Thongs (flip-flops) are bad for your feet
June 13th 2008 09:11
Thongs or 'flip-flops', as they are called elsewhere in places such as the US and UK, are an Aussie favourite and an important part of the summer beach wear culture.
But not for the first time, thongs have been blamed for causing health problems and this time, researchers at Auburn University in Alabama, US studied the biomechanics of the footwear and concluded that prolonged wearing of thongs leads to sore feet, ankles and legs.
This is because studies and experiments showed that wearers altered their walking style and gait when in a pair of thongs and in doing so, could lead to pain from the foot and all the way up to the lower back.
"Flip-flop wearers took shorter steps and their heels hit the ground with less vertical force than when the same walkers wore athletic shoes. People wearing flip-flops also don’t bring their toes up as much as the leg swings forward. That results in a larger angle to the ankle and a shorter stride length, the study showed. The reason may be that people tend to grip flip-flops with their toes."
While this may come as bad news for most us, thongs only tend to cause problems when they're worn for prolonged periods which means we can still wear them at the beach or for short periods of time.[nytimes.com]
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