A Step Ahead in the Media
Explore A Step Ahead Foot + Ankle Care’s extensive media presence, where Dr Brenden Brown, Podiatrist, and the team share expert insights on foot health, footwear trends, and podiatric care. Featured across major platforms such as the Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Telegraph, ABC, and Nine MSN, these articles address topics ranging from the risks of high heels to the importance of proper footwear during pregnancy. This collection highlights our commitment to educating the public and promoting foot and ankle wellness.
There’s nothing glamorous about foot pain, but it’s an all too common problem — especially a dull, persistent ache that blossoms in the middle of your heel.
It used to be thought heel pain was caused by bruising or bone spurs, but Sydney sports podiatrist Dr Brenden Brown tells Coach the cause is more straightforward.
“Most heel pain is some form of change to the large tendon that travels in the bottom of the foot and up the back of the heel — tendons hate change,” says Brown, founder of A Step Ahead Foot + Ankle Care.
It’s that time of year again when you and the kids set out on a shopping adventure for back-to-school supplies.
But what many parents can get wrong is buying a good, protective pair of school shoes.
Podiatrist Dr Brenden Brown from A Step Ahead Foot + Ankle Care in Penrith says parents should know it is a case of you get what you pay for.
“Each type of shoe isn’t just a school-based shoe; it’s a netball, basketball, run for the bus kind of shoe – it does a heap of activity during the day,” he told the Weekender.
If parents haven’t checked already, their children’s growth spurts over the summer holidays may mean last year’s school shoes need an upgrade.
Kids can spend more than eight hours a day in their school shoes, and the right fit is imperative to reduce the risk of injury and pain in their growing bodies.
Paediatric podiatrist Rudo Makuyana said parents should check the fit of their children’s shoes every three to four months.
The top tip from podiatrist Dr Brenden Brown when testing a shoe was to check whether it bends or twists when holding it at either end.
“It shouldn’t bend in the middle but should at the toes where the foot flexes,” he told ABC Radio Sydney.
We may as well make it official. The delicate high heel is dead.
Well, if the flood of sky-high – and we’re talking 10- or 12-centimetre-high platform heels and wedges both on the catwalks and in the stores – is anything to go by, it won’t be long before we’re all clomping around on chunky slices of cork and wood.
Since Chloe and Balenciaga resurrected the ’70s trend for the catwalk a few seasons ago, we’ve been threatened with the return of the wedge and the platform. For more than a year now a few early adopters got into the look but it came nowhere near eclipsing our love for embellished strappy sandals with pencil-thin heels and pointy-toed, spike-heeled stilettos.
NAIL salon patrons are contracting fungal and bacterial infections because of poor hygiene, experts warn.
They are also exposing themselves to more serious risks, such as hepatitis C and HIV.
Australian Podiatry Association (APA) NSW vice-president Brenden Brown said there had been a boom in nail salons offering quick and inexpensive manicures. But many had poor hygiene standards, such as inadequate cleaning or sterilising of equipment.
THEY are the very height of fashion – with their 15-centimetre heels – but whether it is possible to actually walk in the latest towering shoe creation is another matter.
Celebrities such as Victoria Beckham and Christina Aguilera make wearing vertiginous designs seem effortless, so regularly are they snapped in them – not just on the red carpet, but during shopping trips or on their way to dinner.
Their torture devices of choice are designer pieces like the season’s cult shoe, the $730 Yves Saint Laurent “Tribute”.
And if the recent fashion weeks in Paris and New York are a guide, the heels, which experts warn could damage feet and legs, are in for at least another year.
The look has already trickled down from high-end boutiques to chain stores, making them an affordable and popular buy.
LONG-TERM care & people with chronic medical conditions
LONG-TERM care of the growing number of people with chronic medical conditions would be supported by a beefed-up community health and outpatient sector, under reform commission proposals that aim to offer better access to health professionals such as psychologists, dietitians and speech therapists.
Chronic diseases such as asthma and diabetes already accounted for half of Australians’ consultations with GPs, according to the commission’s report, and more than two-thirds of the nation’s total expenditure on disease treatment.
OUCH: Ultra-high heels may be all the rage this season, but they may also do permanent damage to your feet.
