Last year, Howard County Public Schools banned the use of flip flops. Apparently, the was an increased incidence of lower extremity injuries and the school system figured that by reducing flip flops, that the injury potential would be reduced…So, does this make sense or not?
Well, simply put, yes, it makes sense!
When you put on a thong/flip flop, you have to hold onto it with your big toe and second toe. This is something you don’t see with any other footwear products and for good reason…it’s not a natural thing to do. When you have to grip the thong, you are immediately changing your gait. This is a bad thing. This goes along with not having any strap or support around your ankle. The normal gait cycle involves heel strike with the lateral posterior portion of your calcaneus. The calcaneus bone is made for impact so we should use it for this. With flip flops, because you don’t tend to heel strike, you end up ‘flopping’ around and more or less hitting the ground with your mid-foot. The mid-foot is not made for impact…you can take a look at the bones of the feet to understand why this is. Read More »
