Dr. Blair Callaghan PT DPT OCS (2026)

17/10/2020

Runners! ⁣
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How often do people ask you if you’re worried about getting knee arthritis because you run so much? ⁣
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I get asked all the time. And I quote a study from 2017 done by Eduard Alentorn-Geli et al. and published in the Journal of Orthopedic Sports Physical Therapy. ⁣
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This study is a systematic review and meta-analysis of 25 different studies with a whopping 125,810 participants. This essentially means that this study looked at and summarized the results of other studies so that they had a larger data pool than they could have likely gotten in one study alone. ⁣
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This study found that professional/elite runners had a prevalence rate of 13.3% of hip or knee arthritis. Recreational runners had a prevalence rate of 3.5% and the sedentary control group had a prevalence rate of 10.2% of hip or knee arthritis. ⁣
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Most of us fall into the recreational runner category. So, we are actually LESS likely to develop hip or knee arthritis than the control! ⁣
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This study goes to show that movement is actually good for us! Who would have guessed it 😉

16/10/2020

In 2017, the latest year for which incidence data are available, in the United States, 250,520 new cases of Breast Cancer were reported among women, and 42,000 died of this cancer. For every 100,000 women, 125 new Breast Cancer cases were reported and 20 died. (CDC) ⁣
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Most breast cancers are found in women over the age of 50 but that does not mean younger women are not at risk. ⁣
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40% of breast cancers are found through self-exam. But keep in mind that cancers can exist is breast tissue for up 2-5 years before it can be felt by self exam. Regular breast exams can reduce your risk of death by 25%. The gold standard diagnostic tool is mammogram and ultrasound. ⁣
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Know your family risk. Does breast/uterine/cervical cancer run in your family? Do you or a relative have the BRCA gene? ⁣
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Discuss your risk factors with your physician and create a plan for examinations. And if you are concerned or worried about your breast health contact your physician immediately. ⁣
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All breast health advice given as a general health professional and not as a breast health expert. All advice is intended to be general and not specific or individualized care. ⁣
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Highlight on breast health and awareness in honor of the lovely who was “young and healthy” until she wasn’t.

Check your b***s and vote this October! ⁣

12/10/2020

I know I promised wrist exercises, but while filming them for you I was maimed by my cat. So, I’ll leave you this blooper reel for your Monday AM enjoyment.

12/10/2020

Pronation vs. Over-pronation⁣
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If you’ve ever done any internet research on running, running shoes or orthotics you’ve come across mentions of “pronation”. The most common phrase I hear is:⁣
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“I need a lot of arch support because I pronate”.⁣
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Cue PT eye roll. ⁣
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Let’s unpack this and make sure you’re seeking the right things from your running shoes. ⁣
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1. Everyone pronates. It’s how your foot receives and stores kinetic energy and cushions our steps. Pronation is the movement of the foot where your arch flattens and your medial malleolus (middle ankle bone) gets closer to the ground. ⁣
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2. Pronation is normal, desirable and useful. Without it we wouldn’t be able to jump or propel ourselves forward as we run. ⁣
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3. “Over-pronation” is relative. Sometimes people truly have a foot shape that promotes extreme pronation BUT in general we can strength and mobilize our way out of “over-pronation”. ⁣
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4. The answer lies in the hips. If your glutes are weak and cannot control your leg upon impact with the ground, you knee will collapse inward dragging your ankle and foot with it into a motion that looks like “over-pronation”. ⁣
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5. You can change this over time! Strengthen your hips and you will be able to ditch most orthotics and avoid big clunky, heavy, think-boi running shoes. ⁣
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Ask me what strengthen/mobility program is right for you. ⁣
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For individualized coaching or consultation please reach out via the Contact Me section of my website⁣
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*As always, these posts are NOT substitutes for individualized medical advice. Please reach out directly to a medical professional directly about any concerns*

06/10/2020

Wrist Pain in Push Ups/Planks! ⁣
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Can be super frustrating and limit you from important strengthening movements; so let’s fix your bod. ⁣
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Your wrist pain could come from decreased joint mobility, decreased forearm muscle flexibility, decreased wrist strength or acute injury. So we have to figure out which of these is to blame (could be multiple!). ⁣
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Move your wrist forward and backwards to form a 90 degree angle. Can you get there in both directions? If you can’t, joint mobility or flexibility may be your issue. ⁣
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Try wrist flexor and extensor stretches several times per day for a few days and then re-test your tolerance to weight bearing. ⁣
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If stretches don’t seem to help we may need to create some compensations for you to slowly habituate to bearing weight on your wrists. I like weight bearing through a fist or holding onto a dumbbell or yoga block. Another option is to scoot your hands slightly forward from your shoulders (easier to do in planks) to increase your wrist extension angle. ⁣
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If you’ve recently started to increase your upper extremity weight bearing exercise or bench press, you may have some irritated tissue causing pain in your wrists. I recommend stretching, light wrist strengthening and a decrease in weight bearing exercise for a small amount of time to allow your body to catch up to new demands upon it. ⁣
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Exercise videos to come! ⁣
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For individualized coaching or consultation please reach out via the Contact Me section of my website⁣
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*As always, these posts are NOT substitutes for individualized medical advice. Please reach out directly to a medical professional directly about any concerns*

