Always on Your Feet: Protecting Your Body When You Work in Care

For many people working in healthcare and social care, sitting down can feel like a luxury.

A shift might involve walking miles along hospital corridors, standing through medication rounds, helping people wash and dress, repositioning patients, pushing equipment, climbing stairs or moving between people’s homes. Even supposedly quiet moments can disappear the second a call bell rings or somebody needs help.

By the end of a long shift, aching feet, a sore back and heavy legs can feel almost inevitable.

And because everyone around you is experiencing something similar, discomfort can quickly become normalised. You change your shoes, take some pain relief, complain about your back with a colleague and turn up for the next shift.

But working in care can place significant physical demands on the body. Looking after your musculoskeletal health is not about avoiding hard work or becoming less capable. It is about making sure the job you do today does not leave you struggling to do it comfortably in years to come.

Your body is part of your working equipment

Healthcare workers are trained to think carefully about equipment.

A faulty hoist would be reported. A damaged wheelchair would not simply be ignored. Employers have procedures for maintaining the equipment required to deliver safe care.

Yet the most frequently used piece of equipment on any shift is the worker’s own body.

Feet, knees, hips, shoulders, wrists and backs absorb thousands of movements over a working week. Many are small and individually unremarkable, but repeated over months and years they can add up.

The physical demands also vary enormously between jobs. A theatre nurse may spend long periods standing relatively still. A community carer may repeatedly get in and out of a car before working in environments that were never designed for providing care. A healthcare assistant on an inpatient ward may walk almost continuously while also helping patients move.

There is no single solution that protects everybody. The first step is recognising that physical discomfort at work deserves attention rather than automatically accepting it as part of caring.

The problem with being on your feet all day

Standing and walking are generally good for us. Human bodies were designed to move, and sedentary lifestyles bring their own health risks.

But there is a difference between choosing to take a walk and spending a long shift with limited opportunities to sit down.

Prolonged standing can contribute to tired, aching legs and feet. Some workers may experience swelling around the feet and ankles, while existing problems affecting joints or circulation can become more noticeable after a long day.

Standing still can sometimes feel worse than walking. When muscles are moving, they help blood circulate through the legs. Remaining in one position for extended periods can therefore be surprisingly uncomfortable.

Anyone who has spent hours standing during a theatre list, at a medication trolley or beside a patient’s bed will probably recognise the feeling of finally sitting down and realising just how much their legs hurt.

Your shoes matter more than you think

Healthcare footwear is not particularly glamorous, but when you spend much of your working life standing in it, choosing the right footwear matters.

Shoes should fit properly, provide appropriate support and remain comfortable throughout a shift. A shoe that feels fine for ten minutes in a shop may feel very different after ten hours on a ward.

Worn footwear can also gradually lose cushioning and support. Because the deterioration happens slowly, it can be easy not to notice until a new pair suddenly makes an enormous difference.

Different workplaces will have their own requirements around footwear for safety and infection control, so the right choice will depend on the role.

What matters is not chasing whichever shoe happens to be trending among healthcare workers online. It is finding footwear that fits your feet, your job and your employer’s safety requirements.

Persistent foot pain should not simply be treated as proof that you have worked hard enough.

Your back isn’t supposed to do everything

Back pain is particularly relevant in occupations involving physical care.

Supporting mobility, repositioning somebody in bed or assisting a person who is unsteady can place considerable strain on workers if tasks are not carried out safely.

Moving and handling training exists for a reason.

It can be tempting to take a shortcut when a shift is busy. Perhaps the correct equipment is in another room. Perhaps finding another member of staff will take several minutes. Perhaps you have performed the same movement hundreds of times before and nothing has happened.

Until something does.

Safe moving and handling is designed to protect both the person receiving care and the person providing it. Equipment, risk assessments and appropriate staffing should be used where required rather than viewing physical strain as something care workers are simply expected to tolerate.

And if a task cannot be completed safely with the people or equipment available, that is a workplace safety issue — not a personal failure.

Repetition can cause problems too

Not every workplace injury comes from one dramatic incident.

Repeated smaller movements can also contribute to musculoskeletal problems. Reaching, bending, twisting, pushing, pulling or working in awkward positions may become significant when performed again and again.

Healthcare environments are not always ergonomically perfect either.

Community workers may provide care in cramped bedrooms. Dental professionals can spend long periods leaning into awkward positions. Sonographers perform highly repetitive movements. Theatre staff may stand in fixed positions for extended periods. Office-based healthcare workers can develop problems from spending hours at poorly arranged desks.

