The flip-flop fad could be causing long-term pain

Most Canadian cities have two seasons: winter and construction. But observers of women’s fashion trends might suggest a slight alteration to that statement: winter is now followed by flip-flop season.

The ubiquitous rubber shoe has become standard summer footwear for women of any age, but new research suggests that wearing flip-flops for prolonged periods of time could lead to pain and injury.

A team of researchers from Auburn University in Alabama has found that wearing flip-flops alters the way a person walks, which could cause sore feet, ankles and legs.

“The joints are moving in a different way, the muscles are being recruited in a different fashion,” lead researcher Justin Shroyer, a biomechanics doctoral student, told CTV.ca.

“So we’re not saying that necessarily is the reason you are experiencing the pain. This may be why, because you’re changing the way you walk.”

Shroyer presented his findings last month at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in Indianapolis.

Shroyer and his research team from Auburn’s kinesiology department asked 39 college-age men and women to walk on a platform while wearing flip-flops and then again while wearing athletic shoes. The researchers measured the force of the subjects’ feet hitting the platform and videotaped the length of their strides.

They found that the participants’ strides were shorter when they wore flip-flops because they didn’t lift their toes as much as their legs swung forward. This could be because they were using their toes to grip the flip-flops to keep them from falling off.

The subjects also hit the platform with less straight-down force when they wore flip-flops, another result of an altered gait.

Shroyer speculated that flip-flops make a person walk differently because a regular shoe provides more cushioning and support.

He and his team tested a variety of brands of flip-flops, ranging in price from $5 to $50.

The research is not meant to discourage people from wearing flip-flops, Shroyer said. However, they should only be worn for short time periods and when wearing shoes is inappropriate, such as on a beach or in a gym locker room.

“We’re just saying, if you wear flip-flops and you don’t have any problems, then that’s great,” Shroyer said.

“But if you have foot problems, ankle problems, lower leg problems and you do wear flip-flops a lot, maybe you should limit the time you do spend in them.”

Leanna Graham, physiotherapy practice leader in the department of rehabilitation at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital, said flip-flops can contribute to ankle sprains, fractures and even falls. Her advice is that flip-flops should not be worn for long periods of standing, weight-bearing or walking.

“It’s a short-term fashion thing, it’s a trend, but with repetitive use, you’re going to cause some biomechanical injury to the arch of the foot, the ankles and potentially knee or back problems,” Graham told CTV.ca.

“If some people are suffering from that, they might want to think about their footwear.”

Corinne Huard, who works in business development and marketing for design firm Yabu Pushelberg, is a flip-flop devotee who owns 12 pairs. She spends her weekends wandering Toronto and sometimes walks to work, a trip that takes her an hour and a half.

But despite the warnings and some foot pain, she won’t stop wearing flip-flops.

“I wear them every day from the minute the weather permits, sometimes sooner, and even at work,” said Huard, 32.

“Nothing can make me wear closed-toe shoes in nice weather. No matter what, my feet feel better in flip-flops than they ever do in runners.”