Male and female lower-limb kinematic responses during a standardised load carriage task are sex-specific

The removal of gender restriction in combat-centric roles will increase female soldier exposure to regular heavy load carriage. Physiological sex differences place women at a disadvantage for these physically demanding roles. Identifying sex-specific responses during a standardised load carriage task will provide essential information of how task demands are met and if different programs are needed for males and females. The current study identified that sex-specific responses primarily occurred at the knee and ankle joints, suggesting males and females adopt different kinematic stategies to meet task demands during a load carriage task.