Vail, Colorado, Oct. 17, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE

Vail, Colorado, Oct. 17, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Steadman Philippon Research Institute (SPRI) is part of the first United States-based International Olympic Center for Prevention of Injury and Projection of Athlete Health, the IOC announced last week. In the joint research venture, SPRI is partnering with the United States Olympic Committee’s Sports Medicine Division and the University of Utah – which are part of the U.S. Coalition for the Prevention of Illness and Injury in Sport – for the landmark designation that was years in the making. 

The coalition is a collaborative research effort to support the IOC’s goals regarding injury prevention and athlete protection for Olympians and Paralympians. The U.S. Coalition becomes the IOC’s 10 ^th research center across the world and the first research center of its kind in the U.S.

“This is an incredible privilege that has been years in the making for our physicians, scientists and staff,” said Dr. Marc Philippon, co-chair of SPRI and managing partner of The Steadman Clinic. “It is an honor for us to partner with the USOC Sports Medicine Division and the University of Utah because as a group, we are all dedicated to the same goal: Preserving and protecting the health of athletes around the world, including Team USA and other countries that don’t necessarily have the capability to undertake the types of research projects we’ll be doing.”

Dan Drawbaugh, CEO of SPRI and The Steadman Clinic, added: “It is historic that SPRI is recognized as part of the IOC’s first research center in the U.S. and it once again demonstrates how the international sports medicine community values our dedicated researchers, scientists and surgeons here in Vail. But most importantly, together the members of this new coalition will make a major difference in the ability to protect athletes’ health around the world.”

These centers, which receive financial support from the IOC, have been mandated to research, develop and implement effective preventive and treatment methods for sports-related injuries and illnesses.

Dr. Bill Moreau, Vice President of Sports Medicine for the United States Olympic Committee has partnered with SPRI and The Steadman Clinic since 2014. “The U.S. Coalition for the Prevention of Illness and Injury in Sport  provides an important addition to the IOC research centers. This partnership with the IOC provides an amazing opportunity to collaborate in preventive research, both in the United States and the international community in order to  significantly impact the future of injury prevention, athlete protection and healing for Olympic and Paralympic athletes worldwide. We are thrilled to have SPRI as a key partner in collaborating with the other IOC research centers.”

“Thanks to their engagement, close collaboration and sharing of research and best practice, this group will be able to make a measureable impact on the IOC’s efforts to understand the impact of elite sport on athletes’ bodies and devise protocols to protect them from injury and illness,” said IOC Vice President and Chair of the Medical and Scientific Commission Dr. Uğur Erdener. “It also dovetails perfectly with the recommendations of Olympic Agenda 2020, adopted in 2014, and which seeks to place athletes and their well-being at the heart of the Olympic Movement.”

Since 2009, the IOC has supported and partnered with established research centers from around the world which have demonstrated clinical, educational, and research expertise in the fields of sports medicine and elite sports to promote the athletes’ health through the prevention of injury and illness.

The U.S. Coalition joins nine other research centers from across the world including: The Australian Centre for Research into Injury in Sport and its Prevention; Federation University (Australia); Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre, University of Calgary (Canada); Institute of Sports Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital (Denmark); Yonsei University, Republic of Korea (South Korea); Amsterdam Collaboration on Health & Safety in Sports (The Netherlands), VU University and Academic Medical Centre (The Netherlands); Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre (Norway), Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (Norway); Aspetar, Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital (Qatar); Clinical Sport and Exercise Medicine Research Group, University of Cape Town (South Africa); London’s Institute for Sports, Exercise and Health (ISEH) and National Centre for Sports Exercise and Medicine (NCSEM) (United Kingdom).

The Steadman Philippon Research Institute was founded by world renowned orthopaedic surgeon Dr. J. Richard Steadman in 1988. Its mission is to unlock the secrets of healing, finding cures and enhancing lives through global leadership in regenerative medicine, scientific research innovation and education.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/Attachm...265093e03d

Lynda Sampson The Steadman Clinic 970-479-1563 lsampson@sprivail.org