MEET THE TEAM

Jac obtained her physiotherapy qualification from the University of Melbourne, Australia and has over 22 years of experience working as a musculoskeletal physiotherapist in Australia, England, Singapore, and UAE. She has treated a wide range of acute and chronic sports injuries of world class and recreational athletes; chronic occupational and lifestyle overuse injuries; and rehabilitation of surgical patients.

Jac’s extensive experience has given her the clinical skills to understand the biomechanics and root causes behind injury or pain, to ensure that the correct manual therapy techniques are used, appropriate exercises prescribed and ergonomic or lifestyle changes made. She uses the Pilates exercise method for injury rehabilitation and performance enhancement to compliment her manual therapy.

But it is not only Jac’s sound clinical knowledge and invaluable experience that makes her such a popular Physio here in Dubai; she is compassionate, approachable and understanding of those who are affected by injury – getting people back ‘doing what they love’ is central to her treatment approach.

Orla completed a degree in Sports Rehabilitation and Physiology in Ireland, followed by a Masters in Physiotherapy from the UK. To date she has enjoyed a varied career working in both high level amateur sports and treating members of the general public in private medical facilities.

Orla moved to Dubai on 2011 where she spent five years in a well-known Sports Medicine Facility. Here, she worked alongside Physiotherapists, Osteopaths, Sports Medicine Physicians and Strength and Conditioning Coaches. She is an all-round physiotherapist and enjoys treating an array of patient populations, both sporting and non-sporting.  She has a particular interest in chronic pain, in particular lower back pain.  Through education and changing believes around chronic pain, her approach is simple yet highly effective.  She encourages her patients to take an active role in their rehabilitation and enjoys facilitating their goals, whatever they may be.

Her sporting passion lies in cycling injuries and prevention. Having spent time in Italy and France training with world class physiotherapists in cycling, she is well positioned to effectively carry out bike-fits for both cycling injuries and performance enhancement through her in-depth knowledge of anatomy and cycling biomechanics.

Orla takes an ‘everything in moderation’ approach to life! She enjoys a nice balance of work, socialising with friends and family and exercise. She is a keen cyclist and currently races on the #thecyclehubarlaproteinrace team.

Ryan is a highly experienced sports physiotherapist who has spent over eight years working in professional sport in the UK. Most recently, Ryan was Head Physiotherapist for Worcester Warriors, a team competing in top tier premiership rugby in the UK. In this role Ryan treated a wide range of sports injuries and oversaw the running of the sports medicine department. Ryan has also gained a variety experience in professional sports including Super League rugby with London Broncos, premiership football academies including Chelsea FC and Norwich FC and premiership rugby with Leicester Tigers.

Ryan has an a strong rehabilitation focus, with a special interest in ACL, shoulder and Tendon injuries. He uses a combination of his experience in sport and knowledge of sports injuries and biomechanics to tailor efficient and effective rehabilitation programs.

Ryan is enthusiastic about his own sport and training, and has a real interest in athlete load monitoring and recovery, and will happily talk for hours about s the latest sleep tracking or training/recovery device! At the weekends you’ll likely catch him running along Kite Beach or training in on of Dubai’s many gyms.

Shannen, is a Communications Graduate from the Philippines. Having worked in the customer service industry for many years, her active listening skills and her bright demeanor make her very approachable. She is an integral part of the R U Active Physiotherapy team, making sure all of our patients have access to their selected therapists in a timely and convenient manner.

Shannen is caring and compassionate and works hard to ensure our patient’s happiness. She has an amazing ability to remember each individuals specific requirements – she knows your child can’t make Tuesday evenings because they play sport, she knows you can only do early mornings because you have a busy work schedule, she knows you don’t like your receipt stapled to your insurance form – the little things that matter to you, matter to Shannen! She is open-minded and has a positive outlook on life. In her free time, she enjoys reading books, cooking, watching movies, and of course exercise. 🙂

David qualified as an Osteopath in 2009, having graduated with a Masters degree in Osteopathy (MOst) from the British College of Osteopathic Medicine, London. He then went on to complete his MSc in Sports Medicine, Exercise & Health at University College London.

David has worked in Dubai since 2013 within the multidisciplinary team of a sports medicine clinic here in the UAE. He has extensive experience treating a broad range of patients, from high level athletes to patients with everyday aches and pains.

David brings his personal experience as a former field hockey International for Ireland and clinical knowledge as an Osteopath to form an honest, holistic and evidence-informed approach to treatment.

He uses a range of highly skilled manual techniques, combined with exercise rehabilitation and patient education to get the best outcome for his patients.

Although osteopathy is well known for treating neck and back pain, David enjoys using his clinical knowledge to help people with all kinds of aches and pains, from jaw pain to foot pain.

Treatment techniques: soft-tissue release / myofascial release, joint mobilization & manipulations (HVT’s), TrP dry needling, exercise prescription and injury management advise.

Ciara (aka ‘the jolly one’) graduated with a degree in Sports Rehabilitation followed by a master’s in Physiotherapy from the University of Southampton. She has nearly 15 years’ experience working in both the private and public sector in Ireland, the UK and UAE.

Ciara has continued to develop her postgraduate study and is skilled in Sports rehabilitation, pre and postoperative rehabilitation, Injury prevention, Manual therapy, Dry needling, and Clinical Pilates (mat & reformer). She is a keen learner and has spent various amounts of time up-skilling in Curtin University, Australia. Ciara is passionate about running and loves to share the years of experience she has gained dealing with both amateur and elite runners and triathletes. Her approachable and empathetic nature allows her to work well with both acute and chronic pain allowing her patients to understand the root cause and empowering them to overcome their injuries.

In her spare time she loves to run as well as participate in cross-fit.