Contura Orthopaedics and England Athletics pledge to “run together” in an exciting new collaboration spanning the next two years
The launch of a new partnership - bringing together the pioneers of the Arthrosamid® hydrogel injection and the membership & development body for athletics clubs across England - promises to inspire runners to keep their knee health ‘on track’.
LONDON, 4 March 2025 – Contura Orthopaedics and England Athletics are this month announcing the launch of an inspiring new commercial partnership which will see key messages about the benefits of non-surgical alternatives for the treatment of pain associated with knee osteoarthritis (OA) disseminated across a membership base of around 1800 affiliated grassroots clubs.
With a proposed target audience of runners and athletes aged 35+, suffering with knee pain and / or OA (as well as coaches and physiotherapists associated with the organisation), England Athletics is ideally placed to help Contura Orthopaedics reach out to those in need of reliable education and information about the potential benefits of the novel hydrogel injection, Arthrosamid® .
The collaboration – which will include workshops, webinars and in-person events, as well as the recruitment of a new panel of Ambassadors - will shine a light on the importance of emerging innovation in the osteoarthritis ‘space’, whilst raising awareness of treatment options designed to maintain mobility – and crucially, to help keep people running!
An insightful new survey conducted by England Athletics as part of this project, revealed that almost 9 in 10 of the athletes questioned claimed to have experienced knee pain which prevented them from running, with the majority taking action in the form of rest (88%) painkillers (64%) or physiotherapy (63%). And, over half (51%) of those asked admitted they would consider paying for treatment for knee pain if it meant avoiding surgery.
Arthrosamid® offers long-lasting, proven pain relief 1,2 with a single injection and has the potential to redefine the current care pathway for managing knee OA, which affects around 5.4 million people in the UK.3 Despite this large suffering population, there has been very little innovation in the range of OA treatments on offer to help patients – until now.
And, as such, Arthrosamid®, has been hailed by clinicians as an exciting ‘game changer’; the first and only injectable hydrogel proven to help patients with knee OA, offering a real alternative to surgery.
Eligible patients receive a single injection into the knee joint space – a 6ml dose of Arthrosamid® (which permanently combines with the knee’s synovial tissue4) – decreasing joint stiffness, diminishing pain, improving the function of the knee affected by knee osteoarthritis, and enhancing quality of life.1,5,6
English Athletics Knee injury survey, Nov 2024, N=131
Encouragingly, new four-year data presented in September 2024 at the European Orthopaedic Research Society Meeting (EORS) in Aalborg, Denmark demonstrated the long-term efficacy of the hydrogel injection – showing that a single dose maintained a statistically significant reduction in pain in patients with knee OA four years after treatment.1
Rakesh Tailor, CEO of the Contura Group, comments: “With lighter mornings and longer evenings well on the horizon, March marks the unofficial start of the amateur running season, and so what better time to launch this exciting new collaboration with our inspiring associates at England Athletics! This partnership will provide us with unrivalled access to communication channels that will reach out to a wide and engaged audience of keen and talented runners and athletes. This sporting community shares a determination to keep training and taking part in the events and races they love, without being prevented from doing so by pain and discomfort.
Patient education, sharing robust research findings and profiling positive case studies is at the absolute heart of our business and we’re always striving to find new ways of keeping people equipped with the knowledge they need to make informed choices about their personal, treatment pathway. Our team at Contura Orthopaedics is hugely looking forward to this partnership developing over the coming months and speaking to a new generation of athletes about positive approaches to managing knee pain.
England Athletics is committed to enabling athletes and runners of all abilities and backgrounds to fulfill their potential and to nurture a lifelong love for the sport, with a long-held vision of seeing athletics as an inclusive sport where everyone belongs and can flourish.
CEO of England Athletics, Chris Jones, adds:“Injury and chronic pain can be the curse of any athlete, and as we know—both anecdotally and from our recent survey—they can be a real source of frustration, sometimes even impacting mental health.
At England Athletics, we are committed to supporting our community of athletes, coaches, and physiotherapists, not just through our packed programme of events and inclusive initiatives, but also by keeping them informed about medical innovations that can help them stay active for longer.
Knee pain and osteoarthritis are significant barriers to participation, and through this exciting partnership with Contura Orthopaedics, we aim to provide valuable education on non-surgical treatment options like Arthrosamid®.
By working together, we hope to empower our members with knowledge that enables them to continue their love for the sport.
I’m delighted to see how our community engages with this project as we share interesting and empowering information.
References:
1.Bliddal, H., et al. (2024) A Prospective Study of Polyacrylamide Hydrogel Injection for Knee Osteoarthritis: Results From 4 Years After Treatment. Presented at EORS 2024.
2.Bliddal, H., et al. (2024) 3 year follow-up from a randomized controlled trial of intra-articular polyacrylamide hydrogel injection in subjects with knee osteoarthritis. Poster LB-31, OARSI 2024 World Congress on Osteoarthritis.
3.Versus Arthritis, 2023
4.Christensen, L., et al. (2016). Histological Appearance of the Synovial Membrane after Treatment of Knee Osteoarthritis with Polyacrylamide Gel Injections: A Case Report. Journal of Arthritis. Vol 5: 217.
5. Bliddal, H., et al. (2021) Polyacrylamide Hydrogel Injection for Knee Osteoarthritis: A 6 Month Prospective Study. J Orthop Res Ther. Vol 6 (2). 1188. ISSN 2575-8241
6.Bliddal, H., et al. (2022). One-year performance of polyacrylamide hydrogel vs. hyaluronic acid: A randomised controlled study. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, Vol 30, S1, S371.
Notes to editors:
Contura Orthopaedics Ltd is a division of Contura International Ltd., a leading innovator in medical products for orthopaedics, soft tissue augmentation and animal health. Headquartered in London, UK, with state-of-the-art manufacturing in Copenhagen, Denmark, we specialise in using our patented hydrogel technology to create products which make a meaningful difference in the lives of patients across the world. Contura International Ltd. is committed to providing the highest quality products via its team of experienced professionals who are dedicated to quality control and manufacturing excellence.
About England Athletics:
England Athletics, as the membership and development body for the sport in England, leads on support for grassroots athletics and running clubs, facilities and schools, affiliation and membership, domestic competition opportunities at area, county, national and international (England) level, the recruitment, training and retention of coaches, officials, and leaders, volunteering, participation and the development of talent pathways for athletes through to the Commonwealth Games.
