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Standing all day is hard on our bodies. Gravity pulls us towards the earth, while we remain stationary. Our muscles are constantly contracting and
relaxing to give us balance, but over time, this can cause fatigue and pain. My name is Dr.Andrew Schneider and I'm a podiatrist in Houston, TX.
If you spend most of your days sitting, you might assume that standing up for hours isn't too much of a problem. But when you're standing all day, you stress your joints, bones, and ligaments. Your lower back knees, ankle, and feet take the brunt of this pressure.
Standing in one place is exhausting. When we walk, our muscles work in phases. When one muscle contracts the other relaxes and recovers. When you walk, there is a constant cycle of contracting and relaxing. That's how you can walk and run distances. There is recovery for each muscles built in.
When you're standing still, all of the muscles contract at once. None of them have a chance to relax. That's why your legs get so tired if you're confined to standing in a small area. This is also how many people manage their work days without pain because they've controlled the factors that would make them vulnerable, giving them the upper hand.
Now, let's look at some of the common reasons we see for foot pain in people that stand for the majority of their workday. First of all, the ground is amplifying the problem. The degree of pain that your feet are in is proportionate to the hardness of the surface that you're standing on. Just as you put pressure on the ground when you stand, the ground sends a force back up into your feet. This is called the ground reactive force. It
makes sense that the harder the surface you're standing on, the greater the force that's sent up into your feet. For instance, carpeting provides a nice soft surface with less force being sent up into you. Conversely, a marble floor sends a tremendous amount of pressure up your body. One way to alleviate pressure from a hard surface is to cover it with a softer surface. That's why you see silicone mats being used in any kitchens. They protect the feet from hard tile floors.
Your feet can also hurt when standing when your feet aren't supported. Depending on the mechanics of the foot, which is different for those with flat feet and high arched feet, you may need additional support than what the shoe provides. In some cases, a medical grade insole is sufficient to provide the additional support they need. In other cases, a custom orthotic is necessary.
Orthotics are designed to support the foot during movement, they can reduce pain, they can improve stability and balance and reduce the risk of falls. And they can even help with conditions such as arthritis. We evaluate our patients for orthotics every day and the results speak for themselves. These patients are able to walk longer, run faster, and play harder than they did without their orthotics.
All of the structures in our body have a certain amount of blood flow coming to them. That provides oxygen and nutrients to allow the structures to function. The muscles are no different. They have a certain amount of blood flow that's proportionate to how much these muscles are meant to function. After standing for a while, your muscles use up their allotted nutrients and become fatigued. They cry out for more, but no more is coming. That's when your muscles start to ache. It's a sign that you need to sit and rest and let your muscles recover. For people who already have a restriction in their circulation, this point comes much sooner. After sitting for a period of time, you should be good at stand for another while, but it's all gonna happen again.
Finally, you may be wearing the wrong shoes. There are good shoes and there are bad shoes. If you're stuck standing in dress shoes all day, they generally don't have good support. I suggest getting an insole for those shoes right off the bat. That's easy for men's shoes. It's a bit tricky for women's dress shoes. There's simply not a lot of space in there for an insole. If you can choose your shoes for work, choose wisely. Stay away from flexible shoes like Keds, Vans and Converse that look nice but don't have any support. Lean towards a good walking or running shoe from New Balance, Asics, Brooks or Hoka. These will make your feet feel much better after a long day of standing.
#standingonhardfloors #weargoodshoes #painwhenstanding
00:00 Introduction
01:42 Why standing in one place is exhausting
02:54 The ground is amplifying the problem
04:14 Your foot may not be well supported
05:11 The pressure is not evenly distributed between your two feet
06:02 Pain due to lack of circulation
06:50 You may be wearing the wrong shoes
08:00 How to connect with Houston podiatrist Dr. Andrew Schneider