How to choose an awesome Podiatrist

How to choose an awesome Podiatrist? He needs to be more than your Prince Charming…… (Cinderella, Prince trying on shoes…..no?)

So just how do you choose an awesome Podiatrist? The best advice is to find a practitioner to help you. As crazy as it may seem, trolling through social media Instagram pages and Facebook posts for your answers is probably not going to result in you getting better (who’d have thought).

The first step, though? Try heading back to our earlier post about making sure you have the right shoes for the job! Here is the link. You can also head to our video content here.

How to Get the right advice

Unfortunately, as Podiatry is an area in medicine that is continually improving, it is often hard for practitioners to keep up with those changes. Did you know that there is evidence that suggests that it can take up to anywhere between seven and seventeen (Yes! 17 years!) for a medical principle to become accepted. What does this mean? Once a medical idea or a new treatment become the Gold Standard, it can take as long as 17 years before some therapists begin to use it with their patients.

Commonly therapists have headed to two well-oiled treatments such as Stretching and Ice. Unfortunately, while these are well known by practitioners, they are not always helpful. And in fact, at least one of these treatments can make a condition far worse.

Asking about their experience is ok

A good therapist will develop a treatment plan. They won’t just rely on one magical therapy or cure.

It’s essential, therefore, to look for a practitioner that is well versed in the new understanding of tendon physiology. It’s also necessary to ensure that that practitioner has mountain loads of experience diagnosing and treating patients with these conditions. While from the outside, all practitioners may look the same, it stands to reason that many practitioners have different areas of expertise experience and practice.

Don’t be afraid to ask their reception team questions. What type of work do they see? How old are the average patients of the clinic? Do they see a lot of sports injuries? How often do they see this type of condition every day, every week? Every month?

For more information download our FREE report on 10 Things to Know Before Choosing a Podiatrist.

Run – Walk – PLAY with a big smile is the name of the game!

Blog, General Podiatry, Growing pains, Kids Feet

Run-Walk-PLAY Tibialis posterior pain can be often misdiagnosed

Run – Walk – PLAY with a big smile is the name of the game! That’s exactly what Kyra can do now! Thanks to a correct diagnosis of her Tibialis posterior pain.

Did you know that there is a really powerful muscle that runs down the inside of your lower leg called the Tibialis posterior! The muscle helps control your arch, and it helps roll your foot back out, Giving you an arch.

A Tibialis posterior can become really sore and tired if it becomes overused. Often the pain is in your arch or just under your inside ankle bone. People with this problem who walk a little more than usual, spend longer on their feet, perhaps play sport may find that this area becomes very sore.

This is what lead Kyra’s parents to bring her along to visit us. She had six months with pain in her feet, legs ankles. Her parents had tried several things before visiting us. A month into care with awesome orthotics and Kyra has NO more PAIN in her feet.

Her orthotics work by balancing her foot posture so that her arch is the right spot at the right time when walking + running. The Tibialis muscle then doesn’t need to do as much work!

She is LOVING HER new orthotics and comfortable in them. She happily runs walks and plays sport in them.

Pain like this is widespread and is often misdiagnosed as things like growing pains. Frequently parents are told that there is nothing they can do. We are here to tell you that’s not the case!

If you’d like help the first step is to call our helpful front desk team, they can run through what’s been going on for you and what you have tried so far. They can then work out what type of appointment is best for you and the costs. They can then look at reserving your appointment time.

Our number is 02 9673 2987 we would love to be able to help!

Is it really growing pains?

7 simple signs every parent should know!

Are you worried about pain in your child feet? Not sure whats normal and whats not? Try accessing Dr Brenden’s helpful report on the “Growing pains – 7 simple signs every parent should know!” As a recognised expert in lower limb health with over 20 years’ experience, A past advisor for Clarks Kids footwear and lecturer on growing pains. Dr Brenden outlines what every Parent should know about Growing Pains and gives you fast ways to identify the “what and when” you need to know!

Fungal Nail Laser Therapy Mistakes Therapists Make

Blog, Fungal Nails, General Podiatry, Ingrown Nails

Do you have a Fungal infection and want to know what treatments to avoid? Laser has fast become a gold standard treatment for fungal toenail infections. Over the counter medications that do not penetrate the nail have been shown to at times be highly ineffective. Dr Brenden Brown, Podiatrist, takes you through Fungal Nail Laser Therapy and the Mistakes Therapists Make.

