Not only do feet face the hazards of high heels, steel toe-caps or ill fitting footwear, but also get to work in occupations and environments that can really put them at risk when the right advice isn’t followed.

The average person walks the equivalent of five times around the earth in a lifetime, and in simple walking, each step can exert up to two times your body weight in ground reaction force through your lower limb; so a trim 10 stone person will have between 15 and 20 stone of impact going through the heel on heel-strike. Considering the distance covered, and the hazards feet are exposed to during a working lifetime, it is no wonder that working feet need care and attention if they are going to survive.

Your feet bear the brunt of your daily working life. Prolonged standing, walking, operating machinery, high heels, falling objects and slippery surfaces are just some of the dangers we expose our feet to in the workplace.

Every year, 2 million sick days are lost due to lower limb disorders, and many of these sick days could be prevented by simply:

• wearing the right shoe for the job;
• following an appropriate daily foot care routine.

ELAINE worked in a supermarket in the fresh fruit and vegetable display area. Some grapes had fallen out of the packaging and were loose on the floor. Elaine slipped and fell, spraining her ankle, which resulted in her having two weeks off work. If she had worn safety footwear with a slip resistant sole, this accident may have been prevented.

CAROLE normally worked in an office of a company, but was asked to participate in an exhibition at the NEC for a week promoting the company. She continued to wear her usual high heel court shoe, but by the end of the week she was experiencing severe pain in the ball of her right foot. After a visit to her local hospital and an x-ray, she was diagnosed with a stress fracture of a metatarsal bone in the foot.