Meet Anna Zickerman, the DP World Tour Sports Medicine Specialist

How long have you been connected with the DP World Tour?
I have covered DP World Tour events in the UAE since 2009 and the first event I covered was the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship through Dr Roger Hawkes and Fredrik Lindgren, and then more events followed in the MENA region: the DP World Tour Championship, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman. I have also covered a couple of events in Sweden, so now I am involved in around five events on the DP World Tour every year.

Tell us about how you connected first with Dubai?
I am Swedish-born and moved to Dubai in 1976 and was brought up in Dubai. I went to school at JESS Jumeirah and was head girl at Dubai College in 1988. Dubai was and is and always will be my home, both physically and emotionally.

How did you get into sports medicine?
When I was looking at career options at school my PE Teacher suggested sports medicine. My plan was to spend five years at university and then set up my own clinic in Dubai. It did not quite work out like that. I realised that after university I had so much more studying to do to get fully qualified and at that time sports medicine did not even exist in England. I did my general practice training and my Masters MSC course in Nottingham in sports and exercise medicine. This was pioneer work in 2000.

Where did you go from there?
I applied through the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland to get my fellowship in sports and exercise medicine where they recognised my extensive experience and qualifications. I lived in Leicester for 14 years where I worked with Leicester City, Leicester Tigers and with UK Athletics in Loughborough; where I also established the first NHS musculoskeletal services. In 2003 I moved to Harrogate and started to work at Harrogate Hospital with the orthopaedic department while setting up further community based musculoskeletal services for the surrounding trusts. At the same time I was continuing to grow my skills, gaining a diploma in MSK ultrasound scanning and started teaching injection techniques to GPs.
I soon realised that a sports medicine specialist was the equivalent of a GP in our field, needing substantial triage skills, as an initial go to person for athletes and the active population, overlapping with the following areas of the industry; general practice, rehabilitation, rheumatology, cardiology, orthopaedics, radiology, and many more. We have to be a Jack of all trades, yet recognise when to refer on. In essence, we see anything and everything. We diagnose the problem and identify the cause, use our skills to explain, educate and treat. We use a methodical, integrated approach, making use of our strong network of specialists for optimal recovery.

When did you return to Dubai?
I was never away for very long as my parents lived here but I officially moved back to Dubai in 2006 and obtained all the necessary DHA and DHCC licenses. In fact both authorities created a new title for my skills that had not existed in the Dubai Health industry before: the sports medicine specialist. I started work in a polyclinic called Australian Family Care in Health Care City. I also got involved covering the Rugby Sevens and ATP tennis as well as some running events and gradually built up a strong client base, tending to their injuries, while promoting health and wellness.
I realised that I needed an integrated team approach to make the patient journey much easier, so finally in 2010 we found Villa on Al Wasl Road, in Jumeirah, opposite Choithrams and established the first Upandrunning clinic, starting with five employees. This was a big leap of faith.

Then how did you expand with Upandrunning?
We realised we needed Upandrunning branches to reach out to the wider population in Dubai. With my strong golf link, it made sense to look at the golf clubs to start with. We talked with Jumeirah Golf Estates and then Dubai Golf and are proudly celebrating our fifth year of offering sports rehabilitation services at Emirates Golf Club, recently expanding to a third room. Our HQ moved to a larger villa further down Al Wasl Road and more recently we opened an Upandrunning branch at DIFC for easier access to our active corporate patients.

How do you see your future in Dubai for you, Upandrunning and the industry?
As an entrepreneur with a strong vision, we worked really hard to establish ourselves in the market. I was extremely proud that this was recognised and was presented an award by the Dubai Health Authority for recognition as a distinguished leader. Being a sole investor however has been challenging. Unfortunately, we have made some poor investments, but that is always the case in growing a business. Now, 11 years later, we are stronger than ever and as such have started searching for the right partners to team up with. We would love to work more in golf and have another base at another thriving golf facility. With huge aspirations, there is so much more we can offer if we only had the space to do so. We are very positive about our industry in this part of the world, not only with a young, active growing population but more so with the ever-increasing world class sporting facilities being built and the hosting of so many international sporting events; many that we would love to get more involved with. These are exciting times ahead for Upandrunning.