Meet Michelle Zens, our “Boot Camp” PT here at Rausch. Michelle’s niche targets hardcore athletes that participate in boot camps, weight lifting, HIIT, or anything in between. She treats a vast array of issues including shoulder injuries, low back pain, knee injuries, muscle strains, ankle sprains and much more. The patients she treats are of all ages and backgrounds with the one commonality being that they want to return to their active lifestyle safely! Michelle is an expert in this niche because she loves to participate in boot camps herself, as well as HIIT and weight lifting programs. Having participated in several different programs and having been injured in a boot camp, she understands what it is like to want to get back to working out but not being able to safely. She has taken her own experience and applied what she has learned, first hand while working with her patients so that they are able to return to what they love. Michelle’s favorite body part to treat would have to be the knee. Having undergone ACL reconstructive surgery herself with several months of PT afterward, she is able to relate to her patients on a deeper level.

If you were stuck on an island what three things would you bring?

My cat, a soft blanket, and a water filter.

Before working at Rausch PT, what was the most unusual or interesting job you’ve ever had?

I catered for weddings! You wouldn’t believe how fun and interesting it is to people watch at weddings.

Three words to best describe you:

Caring, Knowledgable, and Efficient

Dr. Michelle Zens, PT, DPT

Let’s talk! We are here to help. Give us a call for a complimentary consultation. We would love to meet you.

Did you know there’s no prescription needed from a doctor to see us – but we will communicate your progress and treatment to your doctor if you’d like us too!
(949) 276-5401

Disclaimer — All the information that you find on our blogs and social media pages are for informational purposes only and are not intended to be used as your personal professional diagnosis, or treatment. Come and see us for your excellent, personalized care! https://rauschpt.net/

Last updated: April 21, 2017

On April 18, we discovered that our clinic phones, specifically the message recording system, have not been working properly. Upon receiving complaints of voicemails going unreturned, we had the phone system company look into the issue, and they informed us that periodically since January 1, voicemails have not been recording/saving due to an undetected system error. As frustrating as this is, now that we have identified the problem we are able to take the necessary steps to resolve it as quickly as possible! In the meantime:

If you are attempting to schedule, cancel or reschedule an appointment, or if you need to get in touch with us for any reason, please follow up with an email to info@rauschpt.net if you do not receive a call back within two hours.

(Please include your full name, phone number, and time you left a voicemail.)

We apologize for the inconvenience, and we sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding during this time. At Rausch Physical Therapy, patient care is our top priority. We value every person who trusts us with their care, and in our eyes, that starts from the moment you first call our office. You’re here to work hard, recover and get stronger; the last thing we want is to have you worry about something as simple as a phone call. We extend a sincere apology to anyone who has been effected by this phone messaging system error, and we appreciate everyone for their continued patience as we update our phone system over the next few weeks so we can provide you with the best patience experience possible here at Rausch PT.

You’ve worked hard to get here, so make sure you’re 100% race ready with your own #TeamRauschPT gear.

To place your order:

1. Click here to download the Rausch PT Race Gear Order Form (Please be patient as the form completely loads.) Order forms are also available at the Front Desk.
2. Email your completed form to casey@rauschpt.net or drop off with Front Desk staff.
3. You will receive a call/email response within 48 hours to confirm your order.

All orders must be placed by 12 p.m. on Wednesday, July 15, 2015.

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You probably know already that I am a sucker for inspiration graphics. Especially those that rock the boat and stimulate action. I saw a great one last week on The Instagram, “The Dream is Free, but the Hustle is Sold Separately” – Aaron Brougher.

Folks this one is right on the money… Everyone has dreams, but only a select few can put those dreams on paper and make an action plan. Put it all on the line to accomplish their dream and turn it into a reality.

