Voran Safety Footwear Is Not Just For Your Feet
The human body is often seen as isolated parts, but it should be seen as the balance between all its parts–when one part is out of balance, it affects the rest. We might want to look at the body as an organized structure that provides support for all the parts, and balances on the bottom ones in order to achieve a balance of forces and loads. When seen this way, the body could be compared to the architecture of a building. The foot is like the vault that supports a column, represented by the rest of the limb. Both limbs or legs join at the top in a new vault, the pelvis, and the spine balances on top of that. With these ideas in mind, it is only logical to see that, when one of the parts is not well supported, the rest of the building “cracks” and can, therefore, suffer muscular or articular injury in places other than the foot. The foot has to absorb multiple impacts with the floor created by the weight of the whole body during daily activities.
Potential Physical Disorders Caused by Inadequate Footwear
As a consequence of an abnormal gait caused by inadequate footwear, the load is not distributed evenly, and some points support a higher load than others. The most direct consequence is soreness in some part of the foot or in several parts (heel, sole, instep, toes). Another common consequence is an alteration in the position of the toes which can, in time, cause atrophy. Pain in the spine, hips, knees, ankles, and leg muscles are also very common. Pathologies in the lumbosacral spine and kneecap injuries are quite frequent as well.
Most Common Foot Pathologies
Plantar Fasciitis: This is one of the most common causes of pain in the heel area. It implies the inflammation of a thick band of tissue that connects the heel bone to the toes (plantar fascia). Plantar fasciitis causes a shooting pain when taking the first few steps in the morning. The pain usually goes away as you get up and move, but can come back after long periods of standing up, or when you stand up after being in a sitting position for some time. People with overweight and people who wear shoes with inadequate support are at greater risk of having plantar fasciitis.
Metatarsalgia: The inflammation of the metatarsals, i.e., one or all of the long bones that can be found in the front portion of the foot and reach the base of the toes. Along with the heel area, the metatarsals are the most important foothold when walking. When this area becomes inflamed, it causes strong, continual, and intense pain in the sole, exactly where the toes end, and it becomes worse when standing up, walking or running. It can also cause a sensation of having a stone in the shoe, numbness, or tingling in the toes. Tendinopathy: Tendons are the tissue that inserts muscles into the bones. Our feet have several tendons and, if they become inflamed due to an overload, an abnormal gait, inadequate footwear, or injuries, they can cause great pain to different areas of the foot. Foot Osteoarthritis: A progressive damage to the cartilage in one or several joints of the feet. The ankle is usually the first joint in the foot to become deteriorated with osteoarthritis. Venous Return: The human body has a great amount of fluids that naturally move downwards by the effect of gravity. These fluids need to move upwards to be drained through urine but, in order to do so, they need to be assisted by a small muscular movement that causes pressure to build, and activate a valve. This is called lymphatic drainage. When a person is standing without moving, venous return becomes less efficient, and the feet start collecting fluids, causing pain. When a person is wearing hard, stiff, heavy shoes, they tend not to move due to a lack of stimulation.Wearing Adequate Footwear
Good safety footwear should have these characteristics:
Comfort: A comfortable, light shoe should allow the foot to move freely and to interact with the floor.
Protection: Impact cushioning during the workday is key, and the toe cap should protect the user from potential impact.
Prevention and treatment of illnesses: Adequate footwear can prevent multiple pathologies related to bad gait.
Voran Energy Benefits
Our safety shoes improve workers’ lives by offering them both protection and prevention. The SportSafe line guarantees the safety of wearers when they’re on the job, while also helping them prevent various workplace-related pathologies.
All Voran models were created and developed with the end goal of looking after the user and providing absolute comfort. Thanks to the combination of materials and design, our new technologies provide comfort (Infinergy®, Ultralight PU, S-Motion concept, High Performance, Dryzone), protection (Infinergy®, Shock Absorber, Composite/Aluminum Toe Cap), and prevention (Infinergy®, 3D Layer, S-Motion Concept, Flat Design, High Performance, Microtec Pro) to our users.
