Rocker technology is all the rage in athletic shoes right now. They are recognized as having a curved rocker shape on the soles of the shoes. These shoes are being advertised heavily, and bought, because they promote great health habits. There are lots of TV commercials showing runners and walkers moving along with ease because they are wearing their rocker shoes. And yes, it’s true that these shoes, for the most part, deliver for runners and walkers. But they have built in advantages for nursing shoes also.
First, rocker shoes are comfortable. This is of the utmost importance for the nurse who is working a 12 hour shift. Imagine having to walk up and down the halls of the hospital, back and forth, all day and night for 12 hours. Even if you subtract breaks, the nurse will do many miles of walking during one of their shifts. Even if they get to sit down at the nurses station, rocker shoes help. Traditional shoes would absorb all of the weight and the shock of the body, even when someone is sitting down. With rocker nursing shoes, the feet will have a cushion by way of the high insoles, and the high rocker sole. The curvature of the rocker sole helps in weight transfer during the walking motion.
This leads to another advantage of rocker technology in rocker shoes. The shoes will lead to all around improved posture. Posture is key for comfort and proper body function when standing up, or sitting down. If the nurse has bad posture, then not only will the nurse hurt, but the nurse won’t be able to healthily perform duties, such as lifting and moving patients, and beds. On the other hand, if the nurse has good posture when they are sitting down, or they are standing up, then they won’t experience so much enduring pain. Their nursing duties will be a lot more tolerable if they wear nursing shoes with rocker soles.
Rocker technology in nursing shoes will help to absorb shock when performing duties such as bending and lifting. If you think about how hard the floor is, and then having to carry hundreds of pounds, then you’ll quickly realize that this is a lot of burden on the knees, back, and lower body all around. However, the rocker technology will help to absorb that shock, and it will help to rock the feet in a way that is a lot more accommodating to lifting and bending.
Furthermore, a nurse can realize a healthier back and legs. With the rocker shoes, the nurse will gain the same benefits that a runner, jogger, or walker would. A stronger lower body would again contribute to the nurse being able to better perform their duties when they wear nursing shoes that have rocker technology in them. It’s a good feeling knowing that there are nursing shoes that will help to make the shift more tolerable, and build up the body at the same time.
Is rocker technology new? Actually, Cherokee Shoes initially offered rocker soles on their athletic style nursing shoes in the 1980’s. The Cherokee Achiever quickly became a top selling nursing shoe because of the comfort offered and the benefits of easy weight transfer while walking and moving. It is not surprising that rocker technology first appeared in nursing shoes as no working footwear is more heavily relied on to provide support and comfort than nursing shoes. Every nurse will tell you that protecting their feet is of prime importance to job performance for a healthcare professional.
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