When it comes to the safety of our feet during work, we can think of none other than steel toe boots! Steel toe boots are definitely the strongest and toughest built boots especially designed for the work industry. But one thing that we ignore is the pain that comes along with these safety toe boots.
As the toe caps of the steel toe boots are made of steel, obviously they are not very comfortable to wear for the entire day.
Steel toe boots hurt top of foot and are heavy in weight that brings with them the pain of wearing these boots and bruises and calluses!
To avoid steel toe shoes foot pain use these simple and easy tricks like
Ignoring the pain for a longer period of time can cause some major problems in your spinal cord as well as the feet.
So, better late than never we should start taking the precautions for stopping the steel toes from creating any further damage to our body.
10 Hacks to Prevent your Steel Toes Boots Hurt
1. Cut the Toe area of the INSOLES:
One of the major reasons that your toes are hurting is that they are too tightly pressed inside the toe box and this is because the insole in the toe box area is taking up much of the space.
One trick is to remove the insole from the boot and cut the toe area of the insole and then insert it back to the boots.
This will give your toes more room within the toe box and thus stop hurting your toes from rubbing against the steel toe cap.
2. Wear Thick SOCKS (Steel Toe Socks)
Socks provide a thick layer to the base of the feet. When you wear a sock, the pressure exerted by the feet is much absorbed by the socks and your feet is not directly exposed to the heel pressure. Check the reviews and price of thick pair of socks recommended by us on Amazon.
Your toes will get a protective layer of the thick socks and thus would not rub against the steel toe box!
Also, wearing a thick pair of socks would provide a comfortable layer to the base of your heel and the heel of the boots would hurt you much less than wearing the steel toe on your naked feet.
3. Insert TONGUE PADS
Padding adds that extra comfort of wearing boots! It helps a lot in case the edge and the side walls of the toe area feel sharp or compressed.
Just get hold on some adhesive tongue pads and then cut them into strips and insert them inside the edge of the steel toe caps!
Now put your feet inside the steel toes and you will feel the comfort of wearing a soft shoe as the TOES would not hurt you anymore. This is a quick fix to your problem without having done any further investment.
4. Always choose LACED STEEL TOES
Yes, guys! This might sound weird, but lacing helps to keep your feet intact inside the shoes without any movement. You can adjust the laces to adjust the fit of the boots according to your feet shape and size.
The steel toes which are without laces do not fit true to your feet shape and thus cause pain on your toes because your toes keep on moving inside the toe box and keep on rubbing against the steel walls.
You can either select the many laced steel toes from the market or can customize one for you. All you need to do is to just cut out a square portion from the top of the shoes exactly where the laces in other shoes are placed. Punch three holes on either side of the cut outs and tie lace in knots. You are ready to go peeps!
5. Steel Toe Shape and Size
The ones with very sharp pointing fronts would hurt the most. So, select the ones which fit your toe shape so that you feel comfortable like the asymmetrical or the oblique safety toes.
You can also use cotton pads in front and on the sides of the toe area to prevent steel toe boots from hurting.
While buying the steel toes, remember that the point of the ball of the heel of the shoe should be placed just at the middle of your heels. This position would cause much lesser pain than if the point of the ball falls in some other portion of your feet.
6. Arch support is Necessary
One reason your steel toe boots hurt is that it does not have a good arch support!
You can get the perfect fit when the ball of the foot is located just at the widest part of the boots. With this the arch of the feet fits precisely with the arch of the boots thus providing utmost support from the boots.
You can choose the boots with arch support or insert insoles that provide the arch support to the feet!
7. Try Wrapping BANDAIDS on your Toes
The toes that hurt the most are the longest toe and the little toe that is the first and the fifth toe!
Try wrapping band aids on these two toes before wearing your boots. This will prevent the toes from rubbing against the walls of the steel toe caps and thus stop steel toe from hurting.
8. Apply VASELINE
Vaseline acts as a thick coating for the toes and prevents blisters and calluses!
Apply generous amount of Vaseline or petroleum jelly on the parts of the feet that hurts the most and develops bruises or cuts.
Believe me guys, this trick works like magic!
9. Break in your steel toe boots
I will discuss how to break your steel toe boots fast in the section below in detail. As of now, learn that if your boots are not broken in, you are sure to experience discomfort.
