Top 4 reasons your Laser treatment for fungal nail infection won’t or did not work!

Top 4 reasons your Laser treatment for fungal nail infection won’t or did not work!

Top 4 reasons your Laser treatment for fungal nail infection won't or did not work - 1

Top 4 reasons your Laser treatment for fungal nail infection won’t or did not work

Is all laser therapy the same?

Laser therapy has become the treatment of choice for many people struggling with fungal nail infections. It’s fast, has very limited discomfort for most and is reliable and effective. But is it?

Increasingly with the popularity on this treatment more practitioners are popping up spruiking their ability to treat. With this sadly comes with groups of people who don’t know what they are doing!

As a clinic who have been using the treatment for many – many years we have seen an influx of these people and with that an influx of poor results!

So why? As a more experienced clinic what have we noticed has contributed to the increase in poor results? Below is some of our thoughts. It’s our hope that this will be considered by some of the newer players in the market or even some that simply want to hit their “A Game!” Here are our top 4!

Number 1. Only treating one toe!

Stats suggest that while the fungal infection is obviously present in one or two toes the spores or eggs are almost 100% of the time present in the other toes!

That right you’re not treating the other fungal spores and they will either develop there or spread back to the treated toe once the laser has gone (yes that quite quickly!)

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Number 2. Only treat the damaged areas in the nail.

The area that is yellow or discoloured is actually NOT the live fungus it’s the mess the live fungus leaves! That’s the dead nail NOT the living fungal spores many times!

If you only treat this area it’s a little like taking the Antibiotics after you’re better!

Number 3. You don’t treat the skin.

So where does the fungal spores come from on most occasions? Yup your skin. But you’re only having the nail treated? So the area that has much of the spores and the greatest surface area is not going to be treated.

If you have light dry skin that you can’t get rid of. Do you notice very tiny little blisters that appear but never have fluid in them? Perhaps what may appear as tinea between the toes? These are all signs your fungus is alive and well on your skin ready to hop back on your toenails.

Number 4: Not treating Shoes.

So are we clear yet that fungus obviously does NOT only live in the nail …… or on the one toe! These nasties jump about and are like tummy bugs they are invisible and spread like wild fire!

Be assured if you have had the infection for a time those spores have jumped to the inside of your shoes and socks! They love warm dark spaces. Yes, pretty much exactly like the inside of your shoes! Don’t treat this area and you will have your infection back soon than you can blink!

All that glitters is not gold!

As you can see, while it can appear like treating fungal nails is as simple as grabbing an expensive fancy Laser, it’s not nearly that simple! Particularly if you really do want to help your patient get rid of this dreadfully difficult condition and get rid of it for good. These are only four of the many steps we take (no one wants to read this all day)

In the 5 years we have been treating this difficult condition we have seen many people with unsuccessful treatments from other clinics. We continue each day to innovate in ways that can improve and enhance treatments and increase even further our success rate.

We have found that by using our very detailed multifactorial approach our success rate has been quite high and continues to rise. But and its needs to be noted no treatment is 100% effective – NONE.

You can make laser therapy treatment for nail fungal infections more effective but it takes time, a thorough approach and a little bit of work at home by the patient to increase this!

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Next steps

We see several people a day treating fungal nail infections. If we can help you please let us know! You can contact us through our helpful front desk team. They speak to multiple patients a day with this condition. They can run you through our process and then costings and reserve an appointment time that suits you best. Our number is +61 2 9673 2987 we would LOVE to help.

Medical clinics + Other Podiatry clinic’s

If you are one of the many Podiatry / Medical clinics that follow my posts please read the details in my clinic websites.

I am currently developing a course for practitioners interested in learning more effective and efficient ways of treating nail fungus. If you follow our posts we will announce this as it occurs or simply send us a message and our office will save your details.

Our number is 96732987 we look forward to being able to help.

Do you need more information on fungal nail infections – have you checked out our new site dedicated to Fungal nail infections?

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*Nail Paints and ointments are reported in the evidence base to be only effective in 13% of people. Imagine your Dr telling you that your medicine only had a 13% chance of making you better??

Top 6 reason your heel pain isn’t getting better – UPDATED!

Top 6 reason your heel pain isn’t getting better – UPDATED!

Top 6 reason your heel pain isn't getting better - UPDATED - 1

Top 6 reason your heel pain isn’t getting better – UPDATED

You CAN beat Heel Pain

Heel pain can be debilitating! The pain often stops people in their tracks first thing in the morning! Walk a few steps and it may be relieved. Others as the day progresses, the pain becomes worse. Finding help can be frustrating and confusing as you can often see multiple practitioners and receive multiple answers with little relief.

We first wrote this article in 2014. 3 years later, after helping literally 1000’s more patients with heel pain. After HOURS more of research and implementing significant changes in the way medicine has begun to understand Heel Pain, it became time to updated this very popular article!

With the experience of literally helping 1000’s of heel pain patients,  between 10 and 20 a day! We have put together the following list of the Top 6 reasons we have noted patients have not got better.

