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[EnigmaticHat]

Hey, so I've got a bit of a problem.  I work retail in a job where I have to stand at all times aside from breaks.  Partway through all my shifts my legs start to get sore.  It feels like they're kind of heavy and my calf muscles (or whatever that thick lower muscle on the back of the leg is called) starts to hurt.  Its becoming a pretty big problem for me.  Standing still makes it worse; I'd much prefer to walk around rather than be a cashier.  There's little to no heavy lifting involved in most shifts.

The only reason I'm asking you guys is because my doctor has no useful advice and the internet spits out some rare disease about bloodflow.  Also this seems like too big of a question for the small questions thread.  Have any of you had a problem like this and how did you solve it?  I have a few theories.

1: My shoes are bad.
2: I'm out of shape.
3: I don't get enough oxygen because I can't breath through my nose.
4: Everyone gets this and most people just don't complain?

[martinuzz]

Standing still for a long time will make everyone's feet sore eventually.
There's things that can make you more susceptible though.
Number one would be flat feet. Wearing the right shoes with proper support can help with that.
Number two would be bad shoes (without flat feet). Again, wearing the right shoes can help you there.

Then there's other things that can worsen it, like having two legs of non identical lenght (much less rare than you'd think), or existing back problems.

Bad circulation is a thing too. Have you been a heavy smoker for 30+ years?

EDIT: for pro-tips, find a Buckingham Palace guard to become internet buddies with

[ChairmanPoo]

Do the soles of your feet hurt?

[EnigmaticHat]

Do the soles of your feet hurt?

Rarely.  Mainly when walking on a hardwood floors without shoes or slippers.  Or when walking outside for hours with shoes but I seem to have gotten used to that.  I did the wet footprint test, not sure if I did it right but it seems my feet are a little higher than neutral archers.

Bad circulation is a thing too. Have you been a heavy smoker for 30+ years?

I have not.  My nose is so bad that I've never once in my life blown my nose, does that count?

[Teneb]

While I cannot help with the standing problems, I can share a few things re: nose.

From what I understand, you are perpetually congested, as I am. First and obvious advice is to find a medic specializing in the area, of course. But while you don't do that, you may want to do these two things:
1) Blow your damn nose.
2) Lie on your side. I may seem silly, but both sides of the nose are connected, so, thanks to gravity, the mucus will fall towards whichever side is lower. It won't solve the problem, of course, but it'll let you breathe a bit by clearing out half of your nose.

[EnigmaticHat]

I have a deviated septum that's pretty bad.  I literally can't blow my nose.  Its impossible, nothing comes out.  I tried a neti pot and the saline solution couldn't even make it from one nostril to the other (although in one of the nostrils a little of it went down my throat, most of it just came right back out).  I'm going to get surgery for the damn thing, the only reason I mentioned it is because I'm curious if not being able to get any air through my nose could be the culprit.

[TheBiggerFish]

I don't think your nose has anything to do with your legs.
People get tired of standing over time.  It just happens.

[helmacon]

I don't think your nose has anything to do with your legs.
People get tired of standing over time.  It just happens.

this

if you're not used to a retail or fast food job you probably aren't prepared for it. Give it a few weeks and you probably wont notice. You could just start running in your spare time or something and you would probably be over it within a week.

Regardless, no matter how in shape you are, standing around for 8+ hours is going to make your legs sore. That's just how things work.

[iceball3]

I'd imagine being overweight or obese could affect standing endurance, if you are either.

Have you perhaps checked OSHA to see if there is any required compliance in employee standing duration of presence of chairs? I don't know if it is likely that you will convince them, but mentioning that it is an issue to your employer might be worth a shot.