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The pandemic and foot health in the workplace

Manuel Portela, president of the Portuguese Association of Podology

Rita Pedrosa, coordinator of SPODOS – Foot Science Center

Did you know that walking barefoot or with slippers that do not take care of the stability of the foot for a long time, as tends to happen in confinement contexts resulting from the current COVID-19 pandemic, can have negative effects on the health of your feet and, consequently, overall, the musculoskeletal apparatus? And that this can even embarrass your return to work?

This is the pandemic that is affecting the feet in general and whose impact can only be mitigated by the combination of good practices of regular exercise and the use of footwear that favours the health of the foot.

During daily activity and/or physical exercise, our muscles are constantly stimulated, maintaining their function of balance, and determining the posture of the entire musculoskeletal system, namely our feet. On the contrary, inactivity induces muscle atrophy and, consequently, changes in foot posture and in the way of walking.

Tendinitis and plantar fasciitis are the most frequent complaints and the ones that motivate the most patients to seek medical help.

Excessive activity or inactivity can lead to tendinopathies in the feet, namely plantar fasciitis, aggravated by postural changes in the foot and using shoes without support and protection of the stability of the arch of the foot.

Long periods of walking, barefoot and on smooth floors, or even with slippers, without any kind of foot support, are thought to be the main causes of this phenomenon – which has been worsening in this pandemic context. On social networks, there are countless videos that prove this bad practice, including in contexts of physical exercise.

Physical exercise must be accompanied by appropriate footwear for each modality, to favour stability, support, cushioning and protection of the foot and posture of the individual. Exercising is good, but it requires the necessary care not to be counterproductive. At home, during confinement, we must keep active and perform some type of physical exercise, but always with the feet properly stabilized and guided. Exercises that do not involve constant tapping or excessive pressure on the foot are essential.

On the other hand, this pandemic context also motivates opposite situations, of great inactivity, with people who spend most of the day sitting – which can lead to edema of the lower limbs and aggravate other possible pathologies.

Any of these cases can contribute to the deterioration of the health of the feet, compromising mobility in general and even constraining the return to work of each person in their full capacity. It will not be surprising, in the short term, the increase in cases of workers who need to resort to podiatry consultations and/or professional shoes made to measure.

Consulting a podiatrist about the right footwear for the type of foot or to determine if you can benefit from an orthosis for additional arch support or to change the mechanics of the foot can, in many cases, prove indispensable to minimize discomfort.

The feet are the second “heart”, responsible for pumping blood upwards, so that confinement and sedentary lifestyle also have vascular and lymphatic complications, increasing edema and discomfort in the feet and legs.

Avoiding a sedentary lifestyle and its consequences, avoiding long periods of walking barefoot or wearing slippers, which are responsible for a significant number of falls among the elderly, and favouring the use of shoes that favour the support and structure of the foot are crucial attitudes for maintain a general state of good health in the lower limbs.

Foot care, often neglected, is essential. Ultimately, it is the future quality of life and the ability to perform at work that are at stake.