Objective:

To investigate differences in knee frontal moments (KFM) between male and female athletes during the transition from youth to adolescence, particularly during cutting maneuvers, and their implications for ACL injury risk.

Key Findings:

• Boys exhibited greater knee frontal moments than girls during the impact phase of cutting maneuvers, which may increase ACL injury risk.
• Girls showed an increase in KFM with maturation, but not to the same extent as boys, indicating a potential area for targeted injury prevention.
• The study highlights sex-dependent differences in biomechanics relevant to ACL injury risk.

Interpretation:

The findings suggest that boys may be at a higher risk for ACL injuries during cutting maneuvers due to greater KFM, while girls' KFM increases with age but remains lower than boys', underscoring the need for tailored injury prevention strategies.

Limitations:

• The study's sample size may limit the generalizability of the findings, particularly to other sports.
• The analysis focused only on specific sports (soccer and handball), which may not represent all athletic populations, potentially affecting the applicability of the results.

Conclusion:

Understanding the differences in KFM between genders during critical phases of movement can inform targeted injury prevention strategies for adolescent athletes, particularly in high-risk sports.