Flip Flops: Not Hot for Your Foot Health

Flip. Flop. Flip. Flop. The sound of the little thong sandals can be heard nearly anywhere where pedestrians stroll about, especially during the summertime when the temperatures sky rocket and the thought of encasing your sweating feet in snug sneakers is equivalent to self-inflicted torture. But give your other shoes a chance – your flip flop summer standbys, comfortable as they may be, can actually do a lot of damage to your tootsies in the long run.

The foam and plastic flip flop became a national sensation after being released in interesting patterns and colors. Flip flops have become the ubiquitous summer shoe for men and women, due in no small part to their comfort and affordability. But underneath that chipper “flip-flop” sound that earned the sandals their moniker is a legion of potential health hazards. Foot pain that is typically more prevalent in older individuals and among more heavyset people is now a common complaint coming from young and healthy people. And flip flops could be the culprit, an article in USA Today reports. Flip flops are flimsy and offer no support, and also affect the way that wearers walk. Flip flop wearers tend to walk unnaturally, with their toes gripped and forcing their shoes to slap back up to their feet with each step, which puts pressure on all the wrong parts of the feet. While this is not a problem for those who only wear flip flops occasionally, it can cause health problems for those who wear the sandals day in and day out.

Flip flops were not designed to be everyday shoes. They were created to offer people a quick “makeshift” shoe to get them from the pool back to the house or to protect a student’s feet from the grime of communal showers. Worn as everyday footwear, flip flops can cause inflammation of the Achilles tendons, inflammation of the connective tissue between the heel bone and the toes, hammer toes, and heel calluses. Wearing flip flops too often can even cause fallen arches due to the lack of support from the shoe. This means that flip flop wearers who decide to wear heels or sneakers later on may find it extremely uncomfortable. The best way to prevent “flip flop feet” is to vary your options when it comes to footwear and limit your flip flop wearing as much as possible. Find a lighter sneaker that you can don during the hotter months, or scout out flats with arch support to interchange with your favorite sandals. Your feet will thank you later on down the road for saving them from a flip flop-induced fiasco.