Fungal Nail Laser Therapy Mistakes Therapists Make Transcript

The warning signs from me that your fungal nail laser treatment won’t be successful are really whether or not the therapist is actually treating all ten toes, so the fungal nail is actually infected. Those little fungal infections are actually laying eggs all over your skin and the other nail. If you only treat the nail that you can see that’s been infected, then you won’t get rid of this infection.

The moment you stop treating it, those spores or eggs are going to come back exactly to where they were.

The other thing that I see as a big mistake when people treat this is that they don’t remove as much as possible of the dead nail or the area that’s actually been attacked by the fungal infection. That’s where we actually start to remove that area or penetrate that area as much as possible so that your treatment can access there.

Finally, I think the really important thing that many people miss out on doing is that they don’t treat the entire environment. Again, those spores actually not only live in the nail, but they leave in the skin around the outside. They live in your socks, they live in your shoes, and they live in the base of your shower. If you’re not treating that whole environment, then the moment you stop treatment or you no longer have your laser therapy, then those fungal infections are just going to come straight back and starting infecting again, and you’re back to square one.

If you haven’t booked your appointment time for your gap-free heel pain assessment yet, please call our friendly reception team on (02) 9673 2987 to secure your appointment today.

Fungal Nail Infection – 5 questions to ask anyone providing Fungal nail treatment

Blog, Fungal Nails, General Podiatry, Ingrown Nails

Fungal nail infection treatment options are wide and varied; there are several different options anywhere from prescription medication to over-the-counter paints and ointments and also several laser light treatments. In particular Thermal laser has become one of the gold standards for treating patients with fungal nail infections. Dr Brenden Brown, Podiatrist in Penrith, talks about fungal nail infections and 5 questions to ask anyone providing Fungal nail treatment.

Not all lasers are the same, and in particular, we are talking about Thermal laser. This laser uses both the laser light spectrum but more importantly, the temperature increase occurring in the nail bed, which is highly effective at killing both the live fungal infection and it’s smalls or eggs.

Fungal infection and spores cannot live when exposed to temperatures above 40°C Celsius.

Fungal-Nail-Infections-5-Questions-to-Ask-Your-Therapist

Fungal Nail Infections just love feet. Proper care needs to be provided to stop reinfection

Are Fungal Nail Reinfection Rates High?

An issue that occurs with fungal nails is the highly contagious nature of the fungal infection is meaning that it is both easy to contract and, despite having a successful treatment, easy to re-contract after your therapy – leading to high levels of reinfection without proper care and advice

Fungal spores are invisible and are not seen when living in nails. Any evidence of fungal infection on a toenail is the result of a past infection. What you are seeing when looking at the yellow or brown discolouration is the area that has essentially been attacked by the fungal infection.

Are Fungal Nail Spores Invisible?

The eggs that are produced by the fungal infection are completely invisible; they will often live in the other toenails and on the skin surrounding the nails with no evidence whatsoever. Be warned that if you do not treat these, they will simply wait till the treatment is completed on the nail you are treating and because the two toes are in such close proximity to will simply transfer across to the freshly treated nail

Is Thermal Laser advanced treatment the Answer for Fungal Nail Infections?

As a foot doctor or podiatrist with more than 24 years experience, this is one of the most frustrating conditions to deal with. Fungal Nail infections are notoriously difficult to beat.

In 2014 I travelled to the United States to investigate the emerging thermal laser treatment protocols. After this trip, I returned to Australia and introduced the thermal laser technology we now use in our clinics and now numerous others across Australia

As I am highly involved in this area, these are the questions I would ask before undertaking treatment with any clinic!

Here are 5 questions to ask any clinic before undergoing treatment for fungal nail infections.

1) Why is the clinic only treating one nail?

As I have explained fungal infection is are incredibly contagious and also riotously difficult to eradicate. The spores regularly live on at least 3 to 4 nails on each foot, despite the fact that these cannot be seen, it is estimated that there is a 97% chance that the other nails have live spores infecting them!

Treating one nail only that being the nail that has obvious signs of the past infection is most would suggest a guaranteed way of not successfully treating this condition

2) How does a patient treat the unseen fungal nail infection?

All clinics should address with the patients they see a number of after-care steps this includes eradicating the unseen spores that are living in numerous other areas, these include on your skin, in your shoes, in your socks, in your shower and living areas. Ask the clinic treating you how they suggest you Address these areas.