Different roles create different pressures, but the principle is the same: if a movement or position repeatedly causes pain, it is worth considering whether the task, environment or equipment can be changed.

The strange art of ignoring the toilet

There is a peculiar phenomenon in healthcare where basic bodily functions can become negotiable.

You need the toilet, but somebody needs medication first. Then another patient needs assistance. Then a relative asks a question. Then there is a handover.

An hour later, you realise you still haven’t been.

The same thing happens with water.

Healthcare professionals spend their working lives encouraging other people to stay hydrated while sometimes reaching the end of a shift and realising they have barely had a drink themselves.

Occasionally delaying a drink or toilet break because something urgent is happening is one thing. Routinely being unable to meet basic needs during a working day is another.

Breaks are not an indulgence. They are part of allowing people to work safely and sustainably.

Small moments of movement can help

If your job involves prolonged standing, changing position regularly can help reduce stiffness and discomfort.

That does not necessarily require performing a full stretching routine in the middle of a ward.

Small movements matter. Walking rather than standing still where appropriate, changing position, gently moving ankles and calves, and sitting during tasks that genuinely do not require standing can all reduce the amount of time the body spends locked in one position.

For desk-based parts of healthcare roles, the opposite applies. Getting up regularly and changing position can help break up prolonged sitting.

The objective is not to find one perfect posture and maintain it all day.

Bodies generally prefer variety.

What happens when you get home?

After spending an entire day moving, the last thing many healthcare workers want to hear is that they should exercise.

But there is a difference between being physically active at work and developing strength and fitness.

Occupational movement can be repetitive and may place demands on the same areas of the body. Appropriate strength and conditioning exercise can help support muscles and joints, while general physical activity has wider health benefits.

That does not mean somebody finishing a 12-hour shift needs to immediately head to the gym.

Exercise has to fit realistically around work, sleep, family responsibilities and recovery. Walking, swimming, resistance exercise, yoga or whatever form of movement somebody genuinely enjoys can all have a place.

The best exercise programme is usually one that can actually become part of your life.

Pain should not become your new normal

Perhaps one of the biggest risks in physically demanding professions is gradually adjusting to discomfort.

The back ache has been there for six months. Your shoulder always hurts after certain shifts. Your feet hurt every evening, so you stop mentioning it.

Pain becomes background noise.

Persistent or worsening pain deserves attention, particularly if it begins interfering with sleep, mobility, work or everyday activities.

Depending on the problem, support may be available through a GP, physiotherapist, podiatrist, occupational health service or another appropriate healthcare professional.

Seeking help earlier can also provide an opportunity to identify whether something at work is contributing to the problem and whether adjustments are needed.

Employers have responsibilities too

Protecting workers’ bodies cannot be reduced to telling individuals to stretch more and buy better shoes.

Healthcare and social care employers have responsibilities for workplace health and safety. Appropriate moving and handling procedures, suitable equipment, risk assessments, training and working environments all matter.

Staffing matters too.

When teams are under pressure, workers may be more likely to rush, skip breaks or attempt tasks without appropriate assistance. What appears to be an individual wellbeing problem can sometimes have an organisational cause.

A poster reminding staff to “look after yourself” does not compensate for a working environment in which nobody has time to do so.

Good workplace wellbeing should consider how work is actually designed, not simply how resilient workers can become.

Your career is hopefully longer than today’s shift

When somebody needs help in front of you, it is natural to focus on that immediate need.

That instinct is part of what makes good healthcare and care workers so valuable. But careers can last decades.

The small decisions made repeatedly across thousands of shifts matter: whether you use the equipment, whether you ask for help with the transfer, whether you report the broken chair, whether you take persistent pain seriously.

Nobody can protect their body perfectly, and physically demanding jobs will inevitably leave us tired sometimes. But pain and exhaustion should not be badges of honour. If you work in care, your body enables you to do something extraordinarily important every day. It deserves looking after too.

Keep looking after you

Wellbeing looks different for everyone, and sometimes the most useful thing is simply finding the right information at the right time. Explore more from Daily Round with our dedicated Women’s Health, Men’s Wellbeing and Wellbeing for Leaders sections, or head to the Leaders Library for our latest book recommendations, ideas and inspiration for life in and outside work.

Or, if you’re ready to get back to what’s happening across the sector, catch up with today’s Daily News for the latest health and social care stories.

Medical Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general information and wellbeing purposes only and is not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you are concerned about your health or experiencing persistent or worsening symptoms, please speak to a qualified healthcare professional. Always seek urgent medical attention if you believe you may be experiencing a medical emergency.