Why Flip-flops are bad for you.
Everything starts from the feet up. If you are wearing poor footwear, then this affects your balance, posture and gait cycle. In turn, this can have other affects on your body.
Flip-flops only prevent your feet from getting burnt on the streets or nasty things sticking into you.
They Affect Your Posture: Shoes that do not bend the same way as your foot does when walking barefoot alters how you walk, and therefore, your posture. Basically, your body is trying to keep them on your feet rather than doing what it should.
Associated Problems:
Shin Splints: Wearing flip-flops changes how muscles are used. Your gait cycle is altered and instead of trying to push off with your toes, your body is trying very hard to keep your flip-flops on your feet. This means you are recruiting muscles just to keep them there and they do not relax, causing pain and discomfort. Also, a lack of padding and support means impact forces travel up into the shin easier, again, causing discomfort.
Plantar Fasciitis: This is a sheet of tissue in the sole of your foot from your heel to the base of your toes. This can get inflamed and be a very uncomfortable condition. Signs of this include pain first thing in the morning when walking, pain underneath the arch of your foot, and pain in the heel. All can be aggravated due to walking in flip-flops.
Achilles Tendonitis: Shoes that do not provide support place excess stress on the Achilles tendon. The tendon is made up from the three muscles in the calf and it attaches at the back of the heel. Flip-flops exaggerate the stresses on the tendon and can cause it to get inflamed and very sore, due to the extra work on the muscular part.
What we can do if we “must” wear flip-flop type shoes:
If you have to wear thongs then consider something like Birkenstock sandals. They are shaped to support your the contours of your foot and give a proper weight distribution. They move with the foot whilst you are walking, so the body is not trying to fight to keep them on your feet. They also provide padding to help with shock absorption and provide overall stability. All this helps with your body’s alignment.
Ladies are lucky in that there are lots of different colors and styles, as the range for gents is more limited.
If you are suffering from negative affects from wearing flip-flops, best to book an appointment with Stephen Richardson, our UK trained Osteopath available at GMCClinics Jumeirah branch by calling 04 349 4880.
