dj Orthopedics' New Adjustable OA Defiance Knee Brace Provides Load Level Control for Active Osteoarthritis Patients

SAN DIEGO, Mar 18, 2002 (BW HealthWire) -- Arthritis Foundation designates "Ease of Use Commendation" for Adjustable OA Defiance dj Orthopedics Inc. (NYSE:DJO), a designer, manufacturer and marketer of products and services for the orthopedic sports medicine market, introduces the new Adjustable OA Defiance™ knee brace for active osteoarthritis (OA) patients.

This latest version of the market leading Defiance® knee brace offers precise and adjustable load levels with the control placed in the hands of the patient.


"At dj Orthopedics, we are dedicated to meeting the unique needs of patients with innovative products and technology, and we believe this new version of the Defiance will be an excellent choice for the active osteoarthritis patient," said Les Cross, dj Orthopedics' president and CEO. "We have had tremendous success in the ACL market segment with the Defiance custom
knee brace, and the new Adjustable OA Defiance will further strengthen our position in the estimated $33 million OA bracing market segment."

The Arthritis Foundation has given the "Ease of Use Commendation" to the Adjustable OA Defiance knee brace as it allows the patient to quickly and effortlessly adjust the amount of load (up to three degrees) that is applied to the non-affected compartment through the telescoping condyle pad. Since the load requirements can change, depending upon activity level and time of day, the patient simply fine-tunes the amount of load by using a custom allen wrench to turn two screws located at the brace hinge. The Adjustable OA Defiance also features the patented Four Points of Leverage system for anterior/posterior control and pre-determined degrees of correction built into the frame.

According to the Arthritis Foundation and the American College of Rheumatology, nearly 43 million Americans have some form of arthritis, including an estimated 21 million suffer from osteoarthritis.

dj Orthopedics is a global orthopedic sports medicine company specializing in the design, manufacture and marketing of surgical and non-surgical products and services that repair, regenerate and rehabilitate soft tissue and bone, help protect against injury, and treat osteoarthritis of the knee. Its broad range of over 600 existing products, many of which are based on proprietary technologies, includes rigid knee braces, soft goods, specialty and other complementary orthopedic products and its recently introduced line of surgical products. These products provide solutions for patients and orthopedic sports medicine professionals throughout the patient's continuum of care.

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dj Orthopedics Inc.
Marjorie Rowland, 760/734-4766