dj Orthopedics Signs Three-Year Contract for PainBuster With Healthtrust Purchasing Group

SAN DIEGO--(BW HealthWire)--Jan. 25, 2002--dj Orthopedics Inc. (NYSE:DJO), a designer, manufacturer and marketer of products and services for the orthopedic sports medicine market, today announced the signing of its fourth contract with HealthTrust Purchasing Group (HPG), a leading group purchasing organization (GPO) that serves more than 800 healthcare facilities nationwide.

Under the three-year contract that begins Feb. 1, 2002, dj Orthopedics will provide the PainBuster® Pain Management System at a contracted price to HPG member facilities. The PainBuster product was previously included under an existing rigid bracing contract.

"This agreement with HPG reinforces the solid relationship between dj Orthopedics and HPG and will play an important role in our continued success with the PainBuster product," said Les Cross, dj Orthopedics' president and CEO. "HPG's decision to put the PainBuster on a separate contract also speaks to the importance they place on pain management and their confidence in the PainBuster product."

The PainBuster Pain Management System provides continuous infusion of local anesthetics directly into the wound site to alleviate the pain that patients experience following many surgical procedures. The PainBuster System is recommended for use with local anesthetics, eliminating the negative side effects typically involved with oral narcotic pain relievers, including sedation, nausea, vomiting and respiratory depression. The PainBuster System includes an introducer needle, catheter, elastomeric infusion pump and other components for easy insertion and connection during surgery.


About HealthTrust Purchasing Group

HealthTrust Purchasing Group, L.P. is one of the nation's leading healthcare group purchasing organizations, with a current membership in excess of 800 facilities and contracting volume totaling more than $5.0 billion. HPG is committed to providing its customers with the highest-quality, cost-effective supplies and services for their patients, physicians, nurses and other clinicians. HPG's membership includes hospitals, surgery centers, clinics, physicians, integrated delivery networks and affiliate members.

About dj Orthopedics Inc.

dj Orthopedics Inc. 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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Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates Inc.
Investor Relations Contacts:
Bruce Voss / Jody Cain, 310/691-7100
bvoss[at]lhai[dot]com / jcain[at]lhai[dot]com
www.lhai.com

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

Media Contacts:
Donovan Roche / Jenny Ho, 619/234-0345
roche[at]formulaPR[dot]com / jho[at]formulaPR[dot]com