- More than $1.5 million awarded
as part of unique NBA/GE Healthcare Sports Medicine and Orthopedics
Collaboration
- Six research proposals on tendinopathy from North America, Europe and Australia represent first funded
projects
- Call for second round of research proposals focused on
myotendinous injuries, including hamstring and calf injuries, to
come out in June
CHICAGO, IL and NEW YORK, NY, May 5,
2016 /CNW/ - The National Basketball Association (NBA)
and GE Healthcare (NYSE: GE) today announced the first round of
winning research proposals submitted to their Sports Medicine and
Orthopedics Collaboration. Launched in the summer of 2015, this
strategic collaboration is funding research to address the
prevention, diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal injuries*
affecting NBA players and everyday athletes. The collaboration is
directed by a Strategic Advisory Board led by Dr. John DiFiori, the NBA's Director of Sports
Medicine, and an NBA/GE Healthcare steering committee.
This first round of research proposals focused on the natural
history, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of
tendinopathy.."Tendinopathy – and specifically that involving the
patellar tendon – is a common issue among basketball players at all
levels," said Dr. DiFiori, who also served as co-chair for this
call for proposals. "The NBA is pleased to work with GE Healthcare
to fund additional research in this area to increase our
understanding of this condition as we seek to improve health
outcomes and limit the impact on athletic performance for NBA
players and the general population."
Using a competitive application process with a rigorous
scientific review, six winning proposals were selected from a group
of nearly 70. The following awardees include research teams from
leading academic and healthcare institutions across three
continents:
- La Trobe University (Dr. Jill
Cook) – Patellar Tendon Pathology, Its Development and
Relationship with Pain in Elite Athletes. Investigators from La
Trobe University and the University of Newcastle in Australia, as well as Tulane University and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in
the United States, propose a novel
imaging method to investigate the relationship between pain and
change in tendon structure – in both adult and adolescent athletes.
This study will also evaluate how certain exercises can immediately
impact pain, help avoid missed games, and make athletes' tendons
stronger.
- University of Calgary (Dr.
W. Brent Edwards) – Towards the
Real-time Monitoring of Tendon Strain and Cumulative Damage to
Minimize the Risk of Patellar Tendinopathy. Using advanced
imaging techniques and biomechanical measurements to quantify
tendon properties, researchers from the University of Calgary, in collaboration with adidas
and Robbins, Inc., will assess the influence of playing surfaces
and footwear on the risk of patellar tendinopathy and develop a
wearable technology to monitor tendon loading during play.
- University of Calgary (Dr.
Carolyn Emery) – Prevention of
Patellar and Achilles Tendinopathies in Youth Basketball. Dr.
Emery and her team of experts aim to identify risk factors for
patella and other tendon-related injuries in young players, explore
self-monitoring and reporting programs, and assess the impact of a
basketball-specific neuromuscular training program, all of which
could have a long-term impact on young athletes and help them avoid
premature exit from sport participation.
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
(Dr. Kenneth Lee) – Platelet-Rich
Plasma Therapy for Patellar Tendinopathy: A Randomized Controlled
Trial Correlating Clinical, Biomechanical and Novel Imaging
Biomarkers. Dr. Lee and his team of researchers aim to work
with college basketball players to evaluate the effectiveness of a
non-surgical intervention for treating patellar tendinopathy (also
known as "jumper's knee") by comparing the use of concentrated
platelets containing healing growth factors in a controlled study.
They will also track the healing changes of the patellar tendon
using new MRI and ultrasound imaging techniques.
- Hospital for Special Surgery (Dr. O.
Kenechi Nwawka) – Prospective Longitudinal Assessment of
Patellar Tendinopathy in Elite Basketball Players Using
Quantitative Imaging with Correlation to Symptoms and Functional
Analysis. Leveraging advanced medical imaging technology
including ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI),
researchers at New York's Hospital for Special Surgery aim to
characterize the changes in the patellar tendon over the course of
a basketball season, thus providing predictive information to
identify players at an increased risk of developing
tendinopathy.
- Erasmus University Medical
Center, Rotterdam (Dr. Edwin H.G.
Oei) – Progressive Tendon-loading Exercise Therapy for Patellar
Tendinopathy in Jumping Athletes: A Randomized Controlled Clinical
Trial Evaluated with Advanced 3D Ultrashort Echo Time MRI.
Researchers from Erasmus MC in Rotterdam,
the Netherlands, with support from the Netherlands
Basketball Federation, will use a novel MRI technique called
'ultrashort echo time MRI' to evaluate a new graduated,
non-invasive exercise therapy for "jumper's knee" that requires no
specific equipment. Such an approach could result in increased
tendon and muscle strength and pain relief.
"NBA players are among the best in the world, and the NBA is
committed to their health and well-being, which is why we're
excited to team up with GE Healthcare and leading researchers for
the benefit of the players and our game," said David Weiss, NBA Vice President and Assistant
General Counsel. "The projects we're announcing today include
important areas of focus for the NBA including injury prevention
and youth health, as well as advanced technologies and methods such
as new approaches to imaging, wearable technology and
biomechanics."
John M. Sabol, PhD, Chief
Scientist for GE Healthcare's Global Research Organization, noted,
"The collaboration between GE Healthcare and the NBA has provided a
unique opportunity to do high impact research. This call for
proposals attracted dozens of high-quality submissions from leading
tendinopathy researchers. Selection of the winning projects was a
challenging task, relying on an independent scientific review panel
of 22 academic and clinical experts to evaluate the scientific
merit of the submitted research projects."
Beyond the upcoming myotendinous injury call for proposals,
future calls from the NBA/GE Healthcare Collaboration may address
bone stress injuries, articular cartilage injury, and other
important musculoskeletal issues affecting NBA players. For more
information about the first round of winning research proposals and
future funding opportunities, please visit
https://ge2.brightidea.com/GENBACFP.
About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare provides
transformational medical technologies and services to meet the
demand for increased access, enhanced quality and more affordable
healthcare around the world. GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that
matter - great people and technologies taking on tough challenges.
From medical imaging, software & IT, patient monitoring and
diagnostics to drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing
technologies and performance improvement solutions, GE Healthcare
helps medical professionals deliver great healthcare to their
patients. For more information, visit our website
www.gehealthcare.com.
About the NBA
The NBA is a global sports and media
business built around three professional sports leagues: The
National Basketball Association, the Women's National Basketball
Association, and the NBA Development League. The league has
established a major international presence with games and
programming in 215 countries and territories in 49 languages, and
NBA merchandise for sale in more than 125,000 stores in 100
countries on 6 continents. NBA rosters at the start of the 2015-16
season featured 100 international players from 37 countries and
territories. NBA Digital's assets include NBA.com and the NBA app,
which achieved record traffic during the 2014-15 season, as well as
NBA TV. The NBA has created one of the largest social media
communities in the world, with more than one billion likes and
followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms.
Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by
working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations
that support education, youth and family development, and
health-related causes.
*Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are injuries or disorders of
the muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, cartilage, and disorders of
the nerves, tendons, muscles and supporting structures of the upper
and lower limbs, neck, and lower back that are caused, precipitated
or exacerbated by sudden exertion or prolonged exposure to physical
factors such as repetition, force, vibration, or awkward posture.
Source: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/programs/msd/
SOURCE General Electric Canada Inc.