By Joan
Fox Rose, RN, MA,
contributor
Nurses
spend most of their working time on their feet, and when their feet hurt they
tend to ignore the pain because they do not have time to sit down to give them a rest.
Flexible
flat feet and high arches are foot conditions nurses experience, problems that
can cause pain and discomfort in the ankles, knees, spine, shoulders and neck, according
to Lawrence Santi, DPM, a Brooklyn, New York, podiatrist.
Flexible
flat feet (fallen arches) is a pathological foot condition that can occur in
older nurses, Santi said. Fallen arches cause other foot problems: bunions (bumps on big
toes), hammertoes (toes that are bent and overlap), painful foot lesions, large
calluses on the bottom of the feet and heel spurs.
“Heel spurs tend to occur over time in people with flat feet,” Santi said. "A heel spur is an
inherited foot condition, an extra piece of bone that grows on the bottom of the foot and causes pain at the heel.”
High
arches cause foot rigidity that compromise the arch of the foot, weaken the
ankle joints and affect knees, leg calves and the lower spine in adverse ways.
“When ankle function is compromised, knee and lower-back function is also affected,”
Santi said.
Weakened
joints cause a loss of joint movement that causes a shift in the body’s weight
and creates a slight curvature of the spine, according to Jerome McAndrews, DC,
spokesperson for the National Chiropractic Heritage Association.
"The spine is like a mobile hanging from a ceiling hook,” he explained. “It shifts but comes
to rest again and everything remains in balance. The spine is movable but stationary
because all its movable parts are in equilibrium. After an injury, the spine will continue to
move as it always does, he explained, “but when it comes to rest its parts will be in the wrong place because it has accommodated itself for lost movement by creating pressure on joints.
Joint pressure can cause problems in the back, knees and feet,” he said.
Foot pain is not normal and comes from two problems: structural or mechanical
deficits, according to Michell Yass, a Farmingdale, New York, physical therapist.
"Deficits refer to the body’s skeleton; mechanical deficits refer to its muscles,” he
said. “The majority of foot conditions I treat are caused by muscle imbalance, weak or
tight muscles, or muscles that are in spasm. Overworked muscles cause pain, burning and
cramping to occur.”
Nurses
do a lot of standing and walking, he said. However, they fail to get good walking
exercise because they stop to care for patients along the way.
“When
we walk, we push off on our toes to maintain a forward center of gravity, and
we use muscle groups in the anterior part of our bodies more than we do the posterior
part of our bodies,” Yass said. “Weakened back body muscles cause the pelvis to push forward and
body weight is not distributed evenly. When this happens muscle imbalance occurs.
“Exercises
to strengthen back muscle groups need to be instituted to keep those muscles strong and in good working order,” he said.
Nurses
develop ankle strains when their pelvic and hip abductor muscles are weakened and
do not function correctly, Yass said.
“Pain
can originate in the feet and move up into the back, or vice versa, said Mark
Sanna, DC, a Florida based chiropractor. “Nurses must practice as workplace athletes,” he said.
“They
need to keep their bodies in good physical condition and should do non work related
physical exercise. Walk to improve the circulatory system; do weight bearing exercises
to improve muscle, joint and bone health."
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