The Trouble With Flip-Flops

Recent sunny days in Seattle have brought out sandals, flip-flops, crocs, and the like. Two clients arriving back-to-back with bunion pain were caught wearing flip-flops. As I greeted them, they both hid their flip-flops under the coffee table because they know I love to hate them!!

If you have come to see me with foot PAIN, please know the following:

Flip-flops are bad.

Birkenstocks are bad.

Crocs are bad.

Clogs are bad.

These types of footwear don’t strap onto the foot and don’t cup the heel, causing the toes to have to grip the shoe to keep it on the foot. Thus, the toes are forced away from their anatomical function of interpreting terrain and providing stability.

All of these types of footwear are referred to as “scuffies.” Walk behind just about anyone in this kind of shoe and you’ll probably hear them scuffing their feet. You’ll probably see their feet angled out like a duck. You probably won’t see them taking full strides. You might notice that their heels are rolled toward the midline of the body. This sets them up for plantar fasciitis, knee and ultimately hip problems. And what is almost epidemic in our society these days? Knee and hip replacements.

Flip-flops and the like should only be used for short tasks around the house like taking out the garbage or getting the mail. I hear over and over from flip-flop wearers, “I don’t wear them very often.” However, we all know life happens. If you wear them when you go out to run an errand, you’re likely to wind up running several errands, spending far too much time walking around in them often causing injuries. Why would you want to defend a BAD shoe?

So if you’re going to choose summer footwear that breathes, make sure you choose something that straps onto the foot. But that’s not the only issue to consider when shopping for summer footwear.

What is wrong with this picture?

“C” came in looking very cute while wearing these NEW shoes. They have a strap in the back and give some stability to the heel. However, she had no idea that the toe area had been cut so sharply her toes were hanging off the shoe. She couldn’t feel it. What is pretty about that? You will see her feet again when I share what happened to her left foot causing her to come to me.

A better choice is a sandal like the Umara Z-Trail from Xero Shoes. These sandals strap on to the foot securely and offer solid underfoot protection. They also have a flat, wide toe platform, allowing you to spread your toes for stability. Furthermore, they are a “zero-drop” sandal, so there is no heel-raise (another one of my footwear pet peeves!).

We all need to keep our feet cool in the summer, but we also need to choose our footwear wisely!

Walk happy,

Kandi

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