There are several jobs that require you to stand for a long time. While standing for hours can help build stamina and muscle strength in the legs, there is no denying that this activity can be very painful, especially for those that are wearing heels.
Fortunately, there are ways for you to minimize foot and leg pain when you are working a job that requires you to stand for hours, and in this article, we will talk about those effective methods. Here are the different ways to deal with a job requiring you to stand.
Sit Down Every Once in a While
For jobs that require you to stand, it is important for you to sit down every once in a while if you have the chance. If you are a cashier at a store, you can sit down for a few minutes if there are no customers in the store yet, but you may need to ask permission from a superior, a supervisor, or your boss if you want to sit down.
You can prepare a foldable chair on your station (if allowed) so that you can easily set it up if you want to sit and fold it back when it is time to do work or to serve customers. Fortunately, different states in the US, as well as several countries around the world, have laws or regulations requiring employers to give their employees a time or an area for sitting if the jobs in the companies require long hours of standing. [1] So, as an employee, you have the right to have time to sit and rest your legs after standing for a long time.
Take Off Your Shoes to Relieve Foot Pain
If you are experiencing foot pain after standing for hours, you should take off your shoes just for a few minutes if possible. Taking off your shoes will allow your feet to breathe for a little while, which can prevent overheating that can lead to minor injuries.
In addition, your feet will also have more freedom of movement, as they wouldn’t feel restricted by the rigid upper and midsole of shoes. If you are wearing high heels, it is essential to take them off for about five to ten minutes since they will cause a lot of pain when you stand on heels for more than one hour.
Many shoes today are too narrow for our feet, and this narrowness can cause a lot of pain in the sides of our feet. Moreover, some shoes don’t have proper arch support that you will need to prevent plantar fasciitis and other injuries that can affect the arches of the feet. While at work, you should have a pair of slides or sandals that you can wear whenever you want your feet to breathe and take a break.
Having your own foot massager at home is also an advantage to relieve the pain from your feet after a long day at work. Check out our article on the Types of Foot Massagers for more information.
Always Take Advantage of Break Times
If there are one or two break times to you every day at work, then you should always take advantage of them and never skip breaks. During your break time, you should sit as much as possible so that your feet and legs will heal from pain and numbness. Sit on a comfortable chair and take off your shoes for a few minutes before eating so that you can also allow your feet to breathe.
You may also want to eat a healthy meal that can help energize you if you still have a lot of hours of work left for the day. You should eat foods that are rich in protein, which includes lean meat, eggs, fish, and beans. In addition, you may also want to add vegetables to your meals to strengthen your immune system and keep you protected against infections and different kinds of illnesses.
If a healthy meal isn’t available at work or in the restaurants nearby, you can prepare your meals during the morning. Aside from healthy meals, you may also want to get a little bit of exercise in the morning to strengthen the bones and muscles of your legs and feet. Running on a treadmill or outdoors for 30 minutes to an hour is sufficient if you don’t have a lot of free time before going to work.
Use Memory Foam Insoles
In order to reduce the amount of pain you feel in your feet whenever you are wearing shoes and standing for long periods of time, you should wear memory foam insoles that are significantly better in providing comfort and support compared to regular insoles. Memory foam insoles, as their name suggests, are made from memory foam, which is a specially-formulated polyurethane that is dense but very comfortable.
What’s great about memory foam insoles is that their surface molds to the shape of your feet’s soles. The customized fit of the insoles allows them to offer support to areas that normal insoles cannot cushion, and these areas are usually the arches of your feet and your toes.
So, foot pain will be minimized since all areas of your feet will be supported by the insoles. It is also important to note that memory foam insoles don’t bottom out as fast as regular insoles, so their comfort will last for much longer, and you will need this if you are going to stand for a long time.
Take a Foot Bath After Work
After work, you can take a foot bath so that the pain, soreness, and numbness in your feet can be reduced. If you don’t take care of the foot pain, you will carry that pain over to your work for tomorrow, and it will then worsen until you develop injuries or illnesses. So, it is important to take care of your feet after work so that they will remain healthy and less painful, even if you are working five or six days a week.
Cold water should be used on the foot bath, as the coldness can help in reducing soreness and inflammation in your feet. Aside from cold water, you may also want to use a foot scrub so that you can get rid of dirt and grime on the skin of your feet and prevent infections caused by fungi and bacteria.
If you have the budget, you can get a water jet foot massager. The water jet foot massager can be filled with water to give your feet a nice foot bath, and it also has rolling pins or spheres that automatically move and apply pressure to the soles to relieve pain.
These are a few of the best methods that you can follow or apply to deal with the foot pain you get from standing for too long at your workplace. Remember to sit when it is possible to rest your feet and wear comfortable shoes and insoles to minimize or reduce foot pain.
Aside from that, there are also other types of foot massagers you can buy. To learn more about these, you can check out our Guide to Selecting Foot Massagers.
References
[1] Dombchik, A. (n.d.) Workers No Longer Have to Stand for It. GEKLAW. Retrieved February 2, 2023, from https://www.geklaw.com/news/right-to-sit.html