New York Giants Incorporate Sports Science from Quest Diagnostics into Training

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., Dec. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) and the New York Football Giants today made it official: Giants' players are now using Quest's baseline athletic performance testing service "Blueprint for Athletes," which has been a major factor for the Giants' training and preparation for NFL games this season. 

The Blueprint for Athletes testing service is a result of a sports-science collaboration formed between the two organizations in 2013 to develop new ways to use laboratory diagnostic information to improve the health and performance of athletes of all ages and abilities. Since that time, Blueprint for Athletes™ baseline screening has become part of each player's annual physical, and Giants players have been given the opportunity to volunteer to work with Quest in the research and application of Blueprint for Athletes ongoing monitoring, using the ongoing monitoring in beta form and providing feedback to the Quest medical and scientific teams to help shape product development.  Blueprint for Athletes baseline screening is ordered by the team's physician and results are reviewed with the players.

Under the collaboration, all Giants players began using the results from Blueprint for Athletes baseline analysis during the summer as part of their training, with test results guiding nutrition, thermoregulation, recovery and other aspects of training on a personal basis for each player.

The Blueprint for Athletes service is a suite of medical-grade laboratory tests that provides amateur and professional athletes insights into their health to help improve their performance, avoid vulnerability to injury, and support better overall health. Personalized testing data provided to athletes includes details on what the health markers are, how they relate to sports physiology, and within what areas athletes should seek improvement. Specific categories evaluated include Performance, Fuel, Recovery, Endurance, and Food Sensitivity (food allergies).

"The insights we are learning through our partnership with Quest Diagnostics and our testing with Blueprint for Athletes have allowed us to pinpoint specific health markers that affect player performance so that we can focus on improvements," said Ronnie Barnes, Senior Vice President of Medical Services, New York Football Giants. "Our athletic training staff, in conjunction with our strength and conditioning staff, is literally tracking measureable progress as we make modifications in diet, hydration, fueling and nutrition, oxygen transport and other factors during our training. That's helping our team train not just harder, but smarter. Blueprint for Athletes has been a primary catalyst to improving our emphasis on player health and performance."

Giants' linebacker Mark Herzlich is one of the players who began to use Blueprint for Athletes in beta form. While playing football at Boston College, Herzlich learned he had a rare form of bone cancer. He was told he would never play football again.  Today, Herzlich is a prominent member of the Giants.  While many factors contribute to Herzlich's amazing comeback, he believes insights from Blueprint for Athletes have helped him not only improve his performance but also overall wellness, with insights into health markers like allergen sensitivity.

"As a professional athlete, the information from Blueprint for Athletes helps me, in conjunction with the Giants training staff, make modifications that help me perform at my peak on the field," said Herzlich, "The ability to monitor these health markers also contributes to my ability to maintain optimal on-field performance. That's critical for any individual, whether they play in the NFL, participate in endurance sports, or spend hours at the gym as a committed athlete."

"Our relationship with the Giants has been instrumental in the research and development of our Blueprint for Athletes service, ensuring that it incorporates actionable health insights to help professional and amateur athletes reach their wellness and performance goals," said Richard Schwabacher, MPH, executive director, Quest Diagnostics Sports and Human Performance. "The Giants share our passion for health, excellence and community, and we couldn't be prouder to be supplying testing insights to support the players and the organization."

The collaboration marks the third year of the partnership between the New York Giants and Quest Diagnostics, which includes not only sports science and human performance services and insights, but also joint campaigns to support health awareness programs to local communities in the greater New Jersey-New York metropolitan area. In addition, the Giants headquarters and training facility was renamed as the Quest Diagnostics Training Center and Quest Diagnostics was named a Proud Partner in Health with the New York Giants.

NJ-based Quest Diagnostics provides diagnostic information services to approximately one in three American adults and half of the physicians and hospitals in the United States each year. The company offers thousands of test services, ranging from advanced next generation gene sequencing for cancer to diabetes and cholesterol blood checks.

Quest Diagnostics is currently piloting Blueprint for Athletes at athletic performance events in select regions and expects to make the service available in select markets for other professional and amateur athletes in early 2016. Interested athletes can sign up for more information at www.Blueprintforathletes.com. Follow Blueprint for Athletes on Facebook and Twitter. To learn more about the Giants and Quest partnership, visit http://www.giants.com/quest.html

 About The New York Giants

A cornerstone franchise of the National Football League, the New York Football Giants began play in 1925. With eight championships, including a victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, their second in five seasons, the Giants are the only franchise in the NFL with a Super Bowl victory in each of the last four decades. Headquartered at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, N.J., the Giants are in their 91^st season of play in the NFL.  www.giants.com

About Quest Diagnostics

Quest Diagnostics empowers people to take action to improve health outcomes.  Derived from the world's largest database of clinical lab results, our diagnostic insights reveal new avenues to identify and treat disease, inspire healthy behaviors and improve health care management.  Quest annually serves one in three adult Americans and half the physicians and hospitals in the United States, and our 45,000 employees understand that, in the right hands and with the right context, our diagnostic insights can inspire actions that transform lives. www.QuestDiagnostics.com

Contact:
Emily Smith, Quest Diagnostics (Media): 916-498-7718

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