Question

Kendra’s broken leg was in a cast for eight weeks. When the cast was removed, she was shocked the her leg was no longer muscular, but skinny. Explain what happened and why.

Answer 1

When your leg is in a cast for a long time, that causes the muscle to atrophy. Because Kendra was unable to use her leg, she lost muscle mass and muscle strength because she wasn't working that leg muscle.

Answer 2

The cast caused an atrophy in Kendra's leg muscle.

Step-by-step explanation:

One of the most common causes of muscle atrophy is lack of muscle use. Since Kendra's leg was immobilized by the cast, the muscles in this leg were left unused, which led to muscle atrophy. In other words, when a limb gets in a cast the muscles atrophy due to disuse. Loss of muscle mass can easily be observed after removing the cast and comparing it with the healthy opposite limb, as happened with Kendra.