Blog
“I didn’t think it was a big problem, I mean she trips over but I thought she was just a bit uncoordinated. Her Dad wanted me to get her checked out so here I am!”
In toeing , kids tripping, being a little uncoordinated and making kids smile!
Wow, this is an all too common sentence we hear from mums and dads!
After a thorough bio-mechanical examination “walk, run, posture assessment”, and some experimentation with the clinic whoopee cushions, we popped young Jessy on our state of the art dart fish gait (Run / walk) analysis system and there it was.
“Wow I didn’t realise her foot turned in THAT much!” said mum.
As In-toeing and Metatarsus Adductus is something we see and treat daily (I saw it 3 times just yesterday!), we had to hide the smiles on our faces. We knew we could get Jess to comfortably run and play sport again without tripping! about 40 mins later, armed with some detailed footwear advice, and a copy of her 3D laser scan for her Orthotics/Insoles in her hands, mum and Jess left the clinic with some answers.
See you in 2 weeks for your Orthotic Fit Jess!
Brenden Brown (BB)
A Step Ahead Foot and Ankle Care,
Founders of My Kids Foot Doctor!
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
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
Blog, Uncategorized
So are you confused and looking for what to look for in your child’s school shoe this year?
Our guide will give you some quick and easy tips to looking at getting the right shoe for your child’s foot. Quick and easy to read down load a copy print it of and take it with you as a guide!
Download your guide here >School Shoes for Children
Blog, Uncategorized
Dr Brenden’s top school shoe picks for 2014.
Back to school has hit us again, it’s time for kids to head back into the class rooms and not only hit the books but also hit the school yard in their new school shoes!
Kids spend over 30 hours a week in their school shoes and while most of us think of them simply as a school shoe they also, at school, may become a netball shoe, a handball shoe, a soccer boot, a cricket shoe or even a get chased by a bully shoe!! Needless to say it’s essential that these shoes are tough and sturdy to undertake all this work.
As a parent of two kids myself I understand while we all like to make sure we get the best for our kids we also have to think about the money that its cost to send our kids to school and it all adds up. Many parents hope to get a full year out of a pair of shoes for their child so that’s approximately 40+ weeks of school for most kids. Considering a 40 week year for most shoes we have split up the cost to consider how much that school shoe is costing us each week for our kids. So you can get shoes from as little as 75 cents a week up to worth 3.20 a week more expensive but I believe still a reasonable price to pay for keeping your kids healthy and active!
I have reviewed what I think are some of the school shoe picks of 2014. Some are more expensive and others I have looked at with those on a budget in mind. In essence you get what you pay for but we were pleasantly surprised with one or two of the cheaper models.
I have reviews both traditional school shoes and my favourite runner or sneaker style shoe in all black leather so people get an option as I know a lot of kids love these as well.
I have listed these from my favourite down however the bottom shoes are by no means terrible and in fact are in many respects good shoes.
BEST NEWCOMER!
Start-Rite York
- · School-style shoe
- · Unisex
- · Firm heel counter
- · Bends at the toe
- · Doesn’t twist
- · Doesn’t flex at the middle
- · All leather
- · Black lace-up
· Priced at $129.00 about $3.20 a week
Brenden Says: This is a relative new comer to my list I have not reviewed this shoe before and I have been really impressed with its appearance on the market! All the qualities I look for in a shoe and to me looks like a tough all-round school shoe!
BEST OF THE BEST – Brenden’s top 4!
ASCENT – SCHOLAR and APEX 
- · Firm heel counter
- · Runner style sole
- · All leather shoe
- · Removable insole for orthotics
- · Bends at toe
- · Doesn’t twist
- · Female / youth
- · Available in 4 widths
From $109.95 (junior size) to $129.95 (adult size) Kids sizes about $2.75 a week
Brenden Says: I have been watching these shoe’s develop and I really feel they are great shoe’s I think Ascent as a brand are developing some excellent quality shoes. Yes I know I am cheating here that this is in fact two shoes but I like these equally and believe they both deserve a mention. I like the School shoe look but the almost sneaker style shoe base. Bends at the toes in all the right places but is strong in the middle and heel where it is needed.
Start-Rite York
- · School-style shoe
- · Unisex
- · Firm heel counter
- · Bends at the toe
- · Doesn’t twist
- · Doesn’t flex at the middle
- · All leather
- · Black lace-up
· Priced at $129.00 about $3.20 a week
Brenden Says: Yes the newcomer makes the top 4! As I said above I think this is a relative new comer has all the qualities I look for in a shoe and to me looks like a tough all-round school shoe! Firm heel counter and solid shank to support kids feet!
CLARKS – 24 SE7EN
- Firm heel counter
- Runner style sole
- All leather shoe
- Removable insole for orthotics
- Bends at toe
- Doesn’t twist
Priced at $124.95 about $3 a week
Brenden Says: A good shoe that has been doing a good job for kids for a number of years. I think kids will like this shoe it has a chunky see through sole that kids seem to love. It has a firm heel counter that is essential to good footwear. Bends and flex’s in the right spots!
Asics Gel-510TR G
- Firm heel counter
- Bends at the toe
- Doesn’t twist
- Doesn’t flex at the middle
- Running style
- All leather
- Black lace-up
· Price point is RRP of $100 about $2.50 a week
Brenden Says: As a sneaker based shoe this is by far my favourite. I recommend it to any parent looking for a sneaker style school shoe. Its leather based with all the properties of a good quality running shoe. In my experience it seems to last a school year really well which I have noted not all sneaker style running shoes do. A winner for me.
ON A BUDGET. –
GRO-SHU – LEARN
- Firm heel counter
- Removable insole for orthotics
- Bends at toe
- Doesn’t twist
- Leather lined
$39.99 @ Payless Shoes about $1.00 a week!
Brenden Says: This is a good shoe for its price point. While it doesn’t have all the stability I like to see in a school shoe for those on a tight budget at 39.99 I think it out weights others in its class. No you are not getting all the features of the top 4
GROSBY DURABLES – SCHOOL
- Firm heel counter
- Removable insole for orthotics
- Bends at toe
- Doesn’t twist
- Leather upper
$30.00 Big W about 75 cents a week!!!!
Brenden Says: At this tiny price you can afford a few of these a year compared to some of its more heavily priced competitors. In kids small sizes this is a good shoe. It’s not the strongest and it may not last as long as some of the others but at that price you wouldn’t expect it to. As this shoe get bigger in size it loses some of the stability I prefer in the more expensive models but as a Jnr shoe on a budget it’s a good alternative.
Tips when choosing shoes:
- Thumb width’s room between the end of the shoe and the end of the longest to
- The fastening mechanism (lace-up, Velcro or buckle are best!) should hold the heel firmly in the back of the shoe
- The back part of the shoe ‘heel counter’ should be strong and stable
- The shoe should flex across the ball of the foot (not in the middle!)
- The sole should not twist!
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!