Flip Flops... one of my pet hates.
Posted on 26th July 2017 at 11:51
I have recently seen a lot of heel pain in the clinic and at this time of the year there is one culprit which prevails in the cause of this.
Picture the scene, you’ve been on your holibobs, spent a fortnight, all-inclusive sunning yourself around a clear blue pool only rising during to pad over to the pool side bar for a strawberry daiquiri. The nights are spent dancing, walking into the local town to try something new and when you look down at your feet, shock, horror you have been wearing a pair of FLIP FLOPS for two weeks!!!
So what? You may say. In my opinion, you may as well stick a piece of cardboard onto your feet for a fortnight.
On your holiday, you have likely spent most of your time walking on tiled or concrete FLAT surfaces.
This puts a lot of forces through your feet which are mobile and curved. Flat surfaces encourage your arches to push down – lowering them and forcing the foot into a flattened position.
Lack of cushioning in the heel increases the forces through this area and some lower arch strains the plantar fascia which also causes pain in the heel. Often the problems don’t kick in until after you are home and the inflammation flares up.
Flip flops are just too flimsy! They fold in half for goodness sakes. The straps don’t hold them to your foot so your toes grip to help causing shorter strides and this can cause shin splints.
Wear them to protect your feet from hot sand and sharing verrucae around the pool but there is a plethora of decent substitutes out there with contoured foot beds – think mirror image of the sole of our foot with a decent heel cup and straps that hold it on.
Tagged as: Flip Flops, Holidays
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