According to the American Chiropractic Association, nearly 50% of the workers experience symptoms of back pain each year.
Few cases of back pain are reported due to sport injuries, but nearly 80% of back pain cases arise from wearing the wrong footwear!
Yes, you heard it right!
Wearing improper footwear strains the nerves of the feet causing obstruction in the blood flow and twist and turn of the tendons and ligaments in the feet and cause severe back pain.
This is because the pelvic joints are connected to the bones in the feet and the spinal cord begins from the pelvic area. Therefore, any damage caused to the tissues, nerves, veins joints in the feet affect the spinal cord directly and cause lower back pain.
Causes of Back Pain
1.) The first and foremost case of back pain shows up in people who have “flat feet”.
This is because the arches of the feet are not bent in them and the entire feet come in direct contact with the ground and the weight of the entire body is felt 5 times more in these cases. Thus the pain travels straight to the back in the spinal cord.
2.) The second cause of back pain arises from hyper-pronation.
In this case, there is an inward motion of the feet that results in collapsed arches and flat feet while the person walks or runs.
3.) The third cause obviously is wearing the wrong footwear, which we are going to discuss further down.
The other causes being:
Sitting for long hours, Standing for long hours, Improper postures, Hard bed, Doing exercises the wrong way, Driving for long hours, Having a poor diet.
How can Work Boots Cause Back Pain and the Remedies
We are going to mention a top factors in the work boots which cause back pain and how to avoid them:
1.) Wearing work boots with Heels
If your work boots have too heighted heels, then it’s going to affect the spine directly. In such cases, the heel of the feet is raised to a height which is quite high from the rest of the foot. So, the heels bear much more weight of the body and dissipate the pain to the spine directly.
Remedy:
Wear heels which are not more than 1” in height and make sure the work boot has heel pads inside and if not, it is recommended that you insert it yourself.
2.) Wearing work boots that do not have a Good Cushioned Insole
If the boots do not have cushion, then your feet would come in more close contact with the flat ground and hurt.
Cushions (insoles) provide a soft base to the feet so that much of the weight of the body is absorbed in the cushion and thus does not hurt the feet or the back.
Remedy:
Select work boots with good cushioning and if needed, insert an extra orthopedic insole in your boots. Orthopedic insoles prevent foot pain better than the normal insoles.
3.) Wearing work boots which do not have Arch Support
Arch support and midsole provide support to the feet and avoids any twists and turns in the ligaments and bones of the feet, thus preventing feet and back pain.
Remedy:
Always choose the work boots which have midsole and arch support. Steel shanks are also a notable feature in providing a good amount of support to the feet.
4.) Wearing Flat Work Boots
Work boots that do not have cushioned insoles or at least 1” heel can cause foot and back pain. This is because the entire feet comes in close contact with the hard ground as the arch of the foot is not bent and the weight of the body is felt 5 times more in the feet wherein the pain is transmitted back to the spine or back.
Remedy:
Wear work boots with at least 1” heel and which have a good orthopedic cushioned insole.
5.) Wearing the Wrong sized and Improper Fitted work boots
If you wear the wrong sized boots that is if your work boots are mainly smaller, then your toes and toe box feel cramped inside the boots and the arch is hurt the most.
In this case the entire weight of the body is concentrated to only a certain part of the foot and over that the discomfort of the foot inside the small boot too cause feet and back pain.
Remedy:
While choosing your boots, make sure that your toes have room inside the toe box and your heels does not slip on the either sides. Also, the work boots must have lace up system to ensure proper fit of the boots.
Before we say Good Bye:
Choosing the right work boot for your feet is very important.
Or else it will end you up in feet and back pain which you have to carry till the grave!
Hope now you know the boots back pain relief remedies, causes and how to avoid it!
Next time when you go to the store do keep in mind these points before grabbing one pair for your loved feet and back.
Till then take care, stay safe…
And…
Keep walking!
