Flip-flops and broken hearts!

My favorite time of year is when it's warm enough to wear flip-flops. I absolutely love them. Anytime it's over 60 degrees calls for flip-flops in my opinion. I wear them to work (I'm a coder and they don't care what I wear I've heard over the years how bad flip-flops and going barefoot could be for me but I never really cared b/c I love the freedom my feet felt in them.

I've had shin splints for about a week now and a lot of people are telling me that flip-flops could be one of the problems with it not healing so fast. Of course, I get all defensive and support flip-flops... but it made me wonder.

So for all of you flip-flop fanatics out there... here's a little info on how bad flip flops really can be. There will be broken hearts all over the place now!

I found this article called "Flip Flop Flaws" at News Week : http://www.newsweek.com/2008/06/09/flip-flop-flaws.html

Here are some important points (with my comments below each section)...

"... flip-flop wearers take shorter steps. The result is more stress on the body because you have to move more to go the same distance as people wearing other kinds of shoes. That could mean a higher risk of muscle and joint pain in the legs."

This is probably why old people can walk so much faster than me... I do take small-ish steps.

"By engaging the muscles that scrunch your toes, you are turning off the muscles that would bring your toes up." That also means that you can't lift your foot up as much when you walk—hence the characteristic flip-flop shuffle."

I'm thinking this could lead to other problems since you are working out different parts of your leg muscles. Like using your calfs or shins more than you really should?

"Being overweight and wearing ill-fitting shoes make it much more likely that you will suffer from plantar fasciitis. Thin-soled flip-flops without arch support aggravate the effects of any existing sources of strain on the legs and feet (such as too much weight or weak muscle tone)."

Great... 2 strikes against me... fat and flip-flop-lover! But this does explain a lot... If your legs are already straining or trying to recover (as in my case), flip flops are not helping the problem.

Today I decided to wear tennis shoes to work and my compression sleeve since my right shin was still in pain this morning around 10am (and I mean it was still pretty darn sore). It's now 5:30pm and my shin doesn't hurt at all anymore. I think these people might know what they are talking about. Proper feet support makes all the difference. I will be going out hunting for sandals with proper support. :)

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