So what does “hustle” look like to you? Last month we spoke about the little things that you can do to better take care of yourself in between workouts. These little things are the “Hustle”. But hustle comes in so many different forms. And its different for all of us in our unique situations, goals, and dreams. The bottom line is “hustle” looks like this: hus-tle- “obtain by forceful action or persuasion”.

So act. Make a difference. Get after it. Get on it. And move forward already. Its there waiting for you, but its not waiting patiently. Its moving, its dynamic, and its always changing. So should you.

So what’s your dream?

Ironman, Varsity, 10k, Lose weight, Build a business, Travel, Olympics, Serve in the Armed Forces, Help children, Be on TV, Pro baseball, College, Grad School… All of these are amazing dreams, but they don’t come by chance. They don’t even come by luck. In fact, they all have one thing in common, work. Thats the cool thing about it though, its just work. Albeit, hard work but we can all do it. And so can you.

Put your dream on paper, make your plan, and get to work.

On a related note, thanks for supporting my dream. Rausch PT has been years in the making and it exists to serve you, our patients. But you all are more than that. To us, you are the reason why we are here, you are the reason why we work so hard, and you’re the reason why we strive to be the best. For you. Thank you for your support. Thank you for your amazing Yelp reviews. Thank you for telling your friends and family about us. We’ve been so blessed this year to have you a part of our office. Thanks for choosing Rausch PT & Sports Performance.

Best to you and your families this Thanksgiving Season.

There are few things in life more rewarding than doing something special for others. Some people donate clothes to the Salvation Army, some help feed the homeless at a local shelter, and some do something special for a family that is struggling to make it. In 2010, Chrissy and I (Kevin) decided to make a mark based on my passion, the ocean. You see I simply love fishing, but more than that, I thoroughly enjoy watching kids catch their first fish. Especially kids who don’t have an opportunity to do so on our ocean.

The Waypoint Children’s Foundation, created in 2010, serves the youth of Orange County. It provides fishing trips, whale watching trips and educational experiences for our youth. We seek to help kids in need, youth in tough times, and to be a waypoint on their lives journey. This year we’ve provided fishing expeditions for BoyScout Troops, Adventure Guides, Military kids, Veterans, and so much more. We are a small charitable organization that exists on donations from local supporters and friends. We are a 501 c3 charity organization based out of Dana Point Harbor.

This past year we were able to take kids on 6 fishing and whale watching trips. Next year we want to take more! You can help. Your donations go directly to our operation costs to get kids on the water. But you can donate more than just money, your time, expertise, and fishing gear all help our cause. We use #4 and #6 light wire hooks, 10 pound test line, and ¼ ounce egg sinkers during every trip. And if you’ve been fishing in the past, you know how fast you go through things like weights and hooks.

Thanks for your support,

Kevin Rausch
President, Waypoint Children’s Foundation

Be sure to connect with us on Facebook to follow our trips and happenings: @WaypointKids

And to donate to the charity please visit our gofundme page for Waypoint kids.

Keeping the Challenged Athlete spirit alive. This month we are highlighting a very talented and inspiring individual, Billy Lister. He has seen life on both sides of the spectrum, spending half his life as an active athletic child and adolescent to having his world drastically changed and rediscovering his new potential and strength. Having earned a spot on the USA Paracycling team, Billy left his east coast home to make sunny southern california his new training grounds.

What kind of kid were you?

I was an athlete growing up, playing anything that would get me on a field. Sport was a lifestyle, and I was good at it.

At 15 your life took a bit of a turn….?

It was the spring during my freshman year of High School, of which I was newly entered into and was just getting to know my classmates; Springtime on Long Island, NY meant Lacrosse season.

A few weeks into the season, I started getting really bad headaches after practice. These were not garden variety headaches, and often forced me to go straight to bed once I got home. My parents took me in to see my doctor; but after multiple routine tests, nothing out of the ordinary showed up. Until my doctor decided to get an MRI scan of my sinuses, which he thought might be a major infection causing the headaches. Now, when you get a standard sinus MRI scan, it actually partially shows the lower hemisphere of your brain stem; and with nothing short of pure genuine luck on the uppermost corner of the scan is where they found the abnormality in my brain. To create a perspective of analogy, it’d be like falling into a haystack and finding a needle with Babe Ruth’s rookie baseball card attached to it.

