Concrete floors & pain

[Khan]

I mentioned that Saturday (Dec 19) I spent several hours at USAF Museum. About 2 hours in, I started to hurt: feet, knees, hip, back.

It reminded me that after retirement the pain went away. Yes, I lost a lot of weight, but the pain went away faster than the weight. I woke up 1 morning & realized I didn't hurt.

A day later, most of the pain is gone. But then I'm no longer doing the concrete floors in a large building 5 days a week.

I still have arthritis & still sometimes have pain, but it's not constant.

 

[TromboneAl]

You need to wear shoes.

 

[W2R]

Not only that, you need good shoes, and probably orthotics. Concrete floors are very hard on the feet, and the feet are connected with knees, hip, back. I can't handle a "big box store" anymore except with certain shoes.

I think the human animal is better adapted to walking on grass or uneven ground, than to walking on hard flat surfaces like concrete.

 

[Khan]

Not only that, you need good shoes, and probably orthotics. Concrete floors are very hard on the feet, and the feet are connected with knees, hip, back. I can't handle a "big box store" anymore except with certain shoes.

I just avoid them for the most part.

I think the human animal is better adapted to walking on grass or uneven ground, than to walking on hard flat surfaces like concrete.

We're definitely pouring concrete faster than our bodies are evolving.

 

[Orchidflower]

The bottoms of my feet have hurt when I walk on concrete for any length of time since I was a kid. I just don't have much padding on the bottom of my soles at all, so I always wear good shoes--Dansko brand, Nikes with lots of cushion and so forth--when I know I'm going to WalMart even. I get what you are saying totally, Khan, as I have the same problem.
I'd wear clothing from KMart if I didn't have much money, but I insist on good, cushioned soles on my shoes which often translates to more expensive shoes...but it's so worth it.

 

[ls99]

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot[-] big box store[/-].

 

[aaronc879]

I've been working 12-hour shifts for 9 1/2 years. 11 1/2 of those hours are standing/walking on concrete while wearing heavy size 15 steel-toed boots. I guess i've just gotten used to the pain. It's there all the time but i've adapted to the point that it usually doesn't bother me... much.

 

[RunningBum]

I was just reading an interesting theory on shoes in the book "Born to Run". It about running, but it could apply to walking as well.

The theory is that the more cushioning you wear in your shoes, without realizing it you will land your feet harder, trying to find a firm surface to push off of. Running barefoot or with minimal padding, you land a lot lighter. The net effect is that quite often people with more cushioned shoes are pounding their feet and legs more, not less, because it changes the way you run.

With walking, you probably wouldn't compensate as much with cushioned shoes, but do be aware that how you walk is at least as important as the shoes you are walking in.

 

[bbbamI]

I've been working 12-hour shifts for 9 1/2 years. 11 1/2 of those hours are standing/walking on concrete while wearing heavy size 15 steel-toed boots. I guess i've just gotten used to the pain. It's there all the time but i've adapted to the point that it usually doesn't bother me... much.

Try shifting your weight from one foot to the other. If at all possible, rest one foot on something...anything...like a box. Shift the box from one foot to the other. Try leaning on something whenever you can.

I stood/walked on concrete floors for several years myself. It sure ain't a picnic.

 

[mews]

This is why I would never have a tile floor in my kitchen. (and besides, everything I drop would break!)

ta,
mew

 

[WhoDaresWins]

I believe we lose some of the fat padding on the soles of our feet as we age which is why a lot of older people get more calluses, even if they are thin. I think the fat in my feet must be migrating upward to form a muffin top around my waist. I swear by good shoes, too. I like Eccos and Clarks for work and am fussy about my socks as well(Thorlos or cashmere blends for the most part).

 

[Orchidflower]

OMG, I'd give anything to have callouses on the soles of my feet! Nope...just thin soles.
I hate to hear they are thinning out even more with age as I didn't have any fat hardly on the soles when I was 21. I can remember walking from the Lincoln Park area to Marshall Field's downtown Chicago and back, and my feet burning on the bottom like all getout when I was in my early 20's.
And, yea, I'm a sock snob, also, but prefer cotton all the way or, in hot climates, CoolMax types that wick the sweat off--one reason I love my sheepskin lined boots and house shoes by Uggs.

 

[brewer12345]

Thanks for reminding me of my creepy, barefoot running cow-orker, RB. Dude runs barefoot for many miles at a time and yaks about it at the top of his lungs nonstop. Even walks around the office barefoot sometimes (*shuuder*). Only time I found it amusing was when he was b!tching about running through a hood with a lot of oak trees this fall - acorns all around.

I pretty much cannot wear anything but Clarks these days, owing to needing heavy padding. Buying running shoes is tough, but I seem to have the best luck with Asics.

 

[Orchidflower]

He sounds kinda nutty, brewer12345.

I know Saucony shoes last the longest in tennies. Made super-well.

 

[Bimmerbill]

I have similar issues. My size 12 feet are a bit small for my height (6'6"). I wear good shoes (rockports) and also a hard arch support.

Still hate standing/walking on concrete or pavement for a long time tho.

 

[mews]

Walking - that's ok since I have good orthotics and am moving. ( I'm a New Yorker, so I walk around quite a bit without 'going for walks' )

Standing around - yech!

ta,
mew

 

[RunningBum]

You don't work with Barefoot Ted, do you, brewer? He's the most infamous one, but I'm sure there are others. I might try it on our nicely groomed golf course fairways this summer, but that'd be my limit.

 

[brewer12345]

Nope, not Ted. A different special individual.

 

[happy2bretired]

The padding on the bottom of my feet is getting thin too. I used to go barefoot in the house all the time. But, now my feet hurt walking across my wood floors. I really should wear good cushioned shoes in the house all the time, but, my soft house slippers are so easy to slip on and off. They are off most of the time when I'm sitting and then they go back on when I get up.

 

[Moemg]

I am amazed that concrete floors do not bother me as I spent thirty years working in Operating Rooms on concrete floors and standing for at least eight hours a day . I've always worn heavily padded nurses shoes with high arches . When I've tried to wear sneakers even the most expensive sneakers I've had pain but with padded clogs I could work for hours in comfort .