Biomechanical and Neuromuscular Profiles of Competitive Adolescent Athletes From Different Sports Disciplines: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background To investigate sport-specific differences in lower limb alignment, posture, muscular strength and neuromuscular performance of competitive adolescent athletes across different sports disciplines; and to explore potential associations with performance. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 62 competitive adolescent athletes from basketball (n = 20), football (n = 17), track and field (n = 13), and golf (n = 12) underwent standardized biomechanical and neuromuscular assessments including (1) static and dynamic leg alignment analysis, (2) rasterstereographic posture analysis, (3) isometric strength testing, (4) neuromuscular performance tests (Functional Movement Screen™-, Y-Balance- and Knee-to-Wall test), and (5) jump performance (countermovement jump, drop jump, reactive strength index). Analyses of variance, Kruskal-Wallis tests and Spearman’s rank correlation were applied to assess significance across sports and relationships between variables, with additional post-hoc analysis being applied to investigate sport-specific clusters. Results Significant sport-specific distinctions were evident across multiple domains. Football players demonstrated greater static and dynamic knee varus alignment (p = 0.010 – < 0.001). Golfers showed increased static trunk inclination (p = 0.038). Track and field athletes exhibited the highest strength values, particularly in the leg extensors, hip abductors and adductors, and trunk rotators (p = 0.003 – < 0.001). Neuromuscular performance differed between groups, with higher Y-Balance scores being achieved in track and field athletes and golfers, and superior jump performance in football and track and field athletes (all p < 0.001). Moderate to strong associations were found between strength, performance, and knee alignment parameters (r = 0.50–0.87). No distinct sport-specific clusters were identified. Conclusion This cross-sectional investigation of adolescent competitive athletes demonstrates sport-specific differences in biomechanics and neuromuscular performance across sports. These exploratory findings may reflect discipline-specific mechanical loading patterns and could inform the development of sport-specific training and monitoring approaches in youth athletes.