What was the abnormality?

AVM is short for Arteriovenous Malformation, which often refers to a blood vessel in your brain that shouldn’t technically be there. It is something congenital (though not genetic), but serves no cerebral function. The danger it poses however, is very real; as at any time without warning it can rupture and can cause a brain hemorrhage. Many people can live a full and healthy life with an AVM and will never know the threat they face, while the fate of other less fortunate is marred in tragedy.

It only took a few days before I was sitting in front of the World’s leading Neurosurgeon at Beth Israel Hospital in New York City being told about my diagnosis. The most beyond imagination aspect of these chain of events was the headaches I was getting were completely unrelated to my diagnosis. It turned out I was just a stressed out High School kid.. go figure

To correct the malformation, I underwent invasive brain surgery at the age of 16. The surgery was a success in treating the AVM; however as a complication I started experiencing some swelling in my brain several months post op. The swelling led to some loss of function on my left side. I immediately underwent intensive physical rehab and was making strong gains, but then in June of 1999 at the age of 17 I suffered a stroke. My stroke was a very atypical event, where it actually was a slow and regressive process. Each day I woke up and couldn’t do something I could the day before; type on a keyboard, tie my shoes, brush my teeth, and eventually the ability to run. After about 4 weeks the episode had finally ceased leaving me in the full left side hemi paresis state I’m in today.

I’d been an athlete my whole life, playing everything I could find the time for. So when sports were slowly taken away from me, it was a tremendous burden to cope with. For many years I was coasting through life, going through the motions as a kid learning how to survive with a disability. And in that is a monumental point; I was only surviving life, I wasn’t living it.

What was the turning point that made you go from “just surviving life, to living it”?

There are certain junctures in life that shape the individual and person you become, and the path that you journey on. My stroke was obviously the first such moment, altering my future and the challenges I would face for the rest of my life. Other moments point you in a direction to where you belong in this world, and can be an awakening to what is possible. That second such instance was in August of 2011 when I attended a Paratriathlon camp for the Challenged Athletes Foundation, and got on a bike for the first time since I was 17 years old.

Since getting involved with CAF, where has life on two wheels taken you?

In the past 3 years since learning to ride a bicycle, I had competed in over 20 triathlons; reaching the podium in several of the National Paratriathlon races, and ultimately winning the points championship in the 2012 USA Paratriathlon series.

After relocating to Southern California, it didn’t take long to realize that my true athletic passion lied in the form of 2 wheels and a saddle. Only a few months after my relocation, in November 2013 I fully dedicated my training to the realm of Paracycling; and in less than 10 months managed to accumulate an abundance of highlights and growth trajectory potential.

In my very first cycling event, I entered into the US Indoor Track Paracycling National Championships at the LA Velodrome at the end of November 2013. Having only ridden a track bike twice in my life the week prior leading up, I came away with the victory in both of the events I entered. By the end of the weekend I had become a two time National Champion in the Men’s C2 Division, 3 Kilometer Individual Pursuit as well the 1 Kilometer Time Trial.

Once my target became racing on the Road, huge results quickly came into line. Based on my 1st place performance at the selection race in conjunction with US Pro Championships, I was named to the Team USA roster for the UCI Paracycling World Cup in Segovia, Spain.

Additionally given my times and ranking held throughout the US Paracycling National Championships weekend, am proud to announce I was also chosen to the World Championships team to represent Team USA on our home soil, a once in a lifetime opportunity. My ascension onto Team USA Paralympic Cycling has been explosive, but my growth potential is seen as an even greater advantage. With the ultimate goal to compete for the United States of America at the 2016 Paralympic games in Rio de Janeiro.