Body weight (BW), lean body mass (LBM), fat fraction (FF) as well as total thigh volume, lean thigh volume, thigh fat volume and cross sectional area of the quadriceps muscle (Q) and the combined area of adductors and hamstrings (A+H) were investigated before and after treatment of collateral knee ligament injuries in 84 young soccer players. Twentythree of the persons were only immobilized in plaster of Paris and did not change their BW, LBM or FF, whereas significant (p < 0.001) decreases were found in BW and LBM in the group (n = 61) surgically treated before immobilization in the plaster cast. The lean thigh volume decreased 11% and 17% in the immobilized leg of the not operated and operated group respectively, significantly most in the operated group. The decrease was located primarily in the quadriceps muscle (about 30% decrease) whereas the A+H muscle group showed a small but significant increase, probably as a consequence of the changed biomechanics in walking with a plaster cast. The results indicate a high degree of symmetry of the thighs and a well functioning regulation of energy intake/expenditure in soccer players. Immobilization of the knee in a plaster cast affects preferentially the quadriceps muscle and this hypotrophy can not be avoided by quadriceps setting or electrical stimulation in the plaster period. The surgical trauma has a profound and long lasting general effect on the muscle mass in young healthy males. Local factors probably related to the function of the muscle seem to regulate the amount of adjacent subcutaneous tissue.

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