Why is standing on a hard surface over a long period of time harder on the body than standing on something soft. Does having more cushioned shoes compound the effect? Conversely, would hard shoes negate the effect on a soft surface? How much does foot anatomy affect this?
In: Biology
Think about a pillow vs a hardwood floor. A hardwood floor hurts your head because all the pressure is on a small part of your skull. (You just need to see a circle next to a line to see why)
On the other hand, a pillow reacts to the weight of your head and deforms to fit your head shape, so _all_ of your head is in contact with the pillow and no one area is responsible for supporting the total weight of your head.
Feet are no different.
I worked in a warehouse as a packer once, standing by a bench packing boxes all day. I never had a problem, but some of the guys I worked with were constantly griping about having to stand on concrete, and their feet getting cold. They would stand on like 3 layers of cardboard to cushion their feet. Thought it might be something to do with circulation?
Even standing you are exerting force down, so the ground is exerting force back up. A hard floor has nothing to help absorb and dissipate that force, a softer floor does, so the amount of force exerted back up is less.
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