LIMIT FLIP-FLOPS TO SHORT-TERM USE STATES PODIATRIST
posted: Jun. 20, 2017.
If you want to put your best foot forward this summer, go easy on the flip-flops. “Wearing flip-flops is better than going barefoot because they do provide some protection for the bottoms of your feet, but that’s about it,” said Dr. Christina S. Long, a podiatrist and foot and ankle surgeon at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem. “Flip-flops don’t offer any arch or heel support, and you have to grip them with your toes to keep them on. Wearing them for too long or for the wrong activity can cause a lot of different problems.”
The problems associated with flip-flop overuse run from the relatively minor — chafing, blisters, calluses, soreness — to more serious conditions such as plantar fasciitis. “Flip-flops are fine for short-term use, especially if they have at least some arch support and a cushioned sole,” Long said. “They’re good to wear at the beach, around swimming pools, in showers and locker rooms at the gym, on short trips to the store.”
Source: Wayne Mogielnicki, Wake Forest Baptist Healthwire [6/19/17]
Coutesy of Barry Block, editor of PMP News.
Brought to you by Doctor John A. Hardy, owner of Toronto's Foot Clinic, Academy Foot and Orthotic Clinics.