03/10/2020

What Shoes Should You Get? ⁣
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Wow. That’s a loaded question and depends on who you talk to. I’ll lay it out there right now, I have pro deals with both Brooks and Salomon so that’s what I tend to run in. But i can offer advice on other brands as needed.⁣
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One of my favorite tools to direct people to is the Shoe Finder quiz. It takes about 5 minutes to run through a few tests to make a good, educated guess as to the shoe that will benefit you the most. ⁣
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Generally, we each exist in one of three camps; maximalist, neutral, minimalist. I direct people towards a neutral shoe most often because it’s a great place to start. This shoe tends to have a moderate drop (6-8mm), moderate foam thickness and moderate medial arch support. In Brooks, I push people towards the Ghost and the Adrenaline because they are tried and true. They are in their 13th and 20th versions, respectively. ⁣
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If you aren’t a fan of of Brooks, take down the measurements (namely the drop and weight) of your recommended shoe and match it to a shoe from elsewhere. The Shoe Finder advice may not translate perfectly to another shoe company but it may give you an appropriate starting point. ⁣
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When you start running in your new pair. Take mental notes of how they feel through your runs and from run to run. You should not have to spend too many runs breaking in your shoe. If you are getting hot spots and blisters, try re-lacing your shoes, but if that doesn’t work, return to your shoe store and ask to be directed to a different (possibly wider) shoe. I used to struggle through the “break in period” on my shoes for weeks before I learned this. ⁣
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In my next post we’ll talk about the dreaded “pronators” 👻! Stay tuned.

03/10/2020

Running shoes! ⁣
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This is complex topic and one that i get asked about A LOT. This week we’re going to chat about a few topics within the topic of running shoes. ⁣
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1. Which shoes should I get? ⁣
2. The difference between trail running shoes and road running shoes.⁣
3. Minimalist vs maximalist running shoe trends ⁣
4. Orthotics ⁣

14/09/2020

Running With Smoke. ⁣
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If you live on the west coast or, honestly, anywhere to the left of the Rockies, you’ve been dealing with smoke, fires and sketchy air quality. ⁣
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Should you run? It depends. Generally, an AQI (air quality index) of 200+ means NOPE! If you are more sensitive, avoiding outdoor exercise at above 100 is not advised. ⁣
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If you really want to get out and it’s above 100, stick with an easy, short run. This is not the time for a track work out or a tempo day. ⁣
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Work on strength, yoga or cycling indoors. ⁣
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Breathing in air with enough particulate matter to achieve an AQI over 100 can cause decreased lung function and lung inflammation. ⁣
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*As always, these posts are NOT substitutes for individualized medical advice. Please reach out directly to a medical professional directly about any personal concerns*

30/08/2020

Pretty stoked to finally run in 60-70 degree weather instead of 80-90-100’s of the past month. Really looking forward to fall here in San Diego. ⁣
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What’s your favorite weather to run in? Right now I wouldn’t be upset with a light PNW drizzle and 60 degrees 😍

29/08/2020

Piriformis Syndrome. Patellafemoral Pain Syndrome. Disc Degeneration. Subacromial Impingement. Low back pain.⁣
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These are the diagnoses that patients come to me (and all PTs) with. Either they have self diagnosed (thanks WebMD) or received this diagnosis from their MD. ⁣
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The diagnosis itself is not as helpful as diagnosing the movement impairment or impairments that’s caused these symptoms in the first place. ⁣
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Do not cling to your diagnosis and also, do not get frustrated if you don’t get one from me or any other provider. ⁣
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Generally, a diagnosis such as the ones listed above cause patients to hyper focus on one muscle or one joint as the root of their problem. If they can just stretch and foam roll their piriformis enough, their pain will go away. If they can just dry needle and stretch their quad enough their knee pain will go away. ⁣
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These type of “injuries” tend to be symptoms of poor mechanics, muscle imbalance, old shoes, or new weight lifting routines (just to name a few). But! They can also be the fault of multiple variables. ⁣
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Diagnoses give us a false sense of control and ease of treatment. What fixed your training partner may not fix you. ⁣
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Our bodies are complicated and fascinating. Be ok with that.

For individualized coaching or consultation please reach out via the Contact Me section of my website⁣
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*As always, these posts are NOT substitutes for individualized medical advice. Please reach out directly to a medical professional directly about any concerns*

Dr. Blair Callaghan PT DPT OCS

17/10/2020

16/10/2020

12/10/2020

12/10/2020

06/10/2020

03/10/2020

03/10/2020

14/09/2020

30/08/2020

29/08/2020

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