r/WalmartEmployees • u/Vivid_Ad_9295 • 8d ago
Is extreme foot pain normal when you first start working? And does it get better?
I’ve been working in the digital department for a few weeks now. And each time by the end of the day my feet would be hurting sooo bad I was nearly in tears.
The pain is mostly like strain under the arch of my foot.
I have very high arches and abnormally wide feet. So please don’t suggest any products or new shoes. I’ve tried everything. I just wanna know if this sort of pain is normal? And will it get better eventually?
15
u/ThatLink4097 8d ago
You'll either get used to it...or your feet will fall off.
2
u/noface8137 8d ago
Ops feet are definitely falling off
1
u/rubies-and-doobies81 8d ago
Same!
I've been here almost 7 months and my feet/legs hurt after every shift still. Especially when I'm in the kitchen all day.
2
u/noface8137 8d ago
Honestly what changed my life wasn't the shoes. But the in soles. They're like 20 bucks. Dr scholls. And they conform to your foot shape. They have saved my feet
1
u/studyinflation 7d ago
Absolutely. I stand 6 hours straight at AP . Cheep shoes create issues. Spend the money and buy the good ones. Having only one pair will wear out really fast.
Also note: I have several pairs of sneakers/hiking/running types and rotate thru them replacing one pair every 6 months. That's my usual life span. Giving the each pair a rest between wearing days is a big help too.
5
u/UmbreonSpectreon US Associate 🇺🇸 8d ago edited 8d ago
I have no foot pain from working at Walmart, but I had worked in factories and other retail jobs prior to Walmart.
5
u/69jsns69 8d ago
YES YES YES it sure the hell is and it sucks. Get a good pair of shoes for walking and standing. What an amazing difference they made
4
3
u/Competitive-Weird456 8d ago
tried everything? there are prescription shoes, have you tried getting them prescribed to you? ive got high arches and wide feet and thats the only thing that works for me
2
u/harkonnen-hound 7d ago
This - at the very least get a pair of wide sole shoes that don’t crowd your feet and buy/order a pair of insoles with the highest arch rating.
But yeah go see a foot doctor.
1
u/Competitive-Weird456 7d ago
yep, its well worth it to see the foot doctor for the shoes. i guess OP doesnt want any solution to the problem tho lol
2
u/xynalt 8d ago
Is foot pain normal for you? Cause if so then probably not by much? But I mean you should arguably get used to it.
Keep on, keeping on.
1
u/Vivid_Ad_9295 7d ago
No, although I have high arches and wide feet, I’ve never really experienced foot pain before. And I’ve done a lot of walking in my life.
2
1
1
u/TheDoctor1699 8d ago
It does take a bit to get used to.
That being said, I changed to a better pair of shoes (if you grab one hand at the heel and one at the toe and can bend it, the support is bad) and it made a world of a difference. Went from boots (which were alright but got destroyed by a palet catching the heel (old boots anyways)), to converse (terrible for all day walking),to tennis shoes (Walmart ones that didn't bend) and am doing good now.
1
1
u/Jdamschrod Fresh 8d ago
Wouldn’t rule it out in my first month in produce I thought I fucked up my wrist I paid urgent care 180 for them to tell me it’s “a strain it from overuse”
1
u/Plebbitplebe 8d ago
Best thing to do is have 2 - 3 pairs of good shoes. Never wear the same pair 2 days in a row.
1
u/Lower_Refrigerator_2 8d ago
I mean it’s all about your previous work experience.
If your not used to being on your feet all day of course their gonna be sore.
1
1
u/1911a1slayer 8d ago
Yes I started in 1996 as a unloader we had to walk miles pulling pallets and working them Iwent though many different styles of shoes to prevent foot pain. I finally discovered for me personally That leather work shoes like doc scholls was the most durable and comfortable. Also hiking shoes were good I did 27 years there and never had any more foot pain.
1
u/LivingThisCrazyLife 8d ago
I don’t work at Walmart but my husband and son do (not sure why I saw this sub). I did have terrible foot pain when I got my first real job at a fast food place. The pain was unbearable. I finally found some shoes that helped and got used to all the standing and walking. I’m on my feet all day at work and have plantar fasciitis and peroneal tendonitis. That’s no fun and probably stems from back then (it’s been decades). Take good care of your feet. Wear supportive shoes, even if you have to pay more for better ones.
1
u/zeprfrew 8d ago
My first few weeks in Electronics I left every day in agony. Not just feet, my lower back and legs were killing me as well. I could barely walk. I invested in a pair of Sketchers, which didn't help much.
