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BIDDEFORD, Maine

OA Centers for Orthopaedics and UNE announce new sports performance lab at the OA Sports Center in Saco

 OA Centers for Orthopaedics and the University of New England  announced plans to open a human performance laboratory at the new OA Sports Center in Saco, Maine.

The first of its kind in Northern New England, the lab will provide athletes of every level and ability with access to sophisticated analysis tools for measuring, evaluating and improving their biomechanical and physiological performance.

“The OA/UNE Human Performance Lab is being designed and built from the ground up to be unlike anything else currently available in Maine,” said Wayne Lamarre, clinical assistant professor and director of the Athletic Training Education Program at UNE.

Larmarre explained that “whether it’s weekend golfers looking to improve their swing, high school athletes looking to tweak their pitching mechanics or serious athletes looking to measure their VO2 Max and improve their lactate threshold efficiency, the Human Performance Lab will provide the tools and the know-how to help athletes get ahead and stay ahead of their competition.”

Real-World Laboratory
The facility will also serve as a real-world laboratory for students of UNE’s applied exercise science and athletic training majors. Student interns will be able to apply and test biomechanical and physiological principles in a laboratory setting.

Opening in January 2009, the newly constructed OA Performance Center is a state-of-the-art sports and performance center where athletes can train their bodies to perform at their highest level. Staffed by highly specialized sports medicine physicians, physiologists, athletic trainers, and biomechanists, the Human Performance Lab will offer sport-specific programs, testing and training to help athletes analyze and prevent injuries, and achieve their optimal health, wellness and performance goals.

For example, athletes using the lab will be able to pinpoint specific areas for development and improvement from information gathered from force plates embedded in the facility’s running track and analyze motion captured with high-speed video cameras. By using this type of biomechanical measurement equipment, athletes will be able to scrutinize their movements and make slight changes in order to prevent injuries or improve their athletic performance.

Integrated Sports Performace

“With the inclusion of the Human Performance Lab, the OA Performance Center will provide an unprecedented level of integrated sports performance training, conditioning and treatment,” said John Wipfler, CEO of OA Centers for Orthopaedics. “Our highly specialized sports medicine doctors, physical therapists, athletic trainers, and performance coaches will work together to provide a unique, comprehensive approach to injury evaluation, effective treatment and a full return to the level of mobility they have come to expect.”

Some of the specific services to be offered at the OA Sports Performance Lab include:

  • Sport-specific biomechanical analysis
  • Physiological testing for endurance sports
  • Sports nutrition & massage

The Human Performance Lab joins the Parisi Speed School, announced earlier this year, as tenants of the OA Performance Center, a state-of-the-art performance complex offering athletes and fitness-minded individuals of all ages and abilities a unique and fully integrated orthopedics, sports medicine, physical rehabilitation, performance evaluation, and training facility – all in one convenient location.

About OA Centers for Orthopaedics
Founded in 1982, OA Centers for Orthopaedics is the premier orthopedic practice in Maine and one of the country’s leading innovators in orthopedics. OA’s 23 physicians and surgeons are highly specialized in areas such as sports medicine; hand surgery; joint reconstruction of the hip, knee and shoulder; medical and surgical treatment of the spine; foot and ankle surgery; and complex fracture treatment. OA performs more orthopedic procedures than any other practice in Maine, and some of the most sophisticated procedures in the nation. In 2007, US News & World Report ranked Maine Medical Center in the top 50 in the orthopedics category. OA’s very own Dr. George Babikian, Chairman of the Division of Orthopaedics, Dr. Raymond White, Chairman of Orthopaedic Trauma, and Dr. Brian McGrory, the Director of the MMC Joint Replacement Center, lead Maine Medical Center’s capability in this category. OA is accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC).

Headquartered in Portland, Maine, OA has satellite offices in Saco, Windham, Yarmouth and Scarborough. OA—Experience in motion.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.