
Our condolences to his family and to all those friends and colleagues at personal and professional levels.
REFERENCES
1. Zange J, Endres J, Clemen CS, Rittweger J. Leg and hip muscles show muscle-specific effects of ageing and sport on muscle volume and fat fraction in male Masters athletes. J Physiol. 2025 Mar 31. doi: 10.1113/JP285665. Epub ahead ofprint. PMID: 40162664.
2. Miller-Smith MJ, Tucker N, Anderton R, Caplin N, Harridge SDR, Hodkinson P, Narici MV, Pollock RD, Possnig C, Rittweger J, Smith TG, Di Giulio I. Lessons for Flying Astronauts with Disabilities Drawn from Experience in Aviation. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2024 Sep 1;95(9):716-719. doi: 10.3357/AMHP.6443.2024. PMID: 39169484.
3. Muanjai P, Haas C, Sies W, Mittag U, Zange J, Schönau E, Duran I, Kamandulis S, Rittweger J. Effect of Whole-body Vibration frequency on muscle tensile state during graded plantar flexor isometric contractions. J Exerc Sci Fit. 2023 Oct;21(4):405-415. doi: 10.1016/j.jesf.2023.10.003. Epub 2023 Oct 25. PMID: 37965131; PMCID: PMC10641229.
4. Laing C, Green DA, Mulder E, Hinghofer-Szalkay H, Blaber AP, Rittweger J, Goswami N. Effect of novel short-arm human centrifugation-induced gravitational gradients upon cardiovascular responses, cerebral perfusion and g-tolerance. J Physiol. 2020 Oct;598(19):4237-4249. doi: 10.1113/JP273615. Epub 2020 Aug 19. PMID: 32715482; PMCID: PMC7589294.
5. van Heuvelen MJG, Rittweger J, Judex S, Sañudo B, Seixas A, Fuermaier ABM, Tucha O, Nyakas C, Marín PJ, Taiar R, Stark C, Schoenau E, Sá-Caputo DC, Bernardo-Filho M, van der Zee EA. Reporting Guidelines for Whole-Body Vibration Studies in Humans, Animals and Cell Cultures: A Consensus Statement from an International Group of Experts. Biology (Basel). 2021 Sep 27;10(10):965. doi: 10.3390/biology10100965. PMID: 34681065; PMCID: PMC8533415.
6. Weber T, Green DA, Attias J, Sies W, Frechette A, Braunstein B, Rittweger J. Hopping in hypogravity-A rationale for a plyometric exercise countermeasure in planetary exploration missions. PLoS One. 2019 Feb 13;14(2):e0211263. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0211263. PMID: 30759113; PMCID: PMC6373893.
7. Rittweger J. Vibration as an exercise modality: how it may work, and what its potential might be. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2010 Mar;108(5):877-904. doi:10.1007/s00421-009-1303-3. Epub 2009 Dec 12. PMID: 20012646.
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