Why flip flops can be bad for your health?

Not the best footwear for healthy feet

© Morad HEGUI - Fotolia.com

Sunny weather draws many people to the staple of summer footwear - the flip flop.

They are easy to wear and let your feet bask in the sunshine, and it feels like being on a beach.

But is wearing flip-flops good for your feet?

Amanda Lau, a sports podiatrist at Pure Sports Medicine in London, says that flip-flop season is a busy time of year, because they can cause several injuries.

Flip-flops provide minimal cushioning and minimal support for the feet. While they are suitable for a stroll on a sandy beach, they do not give the body adequate shock absorption on when walking on city tarmac.

With a maximum of 1cm between your foot and the ground, flip-flop wearers often adjust their gait - for the worse.

Flat flip-flops have no arch support, which can cause the foot to roll inwards.

People also tend to clench their toes to keep the flip-flop on their foot. This can cause the connective tissue which runs along the foot from the heel to the base of the toes, - the plantar fascia - to become stretched and inflammed, leading to foot and heel pain.

If you are used to wearing shoes with heels, swapping to dead flat flip-flops can also cause problems, as it stretches the Achilles tendon and calf muscles leading to heel and leg pain.

Because their design encourages the overuse of the wrong muscles in order to keep the flip flops on, wearing them for long periods can also lead to:

• Shin pain
• Overuse of metatarsals (the long bones that end in your toes)
• Intrinsic muscle strain
• Arch pain
• Heel bruising
• Poor gait patterns due to muscle fatigue

There is also the health risk of keeping your feet exposed.

If you walk with flip flops in tall grass, you may expose your skin to insect bites including ticks, which can transmit Lyme disease, a bacterial infection.

Late spring, early summer and autumn are peak times for tick bites and coincide with people venturing into the great outdoors in the warmer weather.

Similarly, exposed feet are more likely to suffer an injury when gardening or doing DIY work, and can even cause accidents if worn when cycling or driving.

Late spring, early summer and autumn are peak times for tick bites and coincide with people venturing into the great outdoors in the warmer weather.

The moral? Flips flops are great on the beach or at the pool, but they are not a substitute for proper footwear in the city and country.