They’ve been described as works of art for the feet but women who wear the latest sculptural shoes will pay a heavy price, podiatrists warn.
Towering heels were a huge hit on the runways of Milan, London and New York, with trend-obsessed celebrities such as Victoria Beckham snapped toeing the fashion line.
The look does not come cheap, however, in terms of either designer price tags or the resulting medical treatment.
Australian Podiatry Association vice-president Brenden Brown said the “scary” creations would cause permanent damage to the fashionistas wearing them.
For some time now a small but devoted group of runners has touted the benefits of ditching shoes and going barefoot. Now a new study published in nature has given weight to their claims. Podiatrists say it may be a bad idea.
ELEANOR HALL: A small but devoted group of runners has been touting the benefits of ditching shoes and going barefoot.
These athletes argue that it’s better for their feet, and leaves them less prone to injury.
Now scientific research is backing up their claims.
Our reporter Timothy McDonald took off his shoes and tried it out for himself.
UK researchers have uncovered the reason why women who wear high-heeled shoes find it painful to walk in flat shoes.
Their results appear in The Journal of Experimental Biology.
Anecdotal evidence has suggested the ‘unnatural’ stance caused by high heel shoes changes the muscles and tendons around the ankle.
To test this hypothesis, Professor Marco Narici of the Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK, and colleagues, recruited a group of volunteers – 11 heel wearers and nine non-heel wearers – and examined their feet and legs.
UK researchers have uncovered the reason why women who wear high-heeled shoes find it painful to walk in flat shoes.
Their results appear in The Journal of Experimental Biology.
Anecdotal evidence has suggested the ‘unnatural’ stance caused by high heel shoes changes the muscles and tendons around the ankle.
To test this hypothesis, Professor Marco Narici of the Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK, and colleagues, recruited a group of volunteers – 11 heel wearers and nine non-heel wearers – and examined their feet and legs.
Doctors are furious about a State Government decision to let podiatrists prescribe drugs of addiction, warning that it could prove a bonanza for ”doctor shopper” drug addicts.
The Australian Medical Association Victoria says the new rights, granted last month, will lead to a bigger risk of drug misuse, theft and threats against practitioners.
It says podiatrists will be out of their depth dealing with patients with chronic health problems and warns that doctors may refuse to treat patients who have taken drugs prescribed by a podiatrist, because of legal liability risks.
VIDEO: Podiatrist Dr Brenden Brown shows you what to look for when buying a good school shoe.
It’s the Melbourne Cup tomorrow — which can mean a lot of sore heads by the end of the day — going by the amount of alcohol that’s usually consumed on and off the race track.
But there’s also a lot of sore feet too — another iconic image from Melbourne Cup day these days is that of women walking home from the races barefoot — holding their painful high heels in their hands.
One leading podiatrist has issued a warning ahead of the big day — if you are getting frocked up for the big race — think about your feet.
By the time we die, our feet will have carried us more than one hundred thousand kilometres, which amounts to walking around the world three times!
If your feet hurt, it ruins your day. Whether it’s heels, ill fitting shoes or foot ailments like bunions and plantar fasciitis, sore feet are a problem for many of us, especially as we get older.
In this discussion, we talk to a leading podiatrist about how to make your feet last a lifetime. We also hear why shoes matter and what they say about us.
Physicians’ assistants have joined pharmacists, nurse practitioners and optometrists to say they can do the straightforward, simple, and repetitive work that would take the load off GPs. Patient safety is central to the debate, as the AMA guards its turf. Reporter Brendan King.
TODAY speaks with podiatrist Brendan Brown about the best school shoes and why wearing good footwear is so important.
Love Netball? Is there a shoe that’s best for you? Want to avoid injury? What shoe is best for what position? Play pain free? Perform your best on the court? In this video we are going to chat about the Netburner Ballistic! Dr Brenden aka Dr Foot a leading sports podiatrist and netball dad discusses all this and more with ASICS foot wear developer and developer of the Netburner range for netball Mark Doherty.
Dr Brenden Brown, a Podiatrist from the Australian Podiatry Association and principal podiatrist at A Step Ahead Foot + Ankle Care, talks to Kerry Anne about the danger of high-heeled shoes and your foot health.
