NEW YORK & WAUKESHA, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The National Basketball Association (NBA) and GE Healthcare (NYSE: GE) today announced a collaboration to promote orthopedic and sports medicine research benefitting the health and wellness of NBA players as well as athletes of all levels across the general population. The multi-year alliance will focus on joint health and acute and overuse musculoskeletal injuries* – challenges faced by NBA players and the general population alike.
“NBA players are among the best athletes in the world, and their well-being is the league's highest priority,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “Our support for medical research through our partnership with GE Healthcare will help us improve the long-term health and wellness of NBA players. We are also excited that this research collaboration will provide important insights to athletes at all levels."
Serving to advance the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal conditions among NBA players, the effort aims to promote health and wellness, reduce injuries, lengthen careers and improve post-career health for NBA players. GE and the NBA will also collaborate with additional partners, including NBA partners adidas, Kaiser Permanente, Nike and Under Armour, to advance the research efforts.
“Musculoskeletal injuries extend beyond the basketball court and negatively impact sports enthusiasts and everyday athletes around the world,” said GE Healthcare President & CEO, John Flannery. “By combining GE’s know-how in healthcare imaging technology and the NBA’s interest in promoting player health and safety, we are working to help prevent the most common sports injuries and improve treatment.”
This unique collaboration will be guided by a strategic advisory board made up of physicians and clinical researchers representing institutions across the U.S. who have demonstrated excellence in orthopedics, sports medicine, radiology, and related disciplines. Dr. John DiFiori, the NBA Director of Sports Medicine and a past President of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine, will serve as the Chair of the board. Additionally, Dr. DiFiori will be joined on the board by team physicians from five NBA clubs.
The NBA and GE will also provide funding for clinical researchers working to study diagnostic and preventative techniques to identify risks for the development of orthopedic conditions. This research will contribute to a deeper understanding of overuse injuries and the resulting impact on athletes’ health and missed playing time. The findings from this research will support the work of NBA team physicians and medical staffs as they continue to provide world class medical care in the treatment of NBA players. The NBA and GE plan to elicit research proposals later this year.
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 offices in 13 markets worldwide, games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 47 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 2014-15 season featured a record 101 international players from 37 countries and territories. NBA Digital’s assets include NBA TV, which is available in 60 million U.S. homes, and NBA.com, which recorded 26.9 billion page views during the 2013-14 season, with more than half of all visitors originating from outside of North America. The NBA is the No. 1 professional sports league on social media, with nearly 835 million likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms. Through NBA Cares, the league and its teams and players have donated more than $260 million to charity, completed more than 3.3 million hours of hands-on community service, and created more than 970 places where kids and families can live, learn, or play.
*Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are injuries or disorders of the muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, cartilage, an 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.
