Smith+Nephew is sponsoring tennis players participating in The Championships, Wimbledon 2024, in order to spotlight its advanced Sports Medicine portfolio. 

While it is considered an elegant sport, tennis can be rough on the body—especially to a player’s joints. Two common injuries^1,2 that tennis players suffer are rotator cuff tears in the shoulder and meniscus tears in the knee. Smith+Nephew offers advanced solutions for both of these injuries that are supported by clinical evidence and time-tested results.

Smith+Nephew’s Advanced Healing Solutions portfolio offers various solutions for rotator cuff repair. Backed by 10 years of clinical evidence and more than 100,000 procedures completed globally since its 2014 introduction, the REGENETEN Bioinductive Implant has had a transformative impact, offering a better solution for more than 1 million³ patients undergoing rotator cuff repair surgery annually. The collagen-based implant supports the body’s natural healing response to facilitate the formation of new tendon-like tissue to biologically augment the existing tendon and change the course of rotator cuff tear progression.^4-10

Smith+Nephew also has an established track record of success in knee repair including a 30-year legacy of saving the meniscus rather than removing it. The FAST-FIX◊ Family of meniscal repair solutions has helped surgeons repair hundreds of thousands¹¹ of meniscal tears over the past 30 years due to its ease of use,¹² high fixation strength,^*13-16 and strong, reliable repairs.^17-19 With an 88% mean success rate of all-inside repairs,²⁰ the FAST-FIX Family has helped patients return to a Life Unlimited.

“Both Smith+Nephew and the players participating in Wimbledon share a common thread as leaders in their respective fields and being among the best at what they do,” said Christie Van Geffen, senior vice president of Global Marketing for Sports Medicine at Smith+Nephew. “It’s an honor to sponsor players competing in this year’s championship and we look forward to helping athletes all over the world get back to performing at the highest level.”

Smith+Nephew is a portfolio medical technology business focused on the repair, regeneration and replacement of soft and hard tissue. It employs 18,000 workers, and develops and markets new technologies across three global business units: Orthopaedics, Sports Medicine & ENT and Advanced Wound Management. Founded in Hull, U.K., in 1856, the company now operates in more than 100 countries, and generated $5.5 billion in sales last year. 

References
¹ Dines, JS et al. Tennis Injuries: Epidemiology, Pathophysiology, and Treatment. J Am Acad Orth Surg. 2015;23(3):181-189
² Majewski M et al.Epidemiology of athletic knee injuries: A 10-year study. The Knee. 2006;13(3):184-188
³ iData Research. Rotator cuff repair and reconstruction market size, share and trends analysis (2023). Available at: https://idataresearch.com/product/rotator-cuff-repair-reconstruction-market-size-share-and-trends-analysis-global-2023-2029-medsuite-includes-grafts-allografts-xenograft-synthetic-and-1-more/#. Accessed December 19, 2023.
⁴ Ruiz Ibán MA, Navlet MG, Marco SM, et al. Augmentation of a transosseous equivalent repair in posterosuperior non-acute rotator cuff tears with a bioinductive collagen implant decreases the re-tear rate at one year. A randomised controlled trial. Arthroscopy. Published online 12/27/2023.
⁵ Bokor DJ, Sonnabend D, Deady L, et al. Evidence of healing of partial-thickness rotator cuff tears following arthroscopic augmentation with a collagen implant: a 2-year MRI follow-up. Muscles, Ligaments Tendons J. 2016;6(1):16-25.
⁶ Schlegel TF, Abrams JS, Bushnell BD, Brock JL, Ho CP. Radiologic and clinical evaluation of a bioabsorbable collagen implant to treat partial-thickness tears: a prospective multicenter study. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2018 27(2):242-251.
⁷ Van Kampen C, Arnoczky S, Parks P, et al. Tissue-engineered augmentation of a rotator cuff tendon using a reconstituted collagen scaffold: a histological evaluation in sheep. Muscles Ligaments Tendons J. 2013;3(3):229-235.
⁸ Arnoczky SP, Bishai SK, Schofield B, et al. Histologic Evaluation of Biopsy Specimens Obtained After Rotator Cuff Repair Augmented With a Highly Porous Collagen Implant. Arthroscopy. 2017;33(2):278-283
⁹ Bokor DJ, Sonnabend DH, Deady L, et al. Healing of partial-thickness rotator cuff tears following arthroscopic augmentation with a highly porous collagen implant: a 5-year clinical and MRI follow-up. Muscles, Ligaments Tendons J. 2019;9(3):338-347.
¹⁰ McElvany MD, McGoldrick E, Gee AO, Neradilek MB, Matsen FA, 3rd. Rotator cuff repair: published evidence on factors associated with repair integrity and clinical outcome. Am J Sports Med. 2015;43(2):491-500.
¹¹ Internal Smith+Nephew sales data from 2023 FY STGP RM
¹² Smith+Nephew 2015.Ver/Val, Protocol/Report, FAST-FIX 360 Delivery System. Internal Report. 15000994 Rev. E.
¹³ Smith+Nephew 2004. Suture performance in standard arthroscopic knots – Effects of material and design. Internal Report. 1061539 Rev. A.
¹⁴ Smith+Nephew 2007. Internal Test Request – ULTRA FAST-FIX. Internal Report. ITR-3457.
¹⁵ Smith+Nephew 2010.The biomechanical performance of the FAST-FIX 360 meniscal repair system. Internal Report. DOF 10600596.
¹⁶ Smith+Nephew 2007.Evaluation of the mechanical properties of the ULTRA FAST-FIX meniscal repair system in a bovine meniscus model. Internal Report. DOF 10600342
¹⁷ Uzun E, Misir A, Kizkapan TB, et al. Evaluation of Midterm Clinical and Radiographic Outcomes of Arthroscopically Repaired Vertical Longitudinal and Bucket-Handle Lateral Meniscal Tears. Orthop J Sports Med. 2019;7(5):1 – 8.
¹⁸ Shearman A, Foster A, Wilson A, Risebury M, Yasen S. Excellent medium-term survival of an all-inside tensionable knotted suture device justifies repair of most meniscal tears encountered during reconstructive knee ligament surgery. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2020:1-8.
¹⁹ Laurendon L, Neri T, Farizon F, Philippot R. Prognostic factors for all-inside meniscal repair. A 87-case series. OTSR. 2017;103(7):1017 – 1020.
²⁰ Johnson, D., Souter, P., Sedgwick, M.. Clinical Performance of an All-inside Meniscal Repair Device: A Systematic Literature Review with Meta-analysis. ISAKOS. 2023.

* As demonstrated in biomechanical testing