What should you be looking for in a school shoe that is safe for your kids and their feet.
Dr Brenden Brown, principal podiatrist at A Step Ahead Foot + Ankle Care, talks to the Today Show about the best way to select a safe school shoe for your children.
WE expect women to be martyrs to their shoes, but now it seems men are becoming fashion victims too.
Podiatrists said they are seeing a lot of men suffering similar symptoms to those shown by women who wear high heels as they squeeze into the latest trends in footwear.
President of the Australian Podiatry Council, Brenden Brown, said: “People are victims to fashion and we will do extraordinary things to our feet. I think men are becoming significantly more fashion conscious.
“A lot of men – particularly young men – [are] coming to us saying ‘I’ve got really uncomfortable feet’ and the answer is ‘yes, it’s because of your shoes’.“
Pregnant in heels is not just a guilty pleasure of trashy reality TV addicts, it’s a trend that’s causing growing concern among Australia’s podiatry community as well.
Taking cue from celebrities like Jessica Simpson who famously flaunted her six-inch heels for most of her pregnancy, (even joking that she wore her YSL stilettos all the way to the delivery room!) women wearing high heels throughout pregnancy could cause serious injury to themselves or their unborn child, experts warn.
EXPECTANT mothers are being warned not to sacrifice safety for style by strutting around in stilettos.
High heels have been ranked alongside alcohol and sugary treats, as the Australasian Podiatry Council says they pose a risk to health but are okay “in moderation”.
While there’s little point telling women to ditch the height-enhancing footwear, council president Brenden Brown says, they should heed the message to reduce their exposure.
High heels are like alcohol and sugary treats – they are OK only in moderation, the Australasian Podiatry Council says.
“We understand that women will continue to wear heels. What we are saying is for women to only wear heels for special occasions,” APC past-president Brenden Brown said.
“Don’t wear heels when you’re going shopping at the mall or walking down the street . . . the key is to wear heels in moderation.“
Mr Brown spoke out following the release of a British poll of 3000 women, which found that 89 per cent said high heels had “ruined a night out”.
HIGH heels have been ranked alongside alcohol and sugary treats, as the Australasian Podiatry Council says they pose a risk to health but are okay “in moderation”.
HIGH heels have been ranked alongside alcohol and sugary treats, as the Australasian Podiatry Council says they pose a risk to health but are okay “in moderation”.
While there’s little point telling women to ditch the height-enhancing footwear, council president Brenden Brown says, they should heed the message to reduce their exposure.
Mr Brown spoke out today following the release of a British study which confirmed high-heeled shoes were a major source of pain and injury for women.
“We understand that women will continue to wear heels. What we are saying is for women to only wear heels for special occasions.” Mr Brown said.
It’s hard to go past a title laden with such kitsch promise as this, but it turns out to be kitsch in the same way as Priscilla Queen of the Desert; which is to say, kitsch on our terms.
This engaging hurrah-for-the-little-people documentary is about an American company’s attempts to trademark the name ugg – as in boot, as in the comfortable sheepskin footwear with associations with a particular Australian demimonde starting with “b”.
For reasons unknown, but possibly thanks to Pamela Anderson teaming them with her red cossie on Baywatch, the ugg boot has become a hot fashion item in the US, particularly on the west coast.
“Stilettos may increase risk of acute, chronic problems” is available on The Indian Express website. Published on April 6, 2009, the piece discusses the health implications of wearing high-heeled footwear, featuring insights from podiatrist Brenden Brown.
In the article, Brenden Brown, spokesperson for the Australian Podiatry Association (NSW), highlights that wearing stiletto heels can lead to various acute and chronic issues, including shortening of the Achilles tendon, heel pain, bunions, calluses, fractures, and sprains. He notes that a significant number of individuals experience foot problems due to high heel usage.
Additionally, Dr. Simon Floreani, spokesperson for the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia, discusses how high heels can cause lower back problems by altering posture, leading to overextension of the lower back and associated discomfort.
The article also mentions that platform shoes, due to their lack of flexibility, can cause different types of strain on the legs and spine, potentially leading to knee injuries.
