3 Common Foot Injuries People Get at Work
Your feet have a lot to deal with. They support your body, help keep your balance, and propel you forward. When you injure your feet, it negatively affects your whole body.
That’s why it’s important to understand common foot problems and how to avoid them. Read on to discover three common foot injuries people get at work.
1. Foot Sprain
One common workplace foot injury is spraining. A sprain is a stretched or torn ligament, the piece of your body that connects bone to bone. If you sprain your foot or ankle, you might experience swelling, bruising, and pain that causes you to walk with a limp.
The most frequent cause of foot and ankle sprains is twisting or turning the foot incorrectly. This incident might happen when you twist your body, step into a hole, or step onto an object that results in you planting your foot unevenly.
One of the best ways to prevent foot injuries in the workplace is to wear the right footwear. Footwear that gives you adequate support will help keep your feet aligned. You should also keep your ankles flexible with gentle stretching exercises.
2. Bunions
The second common foot injury people get at work is the occurrence of bunions. A bunion is the formation a bony bump at the base of a big toe, which pushes the big toe out of place and toward the other toes. Symptoms include the bulging bump and swelling or redness around the toe joint.
Bunions often appear due to footwear that’s too tight, such as high heels, shoes that are a size too small, or shoes with a narrow toe box. Even if you have a condition that causes a bunion to form, such as arthritis, ill-fitted shoes will exacerbate the problem.
3. Breaks
The third foot injury to be aware of is broken bones. If you break your foot, you might experience symptoms that include throbbing pain, swelling, bruising, and pain that increases with activity. It’s important to see a doctor so that you can heal properly.
If you work in a warehouse or another place that has moving machinery, always stay aware of your surroundings. Falling heavy objects are a common cause of broken toes or metatarsals. When machinery moves over your foot or an object drops on it, it can crush the bones within.
Tripping, slipping, and falling can also break your foot. If you misstep or land in the wrong way, it could place too much pressure on the bones and lead to extensive damage.
