COVID-19 impacted our lives in countless ways, and every day we are learning more about the fallout from the pandemic and our reaction to it. One possible consequence that may be tied to the pandemic is an increase in a few different foot ailments. Nicknamed “pandemic foot,” medical experts believe that the shift to a work from home lifestyle may have led to an influx of different foot conditions. We take a closer look at that theory in today’s blog.
Pandemic Foot
Tens of millions of Americans saw their job shift to a partial or complete remote position as companies worked to maintain productivity while also hoping to limit the spread of the coronavirus. This meant that instead of putting on shoes and heading to the office, countless Americans spent the majority of their day going barefoot or in socks around the house. Without the added support of a cushioned shoe, that meant that our feet were now exposed to more stress.
This added stress could be particularly problematic for individuals with flat feet or high arches. People with flat feet may have noticed new pain or discomfort in their ankle or along the inside of their foot, whereas people with high arches could develop issues in the balls of their feet or heels. These areas already handle more stress due to the shape of your foot, and now that you’re going barefoot and without ample support while working from home, these areas could be overloaded with stress. The pandemic certainly fueled many new cases of plantar fasciitis and ankle instability as more people transitioned to a work-from-home lifestyle.
That said, working from home wasn’t the only reason why foot injuries became more common during the pandemic. As a nation, we collectively became less active due to stay at home orders and closures of recreational programs, and for many that led to weight gain and muscular atrophy. Our bodies crave activity, and if we’re not regularly challenging them with movement and exercise, tissues will weaken and leave us susceptible to injury. And if we gained any weight due to this inactivity, that too will put additional strain on your feet, which can contribute to injury.
Of course, other types of injuries became less common as a result of the pandemic. We saw fewer high-energy injuries as a result of sporting activities, as many of these programs were cancelled or postponed amid the pandemic. However, this lack of physical activity may have put people at an increased risk of injury once we returned to athletics, as our bodies needed to be gradually reintroduced to the physical strain of sports.
So while traumatic foot injuries may have declined during the pandemic, many workers developed new foot pain in part because of their new work-from-home lifestyle. As we always say on this blog, we weren’t born wearing shoes and you certainly don’t always need to wear them to protect your feet, but a significant change in the stress you place on your foot could lead to injury, so be mindful of radically changing your footwear habits.