International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health | August 2022 | Vol 9 | Issue 8 Page 3135 International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health Dumbhare SA et al. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2022 Aug;9(8):3135-3140 http://www.ijcmph.com pISSN 2394-6032 | eISSN 2394-6040 Original Research Article Prevalence of foot problems associated with wearing safety footwear in factory employees Shruti A. Dumbhare 1 , Raziya M. Nagarwala 2 *, Ashok K. Shyam 3 , Parag K. Sancheti 4 INTRODUCTION Specialized footwear has been developed to enhance the safety and performance while an individual is involved in workplace activities. 1 The common components of various shoe types The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons has provided (AAOS, 2010) such as: toe box, sole, heel. 1 To abide by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), protective footwear is included in the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) section of the OSHA. 2 OSHA defines this type of protective shoe wear as: “having impact-resistant toes and heat resistant soles, the metal insoles to protect against puncture wounds, safety shoes may also be designed to be electrically non- conductive. 3 According to American National Standards ABSTRACT Background: In majority of heavy industries and factories safety footwear is a mandatory safety obligation, thus a necessity for workers in industrial settings, contributing to foot problems, interfering with work capacity. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find prevalence of foot problems occurring due to safety footwear. To find the prevalence of foot problem associated with wearing safety footwear in factory employees. Methods: Factory employees working in industrial setting wearing safety footwear for prolonged duration on regular basis were included in the study. Subjects having any recent ankle and below knee fractures in last 6 months were excluded. Samples were collected from different industrial settings, with the help of a self-made questionnaire. Descriptive analysis of the data collected was done and the responses were converted into percentiles and represented in graphical form. Results: 62.50% subjects complain pain in the heel and bottom of the foot (plantar fasciitis), 50.83% pain in the foot (radiating up to calf), 47.50% excessive heat/wet condition, 30.83% hard dead skin on the pressure areas of the foot (foot corn), 12.50% blisters/swelling on the foot, bump/bulge on the joint at the base of the big toe (bunion), numbness of great toe, 10.83% interference with blood circulation. 43.34% employees the intensity of pain caused by wearing safety footwear interfere with their working capacity. For 43.34% employees the intensity of pain caused by wearing safety footwear interferes with their working capacity. Conclusions: It can be concluded that there is significant prevalence of foot problems caused due to wearing safety footwear. These foot problems limit the working capacity of the individual. Keywords: Prevalence, Foot problems, Safety footwear 1 Bachelors of Physiotherapy, Sancheti Institute College of Physiotherapy, Pune, Maharashtra, India 2 Department of Cardiopulmonary Physiotherapy, Sancheti Institute College of Physiotherapy, Pune, Maharashtra, India 3 Research officer, 4 Chairman, Sancheti Institute for Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Pune, Maharashtra, India Received: 06 January 2022 Accepted: 13 February 2022 *Correspondence: Dr. Raziya M. Nagarwala, E-mail: sancheticop@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20222013