If you are one of the tens of millions of Americans who have adjusted to a partial or full work-from-home schedule amid the COVID-19 pandemic, there are probably a number of things you’re still trying to get used to. It may be refreshing to not need to don a suit and tie or your work clothes every day because you’re no longer going into the office, but your work from home attire could be affecting one specific area of your body – your feet.
In today’s blog, we take a closer look at whether or not working from home could have an impact on your foot health.
Working From Home And Your Feet
If you’re like most people, odds are you don’t wear shoes inside your home. Typically, that doesn’t lead to all that much time on your feet without shoes on, because sleeping isn’t a stressful time on your feet. However, if you are now spending the majority of your day barefoot in your house, your feet may be taking on more pressure than normal.
Now, let us be clear, that isn’t exactly a bad thing. As we’ve said on the blog in the past, we weren’t born with shoes on our feet, and neither were our ancestors. We certainly don’t need shoes to survive, and in fact, sometimes walking barefoot can be beneficial to our feet. It can exercise and improve muscle groups that don’t receive a lot of targeted exercise, improve your balance and enhance your body’s natural proprioception (ability to recognize itself in space). Going barefoot can be great for your feet.
However, problems can set in if you go barefoot for too long on hard surfaces. Over time, all this unsupported stress on our feet can lead to fallen arches, which are aided by shoe support. Others suggest that our feet are more likely to overpronate when walking barefoot compared to wearing a shoe, and prolonged overpronation could increase your risk of worsening conditions like hammertoes, bunions and Achilles tendonitis based on bio-mechanical changes caused by this repetitive overpronation.
As is the case with almost anything, moderation is key. We’re not saying that you need to start wearing shoes while you’re indoors, but maybe start targeting your feet with exercises and strength training routines if you are now going barefoot more than you did in the past. Helping strengthen the muscles and ligaments in your feet and ankles will better help prepare them for stress, which can help to prevent injuries.
So in all, just be a little more aware of your feet if you’re constantly going barefoot nowadays, and try to target your feet and ankles with exercise to help them handle this extra stress. And as always, if you’re dealing with new or worsening foot or ankle pain, reach out to Dr. Silverman and the team at Silverman Ankle & Foot today.