Walking is the most effective and comfortable exercise. It can help you manage blood sugar, lose extra pounds, and stimulate circulation throughout the body. So what would you think when I say walking can be bad for your health as well? Don’t scoff me off just yet. Walking can be bad for your entire body when you walk on concrete.
Concrete does not provide a similar bounce. The likes of a carpet, wood, or soil can. Imagine smacking your hand on your kitchen countertop. That’s how your feet feel when they walk on concrete. Gladfully, there are ways you can save your feet by wearing these highly recommended and best shoes for walking on concrete floors listed by feetfitness.com.
If you do not wear protective shoes, there are millions of ways you can put your precious feet in danger by walking on concrete. We are going to discuss some of these dangers down below.
Plantar Fasciitis
One of the most common orthopedic complaints of all time is—plantar fasciitis. This foot problem can make walking, standing, sleeping, everything dreadful. So basically, your foot’s fascia ligaments can face a lot of wear and tear throughout your life, and with too much pressure, you can severely damage your ligaments. This will cause immense pain and stiffness in your foot.
Even when you carry a lot of weight, you can put stress on your feet, which is why obese people are at a high risk of developing this issue. If you do not wear supportive shoes when you walk or stand on hard concrete floors, you can increase your chances of developing plantar fasciitis.
Foot Discomfort
Concrete floors do not harbor good shock absorbency, which is why hitting your feet on them affects adversely. It will cause your soles and heels to pain, and the muscles will also probably take the brunt by not being able to hold the impact through your body. If your muscles become too sore after walking on concrete floors, it is a result of low shock absorbency, and that will lead to:
- Weakened bones;
- Susceptibility to fracture in the future.
It is absolutely not advisable to walk on concrete floors barefoot, as that can increase the risk of the above possibilities even more.
Hip Degeneration & Lower-Back Pain
Your hip sockets will bear the brunt of you walking on concrete floors always. When your feet land hard on the concrete jars, it will create long-term damage and degenerate your hip bone in the longer run. You might even require a hip-replacement surgery due to this, which is painful and extremely expensive.
Lower-back will not be provided any relief either. The hard impact that we keep talking about in all the feet issues will radiate a sharp pain all through your calves and lower back. Usually, your back is the last part of your body that is affected. This happens long after your calves have softened due to walking on the concrete floors. The pain can be anywhere between mild to severe.
Lower-Leg Pain
If you live and work on concrete floors for a very long time, you will be more prone to developing lower-leg pain due to it. This can happen because your joints will not be able to absorb all the shock that comes with hitting the hard floor. Your muscles and calves will become sore and will not be able to endure any further impact. Over time, your knees may become damaged or develop arthritis.
Skin Irritation
Concrete floors are more often than not left uncovered, and they’re covered with carpet. The carpet wears off gradually, and this can become a health issue for humans. How? For once, if your feet come in contact with these residues of concrete, it will cause extreme irritation to the skin of your sole, and probably worsen the condition if you walk barefoot.
Lumbar Strain
When your muscle fibers get stretched beyond they can handle, your body starts developing lumbar muscle strain. Although our ligaments are very tough, walking on concrete can cause them to sprain and disband the tissues from their attachments. This injury can cause a gradual overuse of your lumbar area, and the pain can be very debilitating.
Neuroma
One of the most painful conditions for feet that affects your foot’s ball is known as Morton’s Neuroma. This condition mostly affects the area between your third and fourth toes. Morton’s neuroma can feel like you have a pebble between your toes when you stand up your walk, and it can be worsened by walking on concrete.
This condition thickens the tissue around your nerves, which lead up to your toes and cause your foot to experience sharp, burning pain, and stinging.
Stress Fracture
A stress fracture is simple, a fraction that occurs when you put a lot of pressure and impact overload on your feet. When you walk too much on concrete, you can increase your risk of the stress fracture. This condition can affect your bones more than your muscles, and women are likely to experience this more than men.
This condition needs to be treated by consuming many calcium-rich foods and avoiding walking or running for several weeks at a time for healing.
Shin Splints
Shin splints can be a result of overworking your tendons, muscles, or bone tissue. They usually occur to athletes who have intense workout and training routines. Imagine how bad a concrete floor will be for it because it can burden the shins a lot. This burner can lead to inflammation and muscle spasms. Stiffness in the muscles will be followed next, and you might have a course of anti-inflammation medicine to get you out of it.
Knee Pain
Of course, last but not the very least, concrete floors will directly hurt your knees. If you are above 30 years old, you do not want to take your chances by stressing your joints from walking or running on concrete floors as it can have future implications of osteoarthritis and further wear-and-tear.