If you haven’t heard, the jury is out on our favorite summer foot-wear. Many experts agree that flip-flops are actually the most dangerous shoes you can wear. While wearing flip-flops, you run the risk of hurting yourself for two main reasons: it’s easier to have accidents, and flip-flops don’t support your body. It’s true, flip-flops are among the summer styles that just won’t die.
We all wear flip-flops, and love them. And why not? They’re the most convenient thing you could possibly wear. You don’t even have to bend down to put them on. Not only that, but they’ve become a major fashion piece. Whether you’re going to the beach or out to a restaurant, they make flip-flops for all occasions. Now, flip-flops can be incorporated into all of your outfits – especially girl’s flip-flops.
The Health Cost of Flip-Fops
You probably don’t want anyone to tell you to stop wearing your favorite foot fashion, but at what cost are you willing to wear them? Flip-flops cause two kind of dangers to your health. First, they aren’t very stable. If you’re running (or even walking quickly), you have a greater chance of slipping and mis-stepping as you’re wearing something with so little stability. Doctors say that they see countless sprained ankles and injuries due to tripping and slipping while wearing flip-flops.
The second kind of danger that they pose is to your bones and body. Because they offer such little support, the flip-flops are wreaking havoc on your ankles, feet and shins – all the way up to your back. At the very least, you’re going to have minor aches after wearing them for a few hours. You could get more serious injuries, all the way up to heel pain, tendonitis, stress fractures, and shin splints. According to Everyday Health, a common inflammation caused by extended flip-flop use is plantar fasciitis, which is an inflammation of the tissue on the bottom of the foot. Dr. Joy Rowland attributes this to pulling on the ligament on the bottom of your foot, which happens when you have no support and are walking around on hard surfaces all day (like sidewalks and floors).
More Reasons Not to Wear Flip-Flops
- The Flip-Flop Shuffle – Because flip-flops aren’t hard fastened to our foot, we take smaller steps to ensure they stay on. Not only are your moving slower due to smaller steps, but your toes are crunching up – which can cause hammer toes long term. Shorter than normal strides also cause hip and knee pain.
- They Cause Blisters – The thong of the flip-flop is known to cause blisters in-between your toes. Not only is this incredibly painful to walk around with, but they’re also more likely to pop. This leaves you with an open-wound on your exposed foot!
- Your Posture is Damaged – One of the main benefits of shoes is that support helps our posture. Any shoe that’s flat (like a flip-flop) causes our posture to be damaged.
Wearing flip-flops can be a hard addiction to kick. They’re just easy! If you can help it, you should be wearing closed toe shoes as much as possible. They offer more stability, so you won’t fall or injure yourself. They’re more supportive, so your body and posture are hurting. And finally, the closed-toe of traditional shoes protect your foot from the elements!
Picking the Right Flip-Flops
If you aren’t going to stop wearing flip-flops, there are a few precautions you can take.
First, you should buy flip-flops that offer support. This usually means that the pad of the shoe actually has some shape, and doesn’t look like a hole. Furthermore, the heel should have a little dip in it to form to the shape of your heel. This ensures that you’ll have maximum control, which is the main way to prevent injury.
