On-Your-Feet-All-Day Jobs

It’s a busy world today. Everywhere you go, you’re on your feet. We exercise, we run errands, and most of all, we stand on the job all day long. Try our tricks for staying comfortable at your stand-on-your-feet-all-day job.

Nurses. Retail Workers. Museum Guides. Hairdressers. Mail carriers. The list goes on and on. What do these jobs have in common? They keep you on your feet all day. Millions of people spend all day on their feet— standing, walking, hurrying to get your mail to you, get you your medicine, or help you find what you’re looking for in their store.

While this might sound like a healthier option to sitting all day as many people do in office jobs— standing all day lowers your risk of weight gain, heart disease, and diabetes— standing and walking all day comes with a myriad of it’s own risks and problems.

Plantar Fasciitis: Those who work on their feet are day are more likely to suffer from foot problems such as plantar fasciitis, flattened arches, overpronation, and plain old sore foot muscles. This is because when you are on your feet, your arches absorb up to four times your bodyweight in impact. When you are on your feet all day because you have to be, and you do not get a break, your feet are the ones who suffer most.

• How to Treat It: Wear shoes that offer plenty of cushion, arch support and ankle support. Your feet are your foundation. Comfortable shoes and powerful support is the best tool you can give your feet to keep them healthy and pain-free all day long.

Faster Fatigue: Continually standing or walking for an 8+ hour shift will physically tire you out much faster than a desk job will. It’s a physical kind of tired that is also accompanied by the same mental fatigue anyone with a job experiences, except this physical exhaustion makes it difficult to be motivated to go home and participate in any other activity such as hobbies or exercise.

• How to Treat It: Even if you’re not terribly motivated because you’re tired, exercise. Over time, your body will become healthier and stronger, and you will tire more slowly. Plus, try energy-boosting foods for lunch or on your break. Almonds, peanut butter, salmon and bananas are all proven to give you a boost of energy, and that can help you make it through the day.

Backaches: Standing on the job all day can put a lot of pressure on the lower back. This causes pain, including nerve problems such as sciatica, which can become chronic.

• How to Treat It: Some back pain is inevitable. It’s a natural side effect of working on your feet. However, taking anti-inflammatory drugs can help ease the pain, while icing the area after work can help as well. Seeing a chiropractor is recommended to help keep your body aligned.

Decrease in Proper Posture: Terrible posture is a risk with sitting jobs as well as standing jobs. With desk jobs, the tendency is to slouch through the shoulders. With standing, the dangerous posture begins in the hips and lower back. As your back begins to ache from standing up throughout the day, your body will naturally adjust the way you are standing to decrease pressure to certain areas. It sounds like the natural thing to do, but unfortunately, this often means you use muscles for things they aren’t intended for, which can throw off your walking gait, and your standing posture. Over time, this causes pain, and even possibly permanent changes in the way your body moves.

• How to Treat It: The main way to fight bad posture is to be consciously aware of the way you are standing. Evenly distribute your weight to help keep any one muscle from experiencing more work than another. This can be done by standing with your legs the same width apart as your hips, toes pointed forward, and your body balanced and straight above your hips. Try not to lean in either direction, slouch, or cross your legs. These things contribute to an uneven distribution of weight.

One Simple Way to Combat Injury from Stand-On-Your-Feet-All-Day Jobs

There is one simple way to help stop all the problems of standing on your feet all day from getting to you. It’s shoes. KURU shoes and the patented KURUSOLE™ technology in each pair provides powerful arch support and a deep heel cup that flexes as you walk to hug your heel and cushion your step. Over time, heat responsive foams use your body heat to mold to your feet for a custom fit.

Wearing shoes with the right kind of cushion and support are your best friend when working a stand-on-your-feet-all-day job, and can help halt any of these issues in their tracks.

Plantar Fasciitis: Proper support and cushion in a walking shoe from KURU can help prevent foot injures such as plantar fasciitis and fallen arches. A wide toebox provides better circulation for the toes, and that makes a happy pair of feet.

Faster Fatigue: Wearing KURU shoes with all that amazing support to help take some of the focus off of your feet can help keep you going longer and doing more without added stress and fatigue from feeling sore and worn down.

Backaches and Posture: When your feet are given the right support to maintain a healthy, ergonomic shape, your body will naturally realign over time, allowing your muscles, knees, hips and back to function the way they should, and move the way they’re meant to move.

Whether you work in a high-traffic medical ward or a busy salon where you stand in one place all day, KURU has a shoe for standing all day that matches your needs. Choose your favorite style and experience a better work day, with more energy and happier, healthier lifestyle.