3) What system does the clinic have to keep the Fungal Nail Infection at bay?

It’s fine to treat the infection while you are there but what after-care is the clinic suggesting do they have a thorough after-care protocol for patients to undertake. This is a highly contagious infection and to think that it only resides on the nails is either misinformed or naive.

4) What treatment do they advise for current footwear?

It is almost 100% positive that patients with fungal nail infections will have spores living inside the shoes, that they have been wearing while they have a fungal nail infection. If a clinic does not suggest patients should treat footwear that the client has been wearing, I will put forward they do not entirely understand how to manage this incredibly contagious condition. Find another clinic!

5) Are all Fungal Nail treatments the same?

Since later therapy for fungal nails was introduced to Australia, there have been a number of clinics add this technology as a way of increasing clinical turnover.

Unfortunately, they do not completely understand the condition or understand how to reduce the very high reinfection rate.

There is no way to prevent reinfection completely; however, without a significant Plan put in place it is almost a certainty that after treatment, it will quickly return. For this reason, it is important to ensure the clinic that is treating you has a thorough understanding of how to reduce this reinfection rate and to assist patients in beating this nasty condition.

How can we help?

We have treated thousands of patients with fungal nail infections literally. As one of the first clinics to introduce thermal laser technology, we are pioneers in the field and with this extensive experience have developed treatment protocols to overcome many of the problems surrounding the reinfection of nails. Yes, we think we are pretty good at beating this!

Our Doctors all fully qualified Podiatrists have extensive hands-on experience treating fungal nail infection.

Where to from here?

If you are serious about beating fungal nail infection and then the quickest and most effective way is to call our clinic on 9673 2987 we are based in western Sydney, with patients travelling from all over New South Wales to have this treatment due to our team’s profession leading experience.

Our helpful front desk team have spoken to thousands of people with fungal nail infection and will help guide you through the suggested process and guide you to the best laser package for beating this.

Why you’re not getting better and what you can do about it

Blog, Fungal Nails, General Podiatry, Growing pains, Heel Pain, Ingrown Nails, Kids Feet, Shockwave

Why You’re Not Getting Better and what you can do about it

Have you ever wondered why you’re not getting better after seeing a therapist, and what you can do about it? Dr Brenden Brown, the Leading Podiatrist at A Step Ahead Foot and Ankle Care, Penrith, explains that it could be you, not the therapist.

It’s Father’s Day. I love my dad, and I’m sitting in the entertainment area of my childhood home after cooking my dad his Father’s Day breakfast. My brothers are here with their children as well, and we are discussing my parents impending trip to Europe, but more concerning in the discussion is the Back Pain that has my Mum currently in a wheelchair.

Mum has been to see a therapist. She’s been given exercises and a treatment plan that she needs to undertake. My dad says, “Oh well. I think from here it’s all up to Peter.” I look at him, and I ask, “Who is Peter.” My dad replies, “Your Mum’s therapist. It’s up to him whether or not your Mum will get to Europe. Let’s hope he can get her better in time.” Pardon?

My head twirled, my eyes roll, and I’m quite sure I probably became the colour of an orange. I reply with all the love I can muster, “This has very little to do with Peter and a whole stack to do with Mum.”

That’s right; It’s not Peter’s responsibility to get my Mum better! Peter has developed a treatment plan, and the biggest participant in that plan is Mum. Peter can show her what to do, tell her when to do it, but in the end, who is the person that is responsible – MUM!

I have no idea who Peter is as I’ve never met the guy. Still, I know from experience that this is a common expectation of patients that somehow it is the practitioners’ responsibility to get patients better. I’ve got to tell you that while Peter and I have our patients’ best interest in mind and as therapists work hard to help out our patients reach their goals. I think there is very little further from the truth than it’s “up to us” to get patients better. Dad… Mum… listening?

If I were to make a list of the most common reason that I see for people not getting better, at least half would be the laid at the feet of the patient themselves. Yes, I know this is a bitter pill to swallow if you are a patient and reading this blog is not going to make me at all popular, but them’s the breaks, so to speak.

So what is the on “The list”:

Not following your treatment plan – broadly speaking
Not completing your exercise program as instructed
Not Completing exercises as often as required
Not wearing the footwear your practitioner suggests
Picking and choosing the best bits of your treatment plan
Holding your practitioner responsible for your success

Now, of course, other reasons can contribute to your lack of recovery and yes, at times they relate to therapy or perhaps the diagnosis. Yes, practitioners get it wrong but so do patients! As humans, we seem pretty programmed to point the finger at others than recognize that we may be a contributor to our problems.

