Traumatic injury sustained by the foot can lead to:

• immediate and long term loss of foot function;
• partial or total loss of foot structure.

Any disturbance to foot function and gait can result in pain, disability, lesions, arthritic changes and possible disabling effects on other skeletal structures such as hip, knee and back.

Long periods of standing on hard unyielding floor surfaces (such as concrete or steel plating, often at extremes of temperature), can produce severe chronic foot fatigue. This in turn will lead to general postural fatigue, tension, lowered efficiency and concentration that may trigger an industrial safety accident.

Workers in cold store environments need to consider thermal insulation to the foot. Jobs demanding the continual wearing of rubber boots can present their own problems to many feet.

Workers in hot moist situations such as breweries; bakeries, etc are highly susceptible to fungal infections of skin and nails and secondary infections.

Female workers whose jobs demand the wearing of fashion footwear have a high incidence of acquired foot deformities at a fairly young age, as do teachers, hairdressers and retail assistants.

Podiatric Management

1. Education on the importance of appropriate footwear, safety footwear and self-care as prevention.
2. Awareness of common foot conditions related to the occupation - at an individual public health, union and occupational safety level.
3. Early rehabilitative intervention to prevent long-term chronic disablement and secondary problems arising from injury.
4. Provision of modified footwear and/or insoles and orthoses to improve foot function.
5. Assessment of injury and sequelae for workers compensation claims.