Blog
“Ok so I went to the guys down the road.” Say Lee my Triathlon loving patient says to me. “It’s just really sore here under my second toe, they said it was a Neuroma but they have been trying to fix this for weeks, no months and it’s just not getting better” !
Callous on my foot, Numb toes and this V developing – A runners trifecta!
The pain that Lee was chatting about was not a surprise to me and nor what I noticed on her foot. She had developed a small V between her 2nd and 3rd toe, had pain under the ball of her foot and had developed a small amount of callous around the same area. Yup I’d seen this many times before!
If she wore tight shoes, high heels or bike shoes in her case she found the pain got worse. If she ran a lot while it may have got numb for a while at the end of the race it got sore! Over time she noticed the split or V sign getting worse.
On seeing this her GP suggested Metatarsalgia, which for years has been a reasonable diagnosis and what most would suggest this may be, However it’s NOT. The “other guys down the road” AKA another group of Podiatrist, had diagnosed a Morton’s Neuroma, again this is a common misdiagnosis. Often radiologists will under ultrasound call this a Neuroma because these two conditions can look strikingly similar. The scan or ultrasound the Radiologist undertakes is only as good as the information provided to them though your diagnosis in the clinic get it wrong and so will they!
After a bit of pushing and prodding, and watching Lee walk again on our Video walk / run analysis equipment I was now sure what we had BUT I wanted to get another set of eyes to have a look so off she was sent to see a particular radiologist we use all the time. He sees our patients very specifically because he is overly experienced in looking at FEET!
On the report there it was “A plantar plate disruption between the 2nd an 3rd Metatarsal heads.”
So we started Lee on a series of Deep connective tissue massages with our Podiatrist, renewed her orthotic insoles and arranged for her to get some new trainers on our advice.
6 weeks later and BOOM Lee was about to start running again! “I won’t be going elsewhere again” she said and this time I believe her!
BB’s looking super clever in Bright red Red Foo frames! No BB doesn’t wear glasses!
Brenden (AKA BB)
A Step Ahead Foot + Ankle Care
Blog
A Step Ahead Walking Club. Every Thursday in Penrith
Every Thursday in Penrith the A Step Ahead Walking Club hits the road! We walk around Penrith in order to keep “happy healthy and active.” No races, no competition just a steady pace, the odd chat and everyone walks at their own level. So how did it start?
In 2013 as a clinic we saw a sudden influx of women who wanted to know how to make sure their feet were healthy and QUICK! We discovered a number of these ladies were participating in a walk to raise money called the “Weekend to end women’s cancer” Not only were they walking but they were walking 60 KM!!! no wonder they wanted their feet fit!
When 2014 came about and with our new understanding of what these ladies were to undertake we agreed to become partners with the “Weekend to end women’s cancer” and began training walks. Everybody is welcome on our walks NO you DO NOT have to be undertaking the “Weekend” nor a patient to come on our training walks. It has grown to become more than that. Our clinic motto is “helping families to stay happy healthy and active” and walking for exercise fit this bill to a tee!
We walk for for an hour each Thursday night from 630pm meeting each week in a different starting point in Penrith, call for details. However on the first Thursday of each month we meet at our practice in Penrith at 6pm. Where participants can chat to our Podiatrist ask any questions they may have and have a free gait (Walk) assessment if they’d like or just get some footwear advice (Nope we DO NOT sell shoes). We set off for the walk again at 630pm.
So if you’d like to get a walk in each week, stretch your legs and keep fit please come and join us. For security reasons we ask that walkers who wish to join us call our clinic on 9673 2987 and we will call you back about location details. We will NEVER use your number for marketing purposes – for us its not about that, its about keeping people fit 🙂
Blog, Uncategorized
If you havent come across us before you may not realise that Brenden our principal Podiatrist has for many years been considered one of the foremost experts on feet and Podiatry in Australia. He has for years been called upon to make comment as an expert. From the today show to the 
Sydney morning herald to Dolly magazine!
This month BB is in HCF’s Fit &well magazine, just in case you don’t get a copy or cant see and read the text here it is below.
“Best foot forward
“High heels tilt your pelvis forward, throw your centre of gravity out of alignment and force your back muscles to work harder to maintain stability,” says Brenden Brown, spokesperson for the Australian Podiatry Council.
If you have lower back pain women should choose a shoe with a wide, flat heel of no higher than 2.5 centimetres and men should avoid wearing loafers and things. “Lower back pain can also be treated in some people by addressing poor foot posture with orthotic supports in shoes,” Brown says.”
Blog, Uncategorized
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!
Blog, Uncategorized
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?
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!