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Q) Why did we start our own Orthotic Company in 2010?
A) Sometimes you just know things can be better!
I have been making orthoses for patients for a long time now nearly 20 years. I do it because time and time again I see these seemingly simple devices (they are actually not simple) make great changes to people’s lives. Put simply I have watched as orthoses made with love, passion and a good dash of knowledge and advanced technology, make people live better!
In the past I had all my devices made by third party companies – almost all Podiatrists do. They are made from a script which we fill out giving you a series of options. For many people it works it did for me for many years. However while it worked and worked well, I knew we could do better I knew I could help people MORE and get a better fit if I could have more control right from the start till right to the finish.
Our Lab technicians working on orthotics for patients each pair is hand finished. Some of our Lab technichians have been making orthotics for more than 15 years – that’s experience!
Better design – I wanted to design orthotics that patients LOVED to wear! So after extensive investigation and visiting 2 other countries, I came across what I consider to be the best orthotic design package available in the world to date. So we invested in a state of the art system with limitless design capabilities.
Perfect fit – It has to fit our patient’s feet PERFECTLY! Not only did the package come with a brilliant design package it came with a laser scanner that took a 3D scan the accuracy and likes of which I could not find elsewhere. It maps the foot accurately to within half a millimetre – Heck I have had a piece of dirty stuck to someone’s foot and these scanners have picked it up! We bought two world leading scanners – I have not found better
More flexibility-Our patients need us to work with them! With minimal restrictions! If a patient really needs a different cover or a particular fit for a particular shoe, I want to give it to them! I wanted to not be restricted to a series of boxes ticked on a prescription. We now deliver a true Bespoke – custom made orthotic.
Best quality– Our patients deserve the best! I want to provide all the best materials for my patients! The highest quality, too the best standards- no compromise! I wanted to be the person deciding on the quality – I am super fussy and I like expensive stuff! We now buy only what we consider will last the longest for our patients and what will deliver them the most comfort and performance!
No excesses – Our patients are paying good money, they deserve only the best. If a cover is wrong, if it isn’t comfortable, if it wears out, if it needs to be better – it is all up to us! It’s not someone else’s fault, a faceless guy at a lab. It all comes back to us! We guarantee what we make- we make the best and stand behind it! 12 months guarantee on the shell and top cover, if it’s not right we fix it and in that time you will never pay!
We started this company to make patients the happiest they can be!
A Step Ahead Foot and Ankle care are located in Sydney’s Western Suburbs. We would love to be able to help you with your foot or ankle pain.
A side note: We are glad to see other practices around us start to develop a love for making their own orthotics. We say that’s great if we can lead the way and others pick up on our technology and as an end result we get all get better results for our patients that’s an awesome thing! We have now been doing this for a long time if we can help you in any way please let us know – Happy to help others get it right!
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Heel pain can stop you in your tracks from the moment you get out of bed your heel can be unbearable. Our patients describe not being able to put their heel to the floor, hobbling to the shower or toilet only to get a slight relief but then for their pain to come back later in the day! It stops you functioning and stops you from all the activities you love!
When you have this pain you search and cling to answers. Many patients are sadly told by their GP there is nothing they can do. They may be given hard insoles or orthotics by well-meaning practitioners or lately they are prescribed Shockwave!!!
Shockwave is the latest treatment for this debilitating condition. Shockwaves cause micro trauma to the diseased tendon tissue. This results in inflammation, which allows the body to send healing cells and increase the blood flow to the injured site.
While we make the application of this technology sound very simple, in the wrong hands and if you don’t have experience applying this in practice, this therapy can at best not work, and at other times in the worst case scenario, make your condition worse. Anyone can hold a Dentist drill but would you let anyone do your filling for you?
Our team of therapist at A Step Ahead Foot + Ankle care have been using this technology for a number of years we see approximately 8 to 12 patients a day using this technology. Our staff unlike others who have adopted this therapy lately, have a great deal of experience and are continuously looking at ways which will increase the effectiveness of the therapy.
Along with the experience our practitioners have comes the knowledge that in almost all cases shockwave therapy by itself will not fix you ………yes you heard correctly!
When patients visit us for heel pain and other muscular problems yes we do often use Shock wave, however it is only part of a treatment plan. We also give you advice on the right foot wear, stretching, possible taping and analysis your walk and run to assess if you need soft comfortable orthoses. Shock wave may also not be right for you our Podiatrist may decide you are better suited to other soft tissue therapies we use.
So while Shock wave can be an excellent tool in the fight against chronic heel pain. Without experience and used in the wrong way, or used in isolation the success rate of this therapy drops dramatically.
At A Step Ahead Foot and Ankle care we have been successfully treating people for heel pain for at least 15 years. If you are suffering from Heel pain we would really like to help you. We are situated in Penrith and St Marys in Western Sydney. You can contact us on 96732987 or 47322007.
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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 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 stretching, 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?
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 continue to do loads of exercise
Einstein is once said to have defined Madness as “Continuing to do things exactly the same and hoping for a different result”. As practitioners we are probably sportier than others and so we truly do understand your hopes to continuing to exercise. But in truth unless you make some form of change its unlikely you will get better. There are other options available which can help you to stay fit like rowing, weight training and alike. Let’s work together to see what we can allow you to keep up your health goals. If your practitioner is telling you there is no need to change then we would suggest the first change you make is the practitioner!
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 a 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!
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 recognised as an expert in Podiatry. A past President of the Australasian Podiatry council he is considered an expert in the area of Foot health, appearing regularly on television shows like the Today Show and Magazines like Men’s Health.
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.
A Step Ahead Foot and Ankle care
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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?
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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
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!