Every year 2 million sick days are lost to lower limb disorders.
Many of the sick days could be prevented by:
- Wearing the right shoe for the job
- Following an appropriate foot care routine
Constant walking on hard, inflexible surfaces can exacerbate joint damage and wearing shoes that area poor fit or have too high a heel. Wearing incorrectly fitting shoes particularly those with a steel toe cap can result in pain and joint damage. One size does definitely does not fit all. Court shoes with steel toe caps are difficult to fit accurately.
Wearing the same pair of shoes constantly can prevent the shoes drying out and result in fungal infections such as athletes foot.
Health and Safety Legislation
Health and Safety legislation includes workplace footwear. Reasonable steps must be taken to reduce injury or ill health at work. Risk assessments are used to determine whether specialist footwear is required. If specialist footwear such as shoes with steel toecaps is provided a proper fit is essential to ensure they cause no harm to the feet.
Karen Stone the Senior Podiatrist at Orthotika is qualified and experienced in both podiatry and occupational health and safety. She has worked in both Health and Safety enforcement and as a Health and Safety lead for a key employer. This gives her a unique insight into workplace foot care issues.
Orthotika can offer businesses:
- Advice on individual cases where there are foot health problems ;
- Foot care advice and treatment sessions for your employees at your workplace;
- Clinic podiatry consultations at Dunsmore Medical Centre; and
- Foot health and safety policy advice.
- Presentations on foot health and safety.
Please contact Karen Stone at Orthotika for a quote.
Click Here to download Orthotika’s information sheet on Workplace Foot care