Understanding and Addressing IT Band Pain

By: Benjamin Blakely, PT, DPT, CSCS Whether you enjoy biking, camping, hiking, or trail running, summer is the best time of year to live in Big Sky country and enjoy the outdoors. Here at Sapphire Physical Therapy, we work with a lot of patients…

Carbon fiber plated running shoes: are they right for you and your feet?

By: John Fiore, PT, Sapphire Physical Therapy As runners, we are constantly on the lookout for the next great shoe, hoping to find the Holy Grail of running shoes. I am guilty of owning an embarrassingly large number of running shoes. While…

Are calf raises the new anti-aging antidote?

By: Bailey Lodato, PT, DPT Manual muscle testing has been a standard clinical measure used to assess muscle forces since the early 1900s by Lovett and Wright (1, 2). Originally developed in response to polio’s impact on muscular strength…

Understanding Knee Osteoarthritis

By: Erin Williams, PT, DPT Knee Osteoarthritis: To run or not to run? We gravitate toward running because of many wonderful benefits. To name a few, running maintains heart, lung, muscle, tendon, and bone density health - and that’s just…
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2022 Sentinel Hill Climb Recap

As businesses wrapped up their work days, the people of Missoula migrated to the M Trail for the annual Sentinel Hill Climb. The race is unique, featuring a 6pm start on a Thursday evening. Not to mention, the race covers 1900’ of climbing…
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2022 Sentinel Hill Climb Elite Preview

Every year, the Sentinel Hill Climb brings out some of the fastest runners in western Montana to test their mettle against Missoula’s famous mountain. To reduce congestion on the M Trail (and make for an exciting race), an “elite heat”…