Blog, Uncategorized
Our principal Podiatrist Brenden Brown has been practising for over 15 years and has a wealth of experience. Brenden has a passion for Podiatry while other people do it for a job BB does it because he gets a kick out if it. He will tell all that ask “I love it, I help people all day, I chat I make people feel better, what’s not to love”
This maybe why Brenden is considered one of Australia’s most experienced Podiatrist and possibly Australia’s best known. If you have ever seen an episode of TV which features a Podiatrist as a medical expert chances are it was Brenden. Brenden is a regular on Channel 9 and 7 and has appeared on all Australian network TV stations. You will also find him in the pages of magazines like Men’s Health, Women’s health, New Idea, Prevention magazine and Good Medicine ….he has also appeared in Girlfriend magazine!
Brenden Brown Podiatrist
This week BB was featured on ABC 702 radio in an interview with Linda Mottram. The interview went longer than expected with stacks of people calling in and covers topics from heel pain to bunions. If you are looking for a serious and in depth interview than you’d be best not to listen to one of BB’s interviews. Interviews with BB tend to be interlaced with humour and light heartedness, all the while he seems to have an ability to create complex medical problems and make them accessible and understood by just about anyone.
The link is below, we hope you enjoy.
http://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2014/04/04/3978445.htm?site=sydney
Blog, Uncategorized
Sydney’s Macquarie Street is difficult to get to, has no parking and is full of toffs! Guess what ? Western Sydney is taking its place for quality health care!
For years we have all heard of people heading into Sydney’s Macquarie Street for a specialist appointment. It was reported to be where all the good specialists practised and somehow by word of mouth and myth became the centre of Sydney’s health specialist community. But is it true?
While Macquarie Street has that reputation it also has NO parking and very poor public transport as well! Specialists aren’t chosen to practice in Macquarie Street they simply pay more rent and guess what that means – YOU PAY HIGHER FEES!
We have noted a change in peoples thinking of late, as we have become more popular and sought after by the Sydney community. Despite the fact that the Podiatrist at A Step Ahead are regulars experts on TV shows like the Today Show and have appeared as experts in Men’s Health Magazine, New Idea, Prevention magazine and Women’s Health to name but a few we practice quite happily in Penrith in Sydney’s western Suburbs!
Patients are now wising up to the hectic and unfriendly Sydney central with one of our patients recently telling us “I am tired of travelling to Sydney for specialist when we have great health practitioners here in Western Sydney”
With wide streets, hassle free motoring and easy parking, on most occasions right out the front of the door of your doctors rooms why battle the city? 
Public transport to Western Sydney is regular and reliable, so you have to ask yourself why others haven’t cottoned onto this? Well our experience says that they are!
In the past month A Step Ahead has seen patients themselves coming from Sydney’s Eastern suburbs making appointments to see us. We have also had patients travelling from Lithgow and Sutherland and from as far away as Tasmania within just the last week of the date of writing this. We must be doing something right?
So if you haven’t, is it time you made a change?
Blog, Uncategorized
Ingrown toe nails
Lisa had pain from an ingrown toenail for several months she felt she had tried everything including trying to remove the ingrown nail herself. A friend of hers told her just to cut a V into her toenail – which sadly didn’t work. She tried a shopping centre nail salon but they turned her away saying they could not help her. She also visited her GP who was some help and prescribed some antibiotics as by this time the nail had become a little pustulent. However while this cleared up the infection that had occurred it did not take away the pain for more than a day or so and she found that her problem returned a little while after her antibiotics ran out.
This ingrown toe nail requires treatment by a podiatrist
When Lisa visited our A Step Ahead foot and Ankle clinic her toe was red around the area where the nail meets the skin on the side of the toe. It became obvious that what had happened was that Lisa’s toe nail was quite ingrown and that the answer was to remove the offending piece of nail. By this time Lisa was quite upset and was worried about how painful it was going to be to remove the nail.
Treatment
We offered Lisa the option of having a local anaesthetic injection but we assured her that our experience podiatrist see infected ingrowing nails several times daily. With this experience our practitioner are very good at removing these with little if any pain. In this instance Lisa opted to try without the anaesthetic injection. Within a couple of minutes the ingrown nail was removed from the infected area with little if any pain, yes as many people are Lisa was surprised at how painless and easy it was – this left Lisa wondering why she had waited so long?
