HARD FLOORS MAY BE TO BLAME FOR FOOT PAIN

Hard floor surfaces can exacerbate all sorts of common foot problems, including flat feet, plantar fasciitis, and metatarsalgia. Helen Branthwaite, a consultant podiatrist and musculoskeletal lead for the Royal College of Podiatry, says this is true for many British people because we largely grew up with more carpets in our homes. "It’s about conditioning," explains Branthwaite, who is also a senior lecturer in clinical biomechanics at Staffordshire University. 

 

Helen Branthwaite

 

Carpet is soft and textured, offering feet similar support to footwear; each step on carpet spreads the load slightly differently, allowing our feet greater flexibility of movement. A hard floor focuses the load onto certain parts of the foot though, and the increased amount of impact forces going through our feet makes the muscles work harder than carpet, with a reduced range of movement, leading to a repetitive strain effect, explains Branthwaite.

 

Source: Cara Lee, The Irish News [5/9/23]

Courtesy of Barry Block, editor of PM News