spiprohealth.com | Jaco Ras
SPI ProHealth provides specialised physical therapy services at world sports championships, tournaments, and private therapy to elite athletes and teams.
sports physiotherapy, physiotherapists, elite athletes, philippa stewart, sheilagh anderson, sports physiotherapy international, prohealth asia
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Jaco Ras

  • JACO RAS

    • Originally from South Africa
    • Registered Physiotherapist in SPI ProHealth China Team
    • Based in Beijing, China

  • CHINA PHYSIO TEAM

    • Comprising of 7 foreign-trained physiotherapists mainly stationed in Beijing, China, the team specialises in helping patients with post-surgery rehabilitation, healing from injuries and ailments as well as managing back, neck and knee problems.
    • SPI provides integrated physiotherapy healthcare services for Raffles Medical Group in Beijing, Nanjing, Tianjin and Tianjin TEDA.

1.Tell us about your background in Physiotherapy.

I qualified as a physiotherapist in South Africa in 2009 and completed my Masters in Physiotherapy in 2013.  In 2010 I worked in various hospital and clinic settings and volunteered and assisted with different sport events and teams.  The latter as well as my passion for sport made me decide to branch into physiotherapy focused in sport.

From 2011 to 2014 I worked in a sport medicine clinic called the Sharks medical center, as well as assisting with physiotherapy for various sport teams and events at club, provincial and national level.  In 2014 I had the opportunity to work at International SOS Beijing clinic for Sports Physiotherapy International (now SPI Prohealth).  Currently I’m still working at the same clinic which is now managed by Raffles Medical.

 

2. What are your interests?

I enjoy playing and watching sport which contributed to me choosing physiotherapy as a career in my final year of school.  Currently I keep active by hiking, playing cricket, soccer and going to the gym (which includes running and swimming).  In South Africa I played cricket on a full time basis and enjoyed running. I also like watching sport at the Beijing National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) and spend time with my wife either hiking or going to watch her favorite performances at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing.

 

3. Tell us about a life-changing experience or adventure you’ve been on. 

A life changing experience was when I met my wife in China in 2013.  I came to Beijing to do a presentation at the International Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation congress related to my Masters degree thesis.  Every morning I joined a group organized by the congress to teach participants Tai Chi in order to give us a chance to experience and learn some Traditional Chinese Medicine.  The day before I went back to South Africa I met a woman there who was to change my life forever.  We got married in 2015 and are now both working in Beijing.

 

4. What is your area of expertise?

  • Musculoskeletal assessment and rehabilitation
  • Sport injury assessment and rehabilitation (sports medicine)
  • Pre- and post-operative orthopedic rehabilitation
  • Gait analysis (walking and running)

 

5. What is the most fulfilling part of the job?

The most fulfilling part of my job is being able to wake up in the morning and be happy to go to work.  I really enjoy using evidence based medicine in clinical practice, helping someone whom has injury or limited function to improve their quality of life and most importantly return to function, activities of daily living or sport.