We hope this helps you on the way to beating your heel pain.

1.You decide to go it alone and NOT get professional advice.

Of all the people we see, a large proportion of them have never had any care or professional advice. Quotes like “I just thought it would go away” or “A friend told me what they did to get rid of the pain and I just tried that”. Most times it doesn’t!  You will increase your chance of beating heel pain, significantly by getting a professional opinion. Professional advice and treatment costs money. Yes some people find this expensive however others find it invaluable. It depends on how much you really want to get rid of your very sore heels?

2.You wear thongs (flip flops) because your feet are sore

Wearing thongs, Croc type shoes or even bare feet for many people make their feet feel better initially but all our experience tells us you are doing more damage.  The pain you feel days later not necessarily at the time. You are welcome to argue this point as much as you like, while you continue to hobble…………

3.You get advice and then choose which bits you use.

Great work on getting advice now it’s time to take it ……yes ALL of it. When a care plan is developed for you, if you choose only the bits you like to hear and the easy bits, you will end up failing to get better. Your Podiatrist should work with you as a patient to establish the best way to relieve you of your pain.  They should speak to you about what shoes are best for you. What treatment will get you better quickest, including strength exercises, therapy to relax the soft tissue and possibly orthotics.  Now choosing NOT to do some of the suggested treatment universally ends up with patients not getting better. Our Podiatrists do all that and more, does yours?

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4.You bought hard rigid orthotics from a Podiatrist.

Our experience tells us that rigid hard orthoses on most occasions irritate the heel and the arch region adding to your discomfort. We have over the years collected many pairs of rigid orthotic from patients who give them to us in frustration after finding they have hindered rather than help.  Secondly if this is the only therapy you were given, with the exception of a couple of possible stretches then we would suggest to you that there is more to getting rid of your pain than this – ask the question “So how is this rehabilitating my damaged soft tissue?”

5.You stop ALL activity.

As our understanding has changed over the years we now appreciate the following – “TENDONS HATE CHANGE”. Stopping all activity if you are currently active is a sure-fire way to ensure that when you return to your activity you will also see the return of your heel pain!

You SHOULD make modification to activity, However a complete stop will mean you either

A. Need to rebuild your activity over quite an extended time.

or

B. Your heel pain is likely to return!

For the moment STOP Jumping of and onto things. For example, on + off a truck, box jumps at exercise class, skipping or other high intensity impacting the heel and forefoot until we have you back to comfortable. We will then slowly load you back up to these activities.

6.You choose a practitioner who does not understand heel pain.

So your GP says they will fix your heel pain? Your Physio who is treating your shoulder says the same and the Podiatrist you see, who works one day a week at your local GP clinic and cuts your toe nails, says they will fix it no problem. Who do you choose?

Your heel pain is not simple its complex and for you it’s really sore!  Choose someone who see’s and treats heel pain regularly. Choose someone who is passionate about making sure that they help you on the way to getting you better. All the people above are probably very good at what they do, but they most likely won’t end up helping you beat your pain!

Did you know there are about 10 different condition’s that could be causing your pain?  When our practitioners are asked by GP’s Physio’s + Podiatrists on Heel pain it is often a surprised to the how complex this condition is! Our Doctors all sports podiatrists see this condition multiple times a day. When you see something that often you are more familiar with it + know how to get on top of it. Ask the person you see how many Heel pain patients they help a day.

Top 6 reasons your heel pain isn't getting better - UPDATED - 3

How can we help

At A Step Ahead foot + Ankle care we see approximately 8 to 12 heel pain patients a day. We have patients that travel literally hundreds of kilometres to seek our help – Which is really lovely!  Our clinics are set up quite specifically to treat patients with heel pain. We have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into equipment and the latest technology to help us, help you- beat heel pain.

Our Principal Podiatrist Brenden Brown is recognized as an expert in Podiatry. A past President of the Australasian Podiatry council he is considered a Medical Expert in the area of Foot health, appearing regularly on television shows like the Today Show and Magazines like Men’s Health. He has appeared for some time as the Medical expert for lower limb conditions on ABC radio’s “the Waiting Room”

It would be a pleasure to help you beat your heel pain.

We are located in Penrith and St Marys in Sydney’s Western suburbs.

You can contact us on 47322007 or 96732987 we hope you will.

Top 6 reasons your heel pain isn't getting better - UPDATED - 2

Kids Heel Pain – still not getting better?

Kids Heel Pain – still not getting better?

He’s just not as fast as the other kids, and limps a little after games! I thought it would just go away but it seems to be getting worse

Sound familiar?

Ashley came to see us after a frustrating 4 weeks of Heel Pain for mum and daughter alike. Stretching and Rest had been prescribed by her physio, but to no effect! The GP said ice, but It just wasn’t getting better and Ash didn’t want to loose her spot in the team. Our telephone rang and on the end of the phone was an incredibly frustrated mum. Kristy our superstar behind the desk made some room in our appointment book and we got Ashley in to our clinic.