We asked Lisa to keep a small bandage on the toe for another four days. Simply to keep the area dry and free of nasty bugs and bits getting into the area, as it was already red and inflamed when she arrived. A check up in two weeks found Lisa to be pain free! She reported it took about 24 hours to calm down and has been completely pain free since and she can now go back to wearing her high heels ……….. hmmmmm
Blog, Uncategorized
Heel pain treatment cuts down recovery time
Shock wave therapy is a relatively new treatment option used for musculoskeletal conditions. This treatment was initially seen in hospitals for “breaking down” kidney stones that were too large to pass. A Step Ahead Foot and Ankle care has found it particularly helpful for HEEL PAIN.
Now the technology has been modified so that the high pressured acoustic shockwaves travel through the skin to stimulate blood flow to the injured area which speeds up our own healing processes within our body for tissue repair.
A Step Ahead Foot and Ankle care were one of the first clinics in Sydney to try this effective new technology and have found it to be highly successful.
What conditions is it suitable for?
Shock wave is commonly used for musculoskeletal conditions, some examples include:
- Heel pain / plantar fasciitis.
- Achilles tendonitis / tendonosis
- Patella tendonopathy.
- Shin pain / Shin splints.
The Podiatrist at A Step Ahead Foot and Ankle care will be able to tell you if your problem is suitable for this treatment.
What does it feel like?
Pressure is pushed on the injured area with the probe. The shockwave treatment will feel a little uncomfortable like short bursts of throbbing sensations through the probe. Almost 100% of our patients while first a little hesitant have found this to be much better than first thought.
How can A Step Ahead Help you?
A Step Ahead Foot + Ankle care have had many years of experience using this technology and have become a leader in this field. With years of experience with this technology combined with almost 20 years of clinical practice experience you are in good hands
Resolution of pain is most often achieved through a combination of treatments this may include:
- Assessment of foot and leg mechanics
- Activity modification
- Footwear advice
- Orthotic therapy
- Stretching exercises
- Taping
Please call our helpful reception staff to make an appointment and be sure to mention your interest in the exciting new technology. 9673 2987 or 43322007
Blog, Uncategorized
Heel Pain
Heel pain relief for chronic Heel pain patients are available at our heel pain clinic
A Step Ahead Foot + Ankle care has been helping people to recover from heel pain for over a decade now and we thoroughly enjoy it! Being able to help people get back to active lives achieving the things they hope to do is what we both do and love!
Heel pain can be debilitating and hinders people to do daily activities including anything from regular shopping outings to exercise.
Most people suffer from a slightly varying combination of Symptoms including:
- Pain on placing the heel on the ground after sleeping or raising from a chair.
- Pain may relieve slightly, only to increase again later through the day
- Pain is located towards the back of the heel in many cases, however may progress towards the front of the base of the foot.
On many occasions people are told by their well-meaning health practitioner they cannot treat this, or that it will get better by itself or to try stretching or soft padding in shoes. Frustrated most people have nowhere else to go and put up with this debilitating pain.
With over a decade of experience and a passion for making people feel better A Step Ahead have developed a highly successful regimen of treatment which is delivering excellent results for patients.
Using a combination of therapies including specific stretching techniques, Specialised soft tissue therapy, custom designed and 3D cad cam designed insoles and our new Shock wave therapy. A Step Ahead is delivering relief of long standing heel pain treated unsuccessful by other practitioners.
Blog, Uncategorized
Did you catch our Podiatrist Dr Brenden Brown on the Today show? Brenden is an expert when it comes to Kids feet and the Today show called on him to review the best School Shoes for 2014.
Podiatrist Dr Brenden Brown reviews the best school shoes for 2014
Watch the clip below and see what Brenden says will help keep your kids healthy happy and active.
Due to the magic of TV (meaning its pretty quick and you don’t get all the time you’d like on TV) Brenden doesn’t get to mention all of his TOP 4 see our other blog post HERE
where Brenden reviews all his favourite school shoes for your kids.
http://video.au.msn.com/watch/video/best-back-to-school-shoes/xtqh7cf
Dr Brenden’s White paper report on the “6 Reasons You Won’t Beat Heal Pain” outlines what’s stopping you from beating this and tips on how to stop it in its tracks!