Standing work can be rather tiring and hard for your body, especially for feet. It is important to stop and prevent any bad effects of standing to be healthy. How can you do it? Let us learn!
Why Do Feet Hurt from Standing?
When choosing a job, we do not pay enough attention to a possible physical stress. Standing for a long time does not seem a big deal, especially when you are young and full of energy. However, even after a month of working as a teacher, hairdresser, waiter or courier you may start feeling pain in feet. This is a first sign of health problems that need to be taken care of.
If you stand for a long time, your blood circulation worsens.
All the liquids go down to legs under the influence of gravity. Moreover, your feet and spine have to carry the weight of your body for a long time. As a result, legs get tired, swollen and hurt a lot. If you do not pay enough attention to these problems, some serious diseases may arise.
Dangerous symptoms are:
- Veins on legs are too visible;
- Vessels get swollen;
- Pain does not pass even after rest or drugs;
- Frequent convulsions (especially at night).
Everything mentioned may be a sign of thrombophlebitis and thrombosis. These ailments often provoke venous insufficiency, heart attack and stroke. That is why it is so important to deal with pain in feet as soon as you face it.
How to Stop Pain in Feet?
Even if you have not faced pain in feet after standing yet, it is recommended to follow some easy steps to prevent it.
Notice that everything mentioned can also relieve pain if you already feel it:
- Sit anytime you can. Even if your daily regime at work is a tough one, there will always be some moments when you can rest for at least a couple of minutes. For example, when there is no visitor in the restaurant or something. When you have such moments, sit down. Even 60 seconds may be enough for your body to relax and normalize blood circulation. This can prevent pain in legs.
- Do not eat standing. It is better to sit on a comfortable chair with your legs stretched out. Lunch at work is a nice time to let your feet and ankles relax.
- When you have a break, take off your shoes and stretch feet. You do not have to perform some exercises; just make sure the blood is circulating normally. You will most obviously feel it.
- Stand in different places. Concrete floor is much more harmful for your feet than a wooden one. Wooden surface is softer even if you do not feel it. This means your legs will less likely get tired. If there is no wood on the floor, simply walk from one place to another. Stand on carpeting. You can even purchase a special mat for feet rest and put it on the floor at work.
- Take a footbath every day after work. Warming legs in a bath with salt or essential oils significantly reduces pain and swelling. The magnesium contained in salt helps muscles relax. If you suffer from inflammation and puffiness of feet, alternate a warm salty bath with an ice bath until your legs are numb.
- Foot massage. Ask a therapist or your friend to perform massage of feet and legs. It will reduce muscle tension and improve blood circulation. Massage should be performed for feet first. Then, with rubbing movements go up to the shin. You can put a wooden roller under your feet. It is a good idea to apply a lotion with peppermint, which causes tingling and relaxes your legs. Before and after the massage, it is useful to perform several stretching exercises for feet and legs.
Useful Exercises for Foot Pain Prevention
All the exercises listed below can both relieve pain in feet and prevent it. Therefore, it is a good idea to perform them every time you can. Obviously, some are not convenient to do at the office, but the others are easy to perform anywhere.
Exercise list:
- Lie on your back and stretch your legs upwards. Now imagine that you are on a bicycle: move the pedals. Such exercise can both normalize blood circulation and relieve pain.
- Stand on one foot and take the other with your hand. Now pull it towards your back. This way you can stretch muscles and relieve tension.
- Put one lag on a chair while standing on the other. Bend over and put your hands on the knee. Press gently. This exercise will stretch your leg in the opposite direction to a previous one. Therefore, you will be sure that muscles are not too strained.
- Place toes of one foot on the wall with the heel on the floor. Lean on your hands and push as if you were doing push-ups. This way the foot itself will stretch and any excess liquids will go away.
- Stand up straight, with your toes looking forward. Align one foot with the other: they must be directed forward. At first, you may feel strange. Try to get used to this position and stand like that for as much as you can.
- Sit down on a mat and pull your legs forward. Lean, but keep your back straight. Hold this position for 10 seconds. Rest for 10 seconds. Repeat the exercise 3 times. This warm-up is especially important for those who wear high heels.
- Now make a stretch for your toes. Stand up and step forward with your right foot. Bend the toes of your left foot so that you touch the floor with the tips of toes. Lean slightly forward until you feel tension in the upper part of the foot. Hold in this position for 10 seconds.
- Remember to do morning exercises. Your muscles will less likely get tired if you warm them up.
What Standing Shoes Should Be Like?
Shoes are one of the most important things for feet pain prevention. You need them to be as convenient as possible. It is not recommended to stand for a long time wearing high-heels, as they worsen blood circulation and your feet get tired much faster.
The best variant for a standing work is sneakers. However, sometimes you will have to wear something more official. Make sure it fits you nicely and does not compress your feet.
Do not wear narrow shoes. Shoes with high heels are often narrowed to toes, which results in unnatural fingers squeezing and increases the risk of calluses forming. When buying some shoes, make sure you can bend your toes.
Orthopedic insoles are nice for any type of shoes.
They can support your foot, even if you are standing on a flat surface. Moreover, such insoles absorb sweat, meaning there will be a good heat transfer. It is especially important for summer times.
Standing for all day long five days a week can be a very harmful experience for your feet. They undergo a high tension and pressure; therefore will most likely hurt in the evening. That is why it is important not only to fight pain when it occurs, but also to prevent any problems before they transform into some diseases.
