Flip-flops might be your favorite summer footwear, but they pose various risks to your health. Experts call them “today’s most dangerous footwear”.
So, why are flip-flops so dangerous? First of all, when you’re wearing them you’re exposing your feet to massive amount of stress.
The director of scientific affairs at the American Podiatric Medical Association, Jim Christina, explains that flip-flops let our feet be as flat as they can be.
So, if you have flat feet, you are not supported by anything. This can cause various health problem, like inflammation of the tissue of your soles, a condition known as plantar fasciitis.
Since this footwear is rather floppy, your toes must put extra effort to keep them on your feet. In the long run, this can cause a hammertoe, a condition where the toes knuckles curve unnaturally upwards.
Wearing flip-flops can cause all of these side-effects. But, what if you stumble? And, needless to say stumbling is part of the wearing flip-flops.
Stumbling with flip-flops on your feet means absolutely no help from your footwear. There’s no coverage against sharp rocks, and no ankle protection. Your skimpy footwear might have caused your fall, but you have to deal with the consequences on your own.
You probably think that this unsafe footwear keeps your feet all fresh, breezy, and free from various bacteria. Unfortunately, it’s the opposite.
The New York Times have sent 2 pairs of flip-flops from their reporters off to a lab. Besides discovering 18,100 harmful bacteria on this footwear, they also found the potentially deadly bacteria Staphylococcus aureus.
It turns out walking barefoot is a better option, right?
Although your bare feet will be exposed to the same bacteria, you will wash them well after spending a day at the beach. Besides, do you remember the last time you scrubbed or even washed your flip-flops?
Another benefit from walking barefoot is solving your problem with foot support. This is logical as the feet are designed to naturally support the weight of our body. In fact, people walked barefoot most of our existence on the planet. So, why not walking barefoot in your yard or at the beach?
Via David Wolfe | The Healthy | NY Daily News | Cosmopolitan | Mayo Clinic | Everyday Health