[all4schwa]

For sure, you can't expect to work all day and not have some discomfort, but in my experience, your feet and legs hurt from not being used to this type of activity. being a sedentary student doesn't help, the others in my clinical group will complain about tired feet when mine dont hurt because i work 16hr shifts as a nurse aide and by body is used to it...
...my advice would be to get some walking in (30min) on your non-clinical days and if you can afford it... my opinion is there is nothing better than a good pair of birkenstocks....i find i do better with a nursing shoe (like nurse mates) than athletic shoes...

[truern]

I bought Dansko shoes, but couldn't get past the feelings of walking with bricks tied to my feet. Now I wear K Swiss with knee high support socks, but what I found to REALLY help was wearing a pair of footies OVER my support socks. Support socks tend to slide ever so slightly in your shoe and over the course of the day that can wear on your feet and legs, and you're not even aware of it. The footie just keeps your foot from sliding, but it sure makes a huge difference. At least it did for ME

[Indy]

Regarding compression hose: Nurse Mates makes some knee highs that should be burned, not worn. I bought a package of those (on sale, thought I'd try it) and by the middle of one shift I had cut little notches into both the bands at the tops of them, threw them AND the unworn pair in the trash as soon as I got home. Problem? The band at the top was MUCH tighter than the rest of the garment. I may as well have tied two tourniquets around my knees and tried to work in that. Just a friendly warning about those hose. The intent is not supposed to be to cut off circulation entirely.

My favorite sock things so far are "SuppSocks" and I find them at various uniform stores, around four-ish dollars a pair. Mild compression, doesn't hurt, the spandex in all of mine are still good though the ones I've had since the start of nursing school is a little looser than the new ones. During summer my legs might feel a bit warm until I start working and forget about it. I haven't tried TED hose yet.

[Cardiolyte]

DANSKO's

[kat911]

I used to wear the new balance shoes but they didn't completely stop my foot pain. I tried the Crocs and love them, no more pain. There has been a lot of good advice, you need to find out what will work for you. ONe thing I realized over the years, it wasn't the walking that caused me problems it was the standing in one place for long periods of time, move around and sit when you can.

[bethin]

Originally Posted by Indy

Regarding compression hose: Nurse Mates makes some knee highs that should be burned, not worn. I bought a package of those (on sale, thought I'd try it) and by the middle of one shift I had cut little notches into both the bands at the tops of them, threw them AND the unworn pair in the trash as soon as I got home. Problem? The band at the top was MUCH tighter than the rest of the garment. I may as well have tied two tourniquets around my knees and tried to work in that. Just a friendly warning about those hose. The intent is not supposed to be to cut off circulation entirely.

My favorite sock things so far are "SuppSocks" and I find them at various uniform stores, around four-ish dollars a pair. Mild compression, doesn't hurt, the spandex in all of mine are still good though the ones I've had since the start of nursing school is a little looser than the new ones. During summer my legs might feel a bit warm until I start working and forget about it. I haven't tried TED hose yet.

I didn't even wait until I got home to throw those support hose in the trash. After 2 hours I went to the BR and ripped them off!

I did find a pair of WONDERFUL support hose but I wore them out and have not been able to find another pair. I think you just need to try several brands to find a good pair. I did try TEDS but found that they didn't help.

I currently wear Crocs and my feet don't hurt as much. I can deal with tired legs it's the pain I can't handle. I agree with another post that it's worse to stand in one place than it is to walk around.

I wish there was a simple answer to your problem. Keep trying different brands of shoes and support hose.

[oldiebutgoodie]

Z-Coils!

I swear by these shoes. I work 12 hour days, am 52 years old, a new nurse, and when I wear these shoes, I have no foot, leg, or knee pain.

http://www.zcoil.com

I know they look strange, but they work.

Oldiebutgoodie

[JentheRN05]

foot/leg pain = crocs
back pain = j.rubios (same as zcoils but cheaper)

[1Tulip]

A couple of things come to mind:

When I was younger and working 8 hour shifts, my feet, legs and back would be killing me at the end of a shift. After a 15 year lay-off, I'm now doing 12 hour shifts with little or no pain.

Obviously it's not joint age making the difference. I went to a store that sells shoes to ultra-marathoners and had them check out my feet, stride, weight, etc. and bought the running shoes they recommended. Also, I now have a professional trainer (I know... it's a luxury...) who has helped me strengthen specific muscle groups. I'm am the oldest nurse on our unit and I still have snap in my legs and feet when younger gals are wilting.

But, if anyone is having serious pain after a normal day's work, I believe they should consult with their physician before blowing it off as something trivial.

[lunakat]

Originally Posted by JentheRN05

foot/leg pain = crocs
back pain = j.rubios (same as zcoils but cheaper)

I just plopped the j.rubios shoes into a search engine and didn't find nuthin. Ya got a website for them?