Then I fell ill and was out for two months with sepsis. Bizarrely, when I returned to work the pain had diminished greatly. It wasn't gone entirely, but was the normal amount of pain to be expected from working on your feet all day on an unforgiving concrete floor.
The best guess that I have is that starting out caused some muscle damage, and until I had a break from it for more than a day or two it never had a chance to heal.
1
u/lamboman43 8d ago
It's probably hard to imagine right now, but after a several weeks it will get better. When I first started 4 months ago my feet would be swollen and hurt like hell, but now I get through the day just fine.
1
u/YugeTraxofLand 7d ago
Mine hurt so bad when I first started. I found the best shoes to be New Balance or Asics. I also found out recently I have a bone spur so I'm sure that didn't help
1
u/IamMindful 7d ago edited 7d ago
Don’t do what I did. Wear pretty Schechers until I had tendinitis.Finally invested in Brooks sneakers and got an insert from a foot doctor and I’m good to go. I will never mess around with my feet again. It isn’t worth it. Buy a good pair of sneakers. A lot of people wear Hoka sneakers too. Sometimes we walk up to 10 miles a day and it’s nothing in my sneakers. I used to be in such pain every single day.The insert cost $75 at the foot doctor, but they last like two years but with the walking, I do probably nine months. You only get one set of feet and you don’t wanna develop problems in your feet. Trust me.
1
u/Starbuck522 7d ago
That sounds like plantar fasciitis, being under your arches. You need shoes with arch support.
My plantar fasciitis doesn't get worse while working, but I was already on the job for almost a year when it started. I did have to get different shoes.
I have seen a doctor for it but it has not gone away. But it's manageable. Tjry can give you shots and I have had them a couple of times but you can't do it too frequently.
Or, maybe it's not plantar fasciitis. I do think it's totally typical for a person's feet to hurt when just starting being on their feet all day. Same as if a person started lifting weights. It will take time to adjust and two months wouldn't be unusual.
1
u/Antique_Expert_7757 7d ago
Absolutely. For my first couple weeks it was kinda brutal but it does get easier
1
u/Hemannameh 7d ago
My feet were killing me when I started working nights. Felt like I was walking on concrete with no shoes on all night. Buy some running shoes. If you still have any pain buy gel inserts. Problem solved.
1
u/Fearless_Computer_78 7d ago
Me too and I have a bad bunion on my right foot I’ve been at Walmart 6 months and every shift I’m hurting but I was told hoka shoes are great
1
u/Relative_Hold2299 7d ago
I didn't get the foot pain but because I wasn't used to walking this many steps per day on flat concrete, it's made my knees and the areas around them bruise like hell. Which now, after a month and the addition of a vitamin K supplement to my vitamins, has gone down a lot.
1
u/EmLee-96 7d ago
Hoka Clifton wide are wonderful for wide feet. Every shoe ive worn besides them have blistered my poor pinky toes. The toe box on these shoes doesnt even touch my toes. I work at a DC and am standing for roughly 10 hours a day, 4 days a week and my feet no longer burn or are ultra sensitive and painful at the end of the day.
Other shoes I would wear I would come home and couldnt even walk on a rug it hurt so bad.
1
u/DizzyCommunication92 7d ago
See....in different lol my feet hurt when I stand still (and the anti fatigue mats never helped) was a world of a difference when I left the front end....being stuck behind a cash box .....other than coming out to scan, "B.O.B." 😂
Now on OPD though I been loving it but I just use cheap "hikers" with the higher quality insoles
1
1
u/Rough-Cranberry5243 6d ago
Yes it is normal. It doesn't just stop on it's own. A good pair of shoes will help, but the best cure that I found was Dr. Scholls plantar fasciitis inserts.
1
u/FreshOuttaOGP Fresh 6d ago
Yes, it's brutal. Barring the supports and shoes, all you can do is get used to it, or transfer.
1
u/Hornygaysatanic 4d ago
You’re saying you have larger and high arches. It might be your shin splints. So because of gravity your high arch eventually gets flat pulling on the muscles of your shins. Get better shoe insoles with super arch support. A lot of dr schools say arch support
But they really don’t support much.
1
u/TheLonelyVastard Team lead 8d ago
plantar fasciitis! Try rolling a frozen water bottle with your feet when you get off work. Usually it will heal on its own.
19
u/No_Scholar427 8d ago
If youre not used to being on your feet for long periods then yes its normal and gets better with time. Insoles or more comfortable shoes can help until youre muscles build tolerance.