Shoe concerns and foot problems of wearers of safety footwear

In Australia workers in many industries are required to wear safety footwear (footwear incorporating a steel toe cap). An investigation of the problems reported by 321 workers (70 per cent male) employed in a broad range of work activities and required to wear safety footwear was conducted in 1990 and 1991. Respondents were interviewed by a professionally trained podiatrist using a structured questionnaire followed by a foot examination. An extremely high percentage (91 per cent) of subjects reported one or more foot problems (which were verified by the podiatrist), and most considered that the safety footwear either caused the problem or adversely affected an existing foot condition. The main shoe concerns reported were excessive heat (65 per cent of all respondents), inflexible soles (52 per cent), weight (48 per cent) and pressure from steel toe cap (47 per cent). Certain gender differences were identified. General recommendations are made.