Exercise & Sports Podiatry at SPARC

01/10/2025

The pod is back, with the first 2 episodes of season 2 now on Spotify and Apple Music. The guys delve into training specificity, developing a running program to minimise injury as well as going over their City2Bays, what shoes they wore and why, before settling the debate of which is softer… Megablast vs Superblast

22/01/2025

Wearing an orthotic to offload an injured structure in the foot, ankle or knee whilst is adapts to load is a common treatment tool that mitigates risks associated with CAM walkers such as deep vein thrombosis and calf muscle atrophy (Mason et al., 2024). This often allows athletes to limit more serious health risks and reduce globalised foot/ankle deconditioning whilst rehabbing an injured site.

02/12/2024

How does our podiatrist Matt build his running shoe arsenal? Take a look at how he selects the right shoe for the right purpose… Having specific shoes for specific uses helps increase comfort for the type of run about to be undertaken as well as increasing the experience of the run and even potentially help deal with injuries if used correctly.

24/09/2024

Ultrasound findings of the deltoid ligament in patients with acute ankle sprains: A retrospective review.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0949265822001300

Plus check out our video on deltoid ligament scanning technique.
https://youtu.be/dNJO-WA-ujc?si=C8Obvx4gk5zVylqH

18/09/2024

Asics Metafuji Trail

Super-shoe hype has progressively been making its way into the trail market over the last couple of years and has now delivered their contender to “off-road race day” with the Metafuji Trail.

A carbon plate sandwiched between a layer of FF turbo foam and what would appear to be an EVA layer before a lugged outsole. This shoe is designed for speed over rugged terrain.

The shoe certainly has pop and you notice the PEBA based FF turbo foam, rocker and plate giving it a bouncy ride. The upper provides even lockdown and generous toe box room. It has a conservative toe cap so provides some mild protection against rocks without feeling like there is a “wall” at the end of the upper. The offset feels very “performance” and maybe lower than the listed 5mm, partially owing to the forefoot high point being a bit more proximal to the measured point.

Where the shoe may throw some is the trade off between a plate and stability over uneven surfaces. Although the lugs provide comparable grip to other trail options, the plate still makes the shoe difficult to contour the ground as non-plated options. This could pose an issue for steep, technical declines or over jagged rocky terrain or tree roots when compared to other specialist trail shoes that are less performance inspired.

Maybe the best option on the market currently for shorter more conservative trail races for athletes looking for speed and okay to sacrifice some stability underfoot without wanting to sacrifice grip or so much low stability as seen in a road racer. But certainly not a shoe for those looking for long ultra technical courses.

17/07/2024

25/09/2023

Last week was a big weekend of running around Australia with the and the for us at home. Throw in the SANFL grand final last Saturday and there were a lot of athletes peaking! However, although we all may want plenty of down time, it may actually be time to get going sooner rather than later…

20/09/2023

Hands up who’s having an easy week after hitting the Anzac highway a few thousand times at the on the weekend 🙋🏼🙋🏼

11/09/2023

Who here is super keen to run down the Anzac highway this weekend for Adelaide’s famous 🙋‍♂️🙋🏼🙋‍♀️

Last year our Sports Podiatrist ran the event, and took 🥈 in an amazing 34.22 (PB) while ran 39.09 (PB = 38.18 - 2018).

We are looking forward to getting to the bay as fast as we can with a large percentage of fellow Adelaidian’s in South Australia’s most enjoyable fitness test 💪

05/09/2023

Our podiatrist is back from the World Championships. Matt returns just in time before the City2Bay and is looking forward to helping those struggling with injury, finding the perfect shoe or looking to check their training is on track before Adelaide’s iconic 12km run and beyond! 🏃‍♀️

10/03/2023

Good luck to all our Oly Pod and our talented athletes who all take to the track tomorrow night in Sydney racing the national 3,000m titles! They will be joined by fellow south Aussies & in the field, making a strong SA presence! The Sydney track classic is live-streamed on tomorrow evening! 🎨

22/02/2023

runs the 3,000m tonight at the Maurie Plant meet in Melbourne! Team mate will join him in a class field! Isaac and Matt are 2nd and 3rd respectively all time in SA (7.48 & 7.49) behind the great David Fitzsimmons! There will be no surprises if either of the young men return with that record this week! Best of luck to them and the other SA runners this evening 💪