Winter is ball sport season and its also the season we see an increase in Kids heel pain! - 1

Winter is ball sport season and its also the season we see an increase in Kids heel pain!

Week one was a biomechanics and gait assessment (Walk run and standing assessment) by the team, (Yes we work as a team!!) gathering as much data (Info) about Ash’s foot, her walking and running style and her muscle profiles. We took a 3D laser scan of her feet and moved her out of her old slip on casual shoes, into some newly minted Asics Nimbus, giving her support and cushioning in every step.

Wow what a difference a week makes! We had a beaming Ashley walk into our clinic with a noticeable spring in her step!

Kids heel pain is most commonly an inflammation at the growth plate at the back of the heel, or underneath the foot at the insertion of the fascia. In Ashley’s case, it was the backs of her heels at the insertion point of the Achilles Tendon.

We started our course of soft tissue rehabilitation, which included a series of deep tissue massage, and some manual stretching and mobilisation of the foot and ankle joint.

Ashley’s muscles in the backs of her legs were incredibly tight, playing tons of sport and not warming up before and stretching after will do that to you! So we put in place a series of really simple and quick stretches and exercises for Ashley to do on the court before and after her games and trainings. It wasn’t easy to change her habits but after she saw improvement in her pain, she stuck to the plan. Mum and Dad even got in on the act! A fit happy healthy family!

Four further weeks of manual therapy, custom made orthotic intervention and a tailored return to sport program (plus some stern words about her shoes) and Ashley was back full time on the court. Why is this? An accurate diagnosis, more than one modality of treatment (Soft tissue rehabilitation) and a girl that really really wanted to get better!

Exercise induced heel pain in young athletes is an all too common thing, but 100% treatable! An assessment from your Penrith Sports Podiatrist will have your young star back on the footy field or netball court in no time.

We have been seeing kids like yours for many years! In fact we see children just like yours from all over Sydney, from the Eastern suburbs to North shore, from as far as western NSW to Wollongong. We would love to help keep families Happy Healthy and Active! If you would like our help getting there please call us on 96732987 or 47322007

A Step Ahead Foot + Ankle Care Team
Penrith , St Marys

and coming soon to a suburb near you.

Fungal nail with “false negative” results?

Fungal nail with “false negative” results?

So you think you have a fungal nail? A sequence of a toe nail suffering from fungus infection.

Does any of this sound familiar?

  • Yellow and discoloured?
  • It has a line running through it or often down the nail.
  • It’s maybe becoming crumbly and brittle?
  • It may be a little smelly

You think it’s a fungal infection and all the pictures you’ve seen of fungal on the net tell you it’s a fungal infection, but your Doctors testing keeps saying you’re wrong. But maybe you’re NOT!

I hear time and time again over many many years this very same story. So why does it happen? Over the many years these are my summations as to why we are getting what we refer to as “False Negative” results.Fungal maginifying glass

  • Mistake 1. You need to treat it like mould in your kitchen! So your Doctor trims your nail and pops the offending nasty bit in a little see-through plastic jar with a yellow lid. Seems like it all ok, however that same little yellow container later that day is often placed in the back of a Pathology collectors car and it sits there possibly in the sun as they run around collecting all sorts of nasties from other Dr’s clinics. Sadly like mould fungus is killed off by UV sunlight – So here we have mistake one!
  • Mistake 2. This has been going on for months and you have tried everything! You tried creams and paints of all descriptions! However while it may seem to go away a little it comes back time and time again. Now if you have used those paints and creams then this may have an effect on the result the test results small amounts may kill any fresh fungal spores and are most likely to kill surface fungus however not the entrenched fungus. So all that cream may not be killing the real fungal problem but is killing the chance of a positive test result.
  • Mistake 3. When you head to your GP they often don’t cut very much of the nail and so the amount of nail sent with fungus on the surface or ingrained in the nail is not significant and possibly they miss the area entirely!

fungal bugs ASAWith 20 years of experience I have seen literally thousands of fungal infections and with those thousands of frustrated patients who had tried all the marketed pharmacy ointments paints and creams. I am really happy to say that we have finally found an answer in Laser treatment of fungal nails.

Laser treatment of fungal nails is now a safe and highly effective treatment of fungal nails. As a practitioner I personally went over to research treatment options for this condition and was impressed with laser so brought this technology back to Australia. Since bringing this back almost 3 years ago now we have had excellent results and haven’t looked back. Part of this success though has outstripped others in the field as we have introduced in combination with laser a 4 point system that assist in killing the fungus in all the places it lives.

If fungal nails are a concern for you please contact our team A Step Ahead Foot and Ankle care and chat to the team about Laser and our system for making sure you are truly successful in removing all traces of fungus in your nails.

Please call us on 96732987 or 47322007 we would love to help get you back on the right track!

BB's looking super clever in Bright red Red Foo frames! No BB doesnt wear glasses!

BB's looking super clever in Bright red Red Foo frames! No BB doesnt wear glasses!

Brenden Brown

Principle Podiatrist
A Step Ahead Foot + Ankle care
Penrith, St Marys and soon to come to a suburb near you!