For two years I was wearing flip flops as 'slippers' thinking these were the most amazing pair of indoor shoes. For a steal of a deal at Walmart, I was rocking my butterfly flip flops up and down our stairs to do laundry and cooking up a storm in the kitchen, all while 'protecting' my feet from my hardwood floors and tile. But low and behold I began to have aches and pains in my feet and legs. The fatigue would set in around dinner. I began to have chronic hamstring tightness and pain that never disappeared, even with a hamstring focused yoga practise. My second toe was beginning to have a weird bend halfway up. I questioned my diet. Was I eating something inflammatory? It was literally making me crazy! I tried acupuncture with fire cupping, physio, etc but nothing helped. A few months ago I happened to look down at my flip flop wearing feet and had an epiphany! Could it be my flip flops?
2 Reasons You Should Rethink Flip Flops?
- Hammer toes (bend at the knuckle). Yes, the weird bend at the knuckle of my second toe is called a hammer toe. Hammer toes are linked to wearing flip flops because as you walk in them you are constantly flexing your toes, trying to hold a grip on the shoe.
- Your stride shortens. When you wear flip flops your feet are constantly trying to keep them on as you walk, so your natural stride changes to a short, choppy stride. You can imagine overtime this causes pain in your feet, ankles, legs and even your back.
This got me thinking about our modern shoes in general. Are shoes bad? Do they change how we walk? Overtime shoes can definitely change how our feet look. I used to work as an aesthetician giving 10 pedicures a day. You can tell who squeezes their feet into high heels or cowboy boots on a regular basis. Not only can these types of shoes cause bunions and corns but the entire shape of their foot and toes take on the shape of the particular shoe they wear most. Some women who wear high heels for decades say they feel most comfortable in them, yet it's only because they have shortened the Achilles tendons in their feet. Yikes! Hello Carrie Bradshaw?! So, if shoes have the power to change the shape of our foot overtime which shoes are best?
3 Things To Consider When Wearing Shoes
- "Toe spring". When you look at running shoes in particular you will see a slight upwards bend in the toe area. This is what shoemakers call "toe spring" which help our feet rock forwards when we are in shoes. This is an unnatural way for our toes to be forced as we walk or run. Our toes, especially our big toes are meant grip the ground, to balance our bodies as we walk.
- Hard sole vs cushioned sole. Is all the padding in running shoes good? According to 1991 issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise called "Athletic Footwear: Unsafe Due to Perceptual Illusions states:
"wearers of expensive running shoes [...] are injured significantly more frequently than runners employing inexpensive shoes (costing less than $40)".(2)
Steven E. Robbins and Gerard J. Gouw.
It seems wearing a hard sole actually prevents damage to your foot compared to wearing a soft cushioned sole, which seems weird considering all the advertising for soft cushy soles. - An elevated heel. This causes us to strike the ground forcefully with our heel known as 'heel striking'. According to Steven Robbins MD, wearing shoes even 'barefoot shoes' messes with our plantar skin tactile sensory feedback system, which enables us to sense the ground and make adaptive responses with our feet, legs and entire body. An elevated heel or typical running shoe will provide protection from feeling pain as we walk or run, lengthen our stride to a point where we overextend our knees and eventually cause injury (your can read more here). Studies have shown ‘cushy heels’ make us hit the ground harder. Our feet are highly sensory, they constantly transmit information to our brains about the type of terrain and how to move our bodies in response. If our shoes can't enable our feet to 'feel' the ground, we unknowingly strike the ground harder. For example, studies have shown gymnasts will land a jump harder on soft mats than firmer mats. So, perhaps despite what shoe makers have us believe, it may be better to buy harder soled footwear.Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko
Barefoot Shoes??
So, are barefoot shoes the answer? I remember 10 years ago hearing about barefoot runners and honestly thought they were weirdo fringe people (no offence). I remember seeing people with 'fingered' toe shoes thinking they looked really funny. There are a lot of different companies; Xero, Vibram, Leguano to name few. Some people swear by them quoting they improved their running and cleared up aches and pains in their bodies. Check out this video: Shoespiracy video. After my flip flop incident, I am now curious to try a pair and see how my body and feet respond. However, as Steven Robbins suggests
‘Any suggestion that a shoe simulates the bare foot in direct contact with a support surface, such as with "barefoot shoes" and "minimalist shoes," is simply experiencing an attempt to exploit the less informed consumer in order to sell shoes through false and misleading advertising.”
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