Flip-flops are a mainstay of summertime footwear, but they can
be painfully bad for your feet and legs, new research shows.
Researchers from Auburn University in Alabama studied the
biomechanics of the flip-flop and determined that wearing thong-
style flip-flops can result in sore feet, ankles and legs. “We
found that when people walk in flip-flops, they alter their
gait, which can result in problems and pain from the foot up
into the hips and lower back,” said Justin Shroyer, a
biomechanics doctoral student who presented the findings to the
recent annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine
in Indianapolis. For the study, the researchers recruited 39
college-age men and women and asked them to wear flip-flops or
athletic shoes. They then had them walk a platform that measured
vertical force as their feet hit the ground. A video camera
measured stride length and limb angles. Flip-flop wearers took
shorter steps and their heels hit the ground with less vertical
force than when the same walkers wo