Former NY Yankees Outfielder Chris Dickerson Teams Up With Flexion Therapeutics to Raise Awareness of Impact of Osteoarthritis (OA)

BURLINGTON, Mass., Oct. 02, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Flexion Therapeutics (Nasdaq:FLXN) is teaming up with Chris Dickerson, a former New York Yankees outfielder and member of the 2011 and 2012 playoff teams, to raise awareness of the impact of osteoarthritis (OA). Introduced at the start of baseball’s postseason, the awareness effort highlights Chris’ journey as a professional athlete and parent living with OA knee pain. A degenerative joint disease, OA affects more than 30 million adults living in the U.S. and accounts for more than $185 billion in annual expenditures.

With their first playoff game set for this week, Chris’ former teammates in New York are battling a record number of injuries, including many involving debilitating knee pain. Chris, 37, was first diagnosed with OA at 21 following a decade of his own sports injuries. Despite six knee surgeries and numerous treatments over the course of his career, he played professional baseball for 15 years and spent seven seasons as a major league outfielder with the Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians. Chris retired in 2017 to pursue a career with a sports technology company and conduct broadcasting work.

“I know exactly what players with arthritis are feeling at this point in the long season, especially when you have to prepare mentally and physically for the playoffs,” Chris said. “When you develop OA of the knee, you are told to expect pain to be a constant in your life. It hinders your work performance no matter your profession and your ability to enjoy activities that many take for granted. My 2 ½ year-old-daughter is just discovering the joy of riding a bicycle. It has been challenging for me to keep up with her with a smile on my face because of my persistent knee pain. Just walking a few blocks in Manhattan to participate in work meetings can be a challenge.”

He continued: “When I was competing professionally in baseball, I was always open to researching and trying different treatments because I had to play through the constant knee pain to earn a living. Now in my post-playing days, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to meet a leading orthopedic surgeon, who provided me with a thorough assessment of my options and created a treatment plan to address my OA of the knee.”

Chris added, “OA knee pain might not seem catastrophic, but for those who have it there is a constant battle that drastically affects one’s quality of life. I am proud to raise awareness of this painful, progressive and incurable disease.”

Click here to view Chris’ story.

About Osteoarthritis (OA) of the Knee

OA, also known as degenerative joint disease, affects more than 30 million adults living in the U.S. and accounts for more than $185 billion in annual expenditures. In 2016, more than 15 million Americans were diagnosed with OA of the knee and the average age of physician-diagnosed knee OA has fallen by 16 years, from 72 in the 1990s to 56 in the 2010s. The prevalence of OA is expected to continue to increase as a result of aging, obesity and sports injuries. Each year approximately five million OA patients receive either an immediate-release corticosteroid or hyaluronic acid intra-articular injection to manage their knee pain.

About Flexion Therapeutics

Flexion Therapeutics (Nasdaq:FLXN) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel, local therapies for the treatment of patients with musculoskeletal conditions, beginning with osteoarthritis, a type of degenerative arthritis. The company’s core values are focus, ingenuity, tenacity, transparency and fun. For the past three years, Flexion has been named one of the Best Places to Work by the Boston Business Journal, and Flexion was also recognized as a Top Place to Work in Massachusetts by The Boston Globe in 2017 and 2018. Visit flexiontherapeutics.com.

Contacts:

Scott Young
Flexion Therapeutics, Inc.
T: 781-305-7194
[email protected]

Nic Johnson or Scott Stachowiak
Russo Partners Sports-Health Alliance
T: (212) 845-4242
T: (646) 942-5630
[email protected]
[email protected]