Quick ways of breaking in your steel toe boots include, taking them for long running sessions, using a shoe stretcher, wearing thick socks or multiple layers of socks and giving the boots an oil massage.
10. Lace the boots in snug fit
Do not tie your laces too tight or too lace, the best is to tie them leaving a bit of room so that the boots offer you a comfortable or a snug fit. This way, your feet won’t hit the toe area much and you can move your feet back whenever necessary.
Expand your Steel toe boots
Stretching your shoes is an excellent approach to increase at least half an inch to their length and breadth.
While wearing protective shoes, this strategy might provide your feet more flexibility to adapt and more space for your toes, providing them with overall comfort.
Remember that your steel-toed boots might take time to break in
One of the most common causes of discomfort when wearing steel toe boots is that you did not break them in properly. I’m aware that many workers make the frequent error of wearing their boots immediately after purchasing them.
Before you wear your steel toe boots full day at work, spend a few minutes to an hour wearing them at home each day.
This not only makes steel toe boots a little bigger, but it also allows your feet to become acclimated to the material.
Here are a few tips on how methods for breaking in steel-toed work boots-
1.) Coldwater treatment- This is an excellent method for extending the life of steel toe work boots. It is quite simple to accomplish. Pour cold water into a ziplock bag and seal it. Then, slip the bag into each boot and refrigerate it overnight.
The water will then freeze, expand, and widen the boots during this process. Take your boots out of the freezer the next morning and let the ice melt before removing the bag.
2.) The stick method approach- It entails simply inserting a mop stick or broom into your steel toe boots. Make careful to direct the broom towards the area that makes you feel uneasy.
Then, stretch the boot forcefully over the stick to allow the leather to expand in the damaged area. You should notice a tiny discoloration on the exterior of your boots to determine if they have been stretched or not.
Avoid overdoing it while extending your steel toe boots with this procedure since it increases the chance of damaging your safety boots.
Note– Avoid extending your steel toe boots repeatedly with this procedure, since it increases the chance of damaging your safety boots.
3.) The oil method: To give your boots a protective covering, use either mink oil or any other sort of leather conditioner.
When using the oil, be sure to concentrate on the regions that make you feel uneasy. Then, leave the oil on the boots overnight. It will soften your boots, making you feel more squishy even if you wear them all day.
4.) The hot water approach- Submerge your new steel toe boots in a saucepan of lukewarm water for around 30 minutes to break them in.
Remove extra water from the boots when they have been thoroughly soaked in water, and wear your boots for around an hour.
Keep your steel toe boots in good condition
Another effective technique to make your work boots more pleasant to wear is to maintain them properly. And the simplest method to do so is to clean them on a regular basis.
Make it a practice to remove any dirt or mud from your boots as soon as you return home from work.
Ensure that your boots are not in contact with typical fire sparks at your workplace.
Regular maintenance also includes conditioning and oiling your boots to keep them flexible.
Why do wearing steel toe shoes hurt?
The caps of steel toe boots are obviously made of steel which is one of the main reasons that your toes do not feel comfortable inside the toe box.
But, besides this, there are several reasons why your steel toe boots might be hurting:
1.) Steel toe boots are generally not wide in shape and therefore, the toes might be rubbing against the steel walls of the toe box which is the cause of blisters and pain.
2.) Your feet might be too wide for the shape of your steel toe boots.
3.) The arch of your feet might not have set right inside the boots and might be causing the movements of your feet causing them to rub against the walls of the boots here and there.
4.) Your boots might be too loose to sway on the both side and rub or might be too tight to make your toes feel craped inside the toe boxes which are the causes of the feet pain.
5.) The steel toe boxes are too heavy for your feet to bear the weight for the entire day and therefore cause the pain.
How to make steel toe boots more comfortable?
Well, there are some awesome tips that will make the wearing of your steel toe boots more comfortable and they are:
1.) Wear them with comfortable steel toe socks
2.) Remember they should give you a snug fitting
3.) Place a comfortable inside the boots
4.) Wear band aids on points of your feet that rub against the walls of the boots
5.) Use the laces to give them the perfect fitting
It’s time to bid Adieu!
Wearing steel toe boots can’t be skipped if you work in sites where your feet have chances of injuries from heavy falling or rolling objects!
But definitely we can reverse or change some bits of it to fit our comfort because nothing comes prior to our comfort.
Try these 10 exciting hacks with your steel toes and you will definately get rid of pain from steel toe boots.
