Working on HARD concrete floors?


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My little brother just started a job and he has to spend 8 hours standing on the hardest concrete you can imagine. A dirt floor would be softer than this, hell, asphalt/blacktop is jello compared to this.

Bottom line, what are the best shoes/boots and/or inserts for the shoes to prevent him from being so sore each day? He comes home from work and sits in the bathtub for an hour, then his girlfriend massages his legs for the next half hour. It's quite ridiculous.

Any help you can give would rule.

Floormats at the job are not an option. It's a factory and he's all over the place doing maintainance, so he can't just set one at his work station.

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The thing is, with concrete floors, they are many times harder than blacktop. Blacktop as hard as it is, still flexes under your weight a bit. Concrete doesn't. I know a lot of people don't think this is an issue, but that is because they never actually stood for 8 hours on a SOLID serface. As for work boots, that is an option to a degree, but they aren't made to be walked around in. He can wear sneakers. He needs something somewhat lightweight because he does a lot of walking. At least 6-8 miles per night at work alone. The factory is quite big. At one end to the farthest, it's over a quarter of a mile long. He is lucky enough to have an office on the farthest corner from the problems.

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Wolverine Work shoes/boots. There is nothing even remotely more comfortable for long days on hard floors. Most shoe inserts are garbage too, nothing more than gimmics, especially those gel, foam things, etc. Most people who have those kind of knee problems are generally quite overweight or ave flat feet. If that's the case try some of those orthodic inserts, they actually work wonders for people with flat feet/bad knees. And i'm not talking the cheap ones on tv, but the ones an orthodic doctor can get for you.

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How about a different job to protect his body? He needs that for the rest of his life...

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if it pays that well tell him to suck it up!!

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It's obvious you've never dealt with hard concrete for more than a short while. It's not worth it if he can't ease the pain. You couldn't pay me 100$ an hour to do what he was doing if I had the pain he had.

Oh, and by the way, no more bull**** answer please.

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Does he work in construction? Then he should get some shoes that have a steel toe YET are like regular sneakers. I got a pair from Wal-Mart.

I work hard as hell in Construction but at least my hours are 6-7 hrs tops. 2o something $$ an hour eh? Good luck earning that in Miami -- labor is super cheap cos of so much immigration. I get $7 an hour.

BTW, I'm 22 yrs old.

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I work in a warehouse during the summer, solid concrete floors....I have noticed some pain some days but its not all that bad, I just rock my adidas

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Does he work in construction? Then he should get some shoes that have a steel toe YET  are like regular sneakers. I got a pair from Wal-Mart.

I work hard as hell in Construction but at least my hours are 6-7 hrs tops. 2o something $$ an hour eh? Good luck earning that in Miami -- labor is super cheap cos of so much immigration. I get $7 an hour.

BTW, I'm 22 yrs old.

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If you don't still live with your family...why not consider moving? Construction jobs all over the country are giving more than that...

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I wouldn't advise the cheap Walmart shoes. They have pretty poor padding inside, don't let your feet breathe well, and the steel tips are pretty weak, hell people have been known to loose toes from cheap brand steel toes.

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i work in the warehouse of a large supermarket/costco like store for about 10hrs a day.... so ye when i get home ye my feet are sore, so i do know what thats like, but thats because the human feet arent designed to put up with that, even cavemen sat down every so often

that would be why we get breaks etc. the only advice other than actually finding boots/shoes that are comfy for that length of time is that, you work at the pace that you work at! You don't get paid to run around like a b|tch!!

for the mean time tho, try getting insoles for his shoes, not exactly a permanent solution but a temporary fix

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Does he work in construction? Then he should get some shoes that have a steel toe YET  are like regular sneakers. I got a pair from Wal-Mart.

I work hard as hell in Construction but at least my hours are 6-7 hrs tops. 2o something $$ an hour eh? Good luck earning that in Miami -- labor is super cheap cos of so much immigration. I get $7 an hour.

BTW, I'm 22 yrs old.

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He's not in construction. He's doing maintenance in a large factory.

i work in the warehouse of a large supermarket/costco like store for about 10hrs a day.... so ye when i get home ye my feet are sore, so i do know what thats like, but thats because the human feet arent designed to put up with that, even cavemen sat down every so often

that would be why we get breaks etc. the only advice other than actually finding boots/shoes that are comfy for that length of time is that, you work at the pace that you work at!  You don't get paid to run around like a b|tch!!

for the mean time tho, try getting insoles for his shoes, not exactly a permanent solution but a temporary fix

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He picked up some insoles tonight, but he's looking for something more permanent. He comes home limping every night because of the pain. He's been extremely athletic throughout his teens and he's always been fine on his feet for endless hours. This tought him a lesson real quick.

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if it pays that well tell him to suck it up!!

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Agreed, after a month or so your feet will get used to it. I work 50+ hours a week on my feet on hard concrete and I never have any soreness, tell him to try running Cross Country with an insane coach that makes you run on sidewalks, for no pay. He'll be begging to go back to his job.

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If you don't still live with your family...why not consider moving? Construction jobs all over the country are giving more than that...

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Yeah, I know but this is my hometown. I have all my roots here.

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Aren't Redwings supposed to be really good? (The commericals say it's like lying on a bed and commercials NEVER lie :rofl:) Or if he wants to opt for sneakers I'd suggest cross-training or running since I'd guess they would provide the most cushioning since they're designed to absorb repeated heavy impact.

P.S. If you're not going to offer any advice (which is what the poster aksed for) then just don't post folks. Great if you're tough enough to suck it up not everyone's the same.

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i have to say 6-8 miles over 8hours isnt REALLY that much, if his job means that hes standing still for a little while then moving then standing still and so on, then better boots/shoes ( i wouldnt know a brand for the US) although they will help, that will take its toll on your feet, it really might be a case of putting up with it for a while till he gets used to it

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I know exactly what you mean. You wouldn't think pavement can give, but there's a huge difference between walking around on conrete for hours as opposed to pavement.

Several years ago I had a job standing and walking on concrete for 12 hour shifts and started to experience lower back pain. The best shoe I found to alleviate it was Rockport Pro-walkers. I went through several pair in the 6 years I spent in that position here at work, and still have a pair for homewear now.

Rockport

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i have to say 6-8 miles over 8hours isnt REALLY that much, if his job means that hes standing still for a little while then moving then standing still and so on, then better boots/shoes ( i wouldnt know a brand for the US) although they will help, that will take its toll on your feet, it really might be a case of putting up with it for a while till he gets used to it

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6-8miles is a lot for a job.

Think about it. Computer techs don't have to walk. Most construction workers don't walk very much, electricians don't walk much.

6-8 miles is more than most people walk in 2-3 full days.

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He should go see a foot specialist and ask for recommendations on what kind of shoes to wear. I have seen work shoes that look comfortable but I haven't tried it.

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Just a gimmick. They are ****. He bought them for basketball last year and he hates em.

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I was afraid of that. They seemed kind of gimmicky.

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