Are Flip Flops the Wrong Footwear for You?

As the summer draws to a close, many of you may be lamenting that your favorite shoes of the summer will be packed away until next year.  But should you be tossing them out instead?  

The experts are divided on just how bad flip flops are for your feet, as well as the rest of your body.  However, enough evidence exists to suggest that overuse and wearing the wrong kinds of flip flops can be detrimental to not only your feet but other parts of the anatomy. A recent article in The Huffington Post quotes New York City podiatrist Jackie Sutera as saying “The feet are the foundation of your whole body. This is the base of the skeleton. It’s a domino effect… the rest of your joints and bones have to compensate.”  This article, as well as others, suggests that moderation is the key:  slipping them on to go to the pool is different than having flip flops by your mainstay shoe for the summer.  As well, some people should never wear flip flops, due to their body design or other pre-existing health conditions.

So before you make that decision about where your flip flops will reside once the cold weather sets in, take a look at some of the recent research.  And let us know what YOU think in the comments below.

Photo by Jairo [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Flip Flops – An infographic by the team at ZocDoc