If you find following your therapist’s instructions difficult, let them know, SPEAK UP! Sometimes 13 different stretches in a day is too much. But equally, if they tell you that you need to do this to get better, you’ve two choices – 1. Get to it or 2. Get a second opinion. But that’s it! Choosing not to follow the plan and then blame a therapist for your lack of progress is like not taking your medication the doctor prescribes and returning to them complaining that you’re not getting any better.

Why you’re not getting better – Its not ME its YOU

To the therapist who is reading this: Stop being walked over! If your patient isn’t following their plan and you know it or they are negotiating not completing vital parts of the program, fricken speak up! Tell them straight! You are in no way helping either of you by following that course. The patient doesn’t improve, you look stupid and incapable, and that is a lose-lose for you all! That patient will see someone else and will bad mouth you to their friends, loved ones and the next therapist they see! I know because they see me!

Why You’re Not Getting Better – Its not me its you

Well, after my head stopped twirling like the cast of the Exorcist, I had to make sure my Mum had a clear understanding that Europe was not only physically thousands of kilometres away, but the same distance metaphorically. Unless she stuck to HER part of HER treatment plan, she was not going anywhere.

The result? My Mum is, as I write, jumping on and off buses in Europe enjoying her holiday!

Orthotic Fitting – making it easier and safer!

Blog, General Podiatry

Orthotic Fitting – Preparing the Orthotic Molds

Most likely you have noticed like we have, the large number of people out walking or exercising during this period. Making your orthotic fitting more important than ever.

To help increase your Safety and Decrease risk when picking up your orthotics, we have implemented the following steps Allowing you to have your orthotics fitted safely.

Place the shoes you intend to wear the orthotics in a plastic bag
NOTE: It is IMPORTANT to ensure the liner/insole originally in the shoe is also included – without this, we can not guarantee a perfect fit
Drop your shoes and insole to our clinic.
Our team are happy for you to drive into our driveway and meet you at your car door. NO, you don’t even need to get out of your car!
Leave your shoes and insoles with us.

You can either wait in the car, and our team will fit them to your shoes while you wait. OR drop them in, and we will call you through the day to let you know when the fitted orthotics are ready.

Online Orthotic fitting instructions:

We will then book a time for a quick online fitting appointment where one of our Podiatrists will run through the instructions with you.

Our admin team will arrange another online check-up in a month.

If you’re ready to get back to happy healthy and active, our team would love to help please call us on 96732987

Orthotic Fitting – Making Orthotics

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How to choose an awesome Podiatrist

and what you need to know

How to Get the right advice

Asking about their experience is ok

Free Report “10 things to know before choosing a Podiatrist”

Shameless Plug or where to get real help!

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Run - Walk - PLAY

with a big smile is the name of the game!

Is it really growing pains?

7 simple signs every parent should know!

Shameless Plug or where to get real help!

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Fungal Nail Laser Therapy Mistakes Therapists Make

Fungal Nail Laser Therapy Mistakes Therapists Make Transcript

Fungal Nail calculator

ABOUT DR BRENDEN BROWN

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Fungal Nail Infections

5 questions to ask anyone providing Fungal nail treatment

Are Fungal Nail Reinfection Rates High?

Are Fungal Nail Spores Invisible?

Is Thermal Laser advanced treatment the Answer for Fungal Nail Infections?

Here are 5 questions to ask any clinic before undergoing treatment for fungal nail infections.

1) Why is the clinic only treating one nail?

2) How does a patient treat the unseen fungal nail infection?

3) What system does the clinic have to keep the Fungal Nail Infection at bay?

4) What treatment do they advise for current footwear?

5) Are all Fungal Nail treatments the same?

How can we help?

Where to from here?

Fungal Nail calculator

ABOUT DR BRENDEN BROWN

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Why you’re not getting better

and what you can do about it - Its you not me

ABOUT DR BRENDEN BROWN

Free Report “10 things to know before choosing a Podiatrist”

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More from Our Blog

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Orthotic Fitting

making it easier and safer!

Online Orthotic fitting instructions:

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Shameless Plug or where to get real help!

More from Our Blog

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Conditions

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