A Nurse’s Nightmare: Feet Pain and How to Prevent It

Feet pain is one of the most common daily challenges for nurses. Nurses are required to work long shifts, and oftentimes, nurses must work back-to-back or extended shifts. When you’re on your feet for hours on end with little to no breaks, it puts a ton of stress on your limbs. It’s no wonder nurses’ legs and feet are suffering! In this article, we take a look at three of the best ways nurses can prevent or mitigate feet pain.

There’s a chance the main cause of your pain occurs before you even get to work. If you’re not getting enough sleep, you’re not allowing your body to recover properly. This could be responsible for your aching legs and feet. Not only is an adequate amount of sleep important for your physical health, but it also affects your performance on the job. A 2014 study in theAmerican Journal of Critical Care suggests that nurses impaired by fatigue, loss of sleep, and daytime sleepiness are more likely than well-rested nurses to make faulty decisions that lead to decision regret, a negative cognitive emotion that occurs when the actual outcome is different from the expected outcome. If you’re a nurse who has a difficult time falling asleep, wear an eye mask, pop in some ear plugs, and get some rest!

Another common cause of foot and leg pain is wearing the wrong shoes to work. The human foot has 26 bones, 33 joints, over 1,000 muscles, and more than 7,000 nerve endings. And that’s just in ONE foot! As much as you may want to wear your favorite pair of shoes during a 12 hour shift, opting to wear shoes that are specifically designed for a nurse’s job responsibilities is imperative. These include shoes that have comfortable insoles, reliable support, and slip resistant grip. Once you find the perfect brand and model of shoes for you, you should be keeping monthly tabs on their condition. In most cases, after about six months of consistent usage, the structural support in your shoes begin to break down.

Last but not least, it may be wise to consider utilizing compression technology for the duration of your long shifts. Graduated compression alleviates foot and leg pain by improving blood circulation and reducing swelling. Fresh Legs Compression Socks and Compression Leg Sleeves were designed with nurses in mind, placing emphasis on pain minimization and comfort maximization. Fun Fact: Feet have a whopping 250,000 sweat glands. Luckily, all Fresh Legs compression products feature moisture wicking and odor preventing fabric. Visit getfreshlegs.com and finally put an end to your feet and leg pain!