Our Mission
My mission is to help as many people as I can to improve and understand how their bodies operate and move in order for them to maximize their abilities while learning to live pain free.
My mission is to educate people on how physical therapy should and can be your first line of defense for musculoskeletal issues and how imperative it is to have a physical therapist on your team of recovery and/or training. Through empowerment and education, the clients that seek RW Physical Therapy will gain insight, knowledge, and the ability to heal themselves.
Our Vision
The vision of RW Physical Therapy is to be able to continue to offer home visits, telehealth and office visits in and beyond the Tampa Bay and New York area. In 3-5 years, the vision is to create a space that offers a holistic approach to health and wellness putting clients at the center.
In order to do that, RW Physical Therapy will look to add other practitioners to be able to provide an all encompassing approach to health and wellness which may include massage therapy, health coaching, nutrition coaching and meal plans, and fitness classes for all ages, all levels of fitness, and all levels of athletes from beginner to elite.
Our Values
Compassion & Enthusiasm
We will always provide enthusiasm and energetic interest in getting you back to your best self while we ensure to bring you the most up-to-date techniques.
Growth Learning Integrity Passion Honesty
Meet Dr.Rachel Waugh
Dr. Rachel is a 2013 graduate of Nazareth College where she graduated with her Doctorate degree in Physical Therapy. Dr. Rachel is from Rochester, NY and moved to Tampa, FL in 2020.
Dr. Rachel has been practicing physical therapy for almost 10 years in a multitude of settings from hospitals, skilled nursing, acute care, home health, and outpatient physical therapy. In those years, she has worked with ages from 3 months old to 103 years old, became Pelvic Floor Level 1 certified, returned to her Alma Mater to educate and teach physical therapy courses, and has two published research reports.
In her free time, Dr. Rachel enjoys being with her wife, Sarah, and their dog, Mia, whether it’s at home or outdoors! Dr. Rachel enjoys traveling, collecting old vinyl records, craft beer (in which she sometimes brews her own batch!), watching sports (Go Lightning!) and being surrounded by good friends and family.
Why RW physical therapy and performance?
In the 10 years of practicing physical therapy, there has been ongoing changes to insurance companies which has directly resulted in how physical therapy has been performed. There has been a shift towards less reimbursement, more demands from therapists for productivity which has directly challenged the ability to perform 1-1 care and provide quality holistic approaches to care. With all of these yearly shifts and changes, it has led to treating multiple clients per hour and a high rate of burnout from the therapist side.
That is when Dr. Rachel decided to start her own cash based business where the patients are truly the sole focus. With removing insurance, it opens up the stage to be able to treat with the most up to date research, the newest modality or use the newest technology, all while being treated 1-1! It allows for increased time spent with the client to be able to get to the root cause of your aches/pains. As an expert in human anatomy, the body, and how it moves, it’s imperative to find the exact cause of your pain. Sometimes your knee pain may be from your hip or your ankle not your actual knee which is only found through a thorough evaluations
At RW Physical Therapy, there is no insurance dictating the sessions, what approaches or treatments you can or cannot receive.
Dr. Rachel goal is to be able to provide a space that focuses on the whole person to improve mobility, to reduce aches and pain and restore functional movements. Through ongoing education and learning, compassion, and integrity you will find that you will get better faster, with less visits, and will leave having the tools to be successful outside of appointments.