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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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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!
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Kids feet need health checks
Kid’s feet come in all different shapes and sizes and so do their FEET!
Having healthy feet is vital to a child’s development. Did you know that problems not resolved in children’s feet can become major problems for them when they become adults?
Not all kids foot problems show up by resulting in pain while many parents recognise flat feet as a problem many other signs may not be as obvious!
Tripping and falling – tiring easily while walking or playing – laziness – clumsiness – growing pains and trouble keeping up with peers are all signs that your child may have developmental problems with their feet.
Appointments can be made and are available at our St Marys and Penrith clinics 9673 2987 or 47322007
At a step ahead we have a passion for looking after kid’s feet! As a result our practice is very kid orientated and we get to see loads of kids – we love what we do!
Our team will check your child’s feet ensuring that no unidentified problems continue! Kids need healthy feet to develop normally so our podiatrist will video them walking playing and running, they will test their muscles to see how they are developing after taking a detailed history to get an idea how they are developing.
Our job is to make sure your child get to be their best! and we think its kinda cool – because seeing kids get better, run faster, play longer and smile more makes our day! We live for the smile a happy kid can bring to your life.
Our team is led by Dr Brenden Brown – He has over 20 years experience. His passion for looking after kids foot health has made him recognised as an expert on kids feet in Australia. Brenden has been the Podiatry advisor and expert for Clarks kids footwear Australia for many years. He has feature on Television, on channel NINE on the today show and A current affair helping parent to make good school shoe choices each year and advising on good foot health. He has also featured in magazine like Practical parenting and Good Medicine magazines along with Men’s Health, Women’s health, Woman’s Day, Cosmopolitan and many many more!
Brenden though is most proud of being a dad of two young girls and understanding what its like to be a parent and looking after two growing kids!
Appointments can be made and are available at our St Marys and Penrith clinics 9673 2987 or 47322007
Blog, Western Weekender
Mary decided to visit us at A Step Ahead Foot + Ankle Care because after starting walking in an effort to lose weight and get fit again, she was getting quite a lot of pain in her right foot. Mary explained that she’d been walking for about 3 weeks, 3 to 4 times a week for about an hour at a time.
Mary is a 49 year old mum of three children she leads a busy life; she works full-time, still runs the family home, volunteers at her husband’s footy club and is trying to get fit!
Mary noticed that she started to get a little bit of pain after each of her walks but put it down to just ‘getting used to walking’. After another week she noticed the pain became more intense and noticed it started very quickly after she began to walk. The week following she noticed the pain began to increase over time it went from hurting when on her walks to eventually hurting when she was not walking at all and all through the day. Mary swears she also has noticed that the arch of her right foot was falling.
After taking a detailed history we began to palpate (push and prod in non-doctor talk) around Mary’s ankle to find the area under the inside of her ankle bone (Her medial malleolus in doctor talk) was very swollen and painful to touch. Using our specialised digital video walk and run analysis equipment we discover that Mary had quite rolled in (over pronated) feet and she was correct, her right foot was more rolled in than her left. We sent Mary off to a radiologist with a referral for an ultrasound to confirm our suspicion that Mary was suffering Posterior Tibialis tendon Dysfunction. She returned that afternoon with exactly that!
Custom made orthoses from a 3d model of your foot
Having confirmed our diagnosis, we began looking after Mary with the best quality care available. Firstly before leaving we strapped Mary’s foot to take pressure off the overused tendon, we ordered her a specialised brace for the short term again an immediate relief in pain and after a discussion we also prescribed a pair of custom made orthoses. These will stop the overuse of the tendon by reducing the excessive pronation.
Mary’s results have shown that unlike some people who wait too long, Mary came in quickly and has avoided the need for surgery, which can be necessary if this is left too long and not caught quickly. Her orthotics were manufactured in A Step Ahead’s own orthoses laboratory using our custom made milling system and hand finished by our technicians. After a fitting and wearing her orthoses for several weeks we also began a series soft tissue therapy sessions with our team to help rehabilitate the damaged muscle.
New 3d scanners create perfect models of your foot
The good news – Mary’s ankle and foot is now back to normal and she has started back to walking slowly! After we designed a ‘return to exercise’ program for her to follow, she has reduced the chance of re-injuring her foot. Rehab took quite some time but was made easier by Mary’s compliance and her willingness to work hard at getting better.
Its always rewarding for our team to meet people like this who are striving to get back to health!
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!