MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE COMFORT OF SAFETY SHOES

In the workplace, foot injuries such as punctures, crushing, lacerations and sprains can occur as a result of poor footwear. Some injuries can also result from falls, missteps or slips. Workers' feet can also suffer from blisters, calluses, ingrown toenails, cracks or fungal infections. All these ailments cause discomfort and can have serious consequences on a worker's health and safety. General fatigue can also be a factor in addition to foot pain, which can cause other complications for the worker, such as joint pain (RSI) and possible clumsiness likely to cause incidents of all kinds. 

Shoe discomfort can occur when one of the following factors is overlooked: the morphology of the foot, the weight of the wearer, the posture adopted at work, the nature of the environment, as well as poor user practices. 

There are many main causes of discomfort:  
- Safety shoes that do not fit the worker's feet properly. We know that a large proportion of professionals wear shoes that are too big. 
- Lacing that is too tight or too loose can cause a host of problems: blood circulation problems due to foot compression, blisters, inflamed tendons, cramps, sprains, etc.

Advice: To tie your shoes properly, check that your heel is in contact with the back of the shoe, then tighten the laces starting from the toe, eyelet by eyelet, without compressing the foot. If you do a lot of moving around in your job, we advise you to relace your shoes every 2 or 3 hours, as the foot swells during the day. Do the same if there is a sudden change in temperature, as this will affect the volume of your foot. 

- Too much perspiration from feet in shoes. 

Advice: In the evening, take the protective insoles out of your shoes to dry, change your socks regularly and use products that reduce perspiration.

- Prolonged standing.  The human foot is designed for mobility, so prolonged standing is tiring. Standing for hours on end strains the feet and can cause damage to the rest of the body, such as musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). 

Advice: Any working posture can be redesigned with the aim of improving comfort, safety and efficiency at work. To break up prolonged standing, you need to alternate between different working postures and walk as regularly as possible.

- The structure of the floor can also affect foot pain. Hard, rigid floors, such as concrete, are the least comfortable surfaces. By way of illustration, working on a hard floor produces the same effect as a hammer hitting your heel every time you take a step. As for slippery floors, these can cause falls and slips that lead to sprained ankles or fractured bones in the foot. 

Advice: To avoid injuries and discomfort, you can:  

-install wood, cork or rubber flooring on hard floors. Or use an anti-fatigue mat that provides cushioning to reduce foot fatigue. 

-for slippery floors, use a non-slip coating. Caution: non-slip coatings of this type mean that the soles suddenly stick to it and the feet slip inside the safety shoes. The heat produced by rubbing can cause pain, leading to the formation of calluses. A soft, non-slip insole can reduce this discomfort.