Are the flip flops any good for your feet?

Flip flops are a category of shoes which happen to be equally negative and positive for the foot. They could be beneficial for the feet to get the foot out of tight constricting footwear in to the open air, specially in the more comfortable climates where the way of life is ideal for their use. The tight constricting shoes could predispose the feet for all sorts of problems with toe deformities and also pressure calluses. However, they can usually make the toes grip to help keep them on, that is not always any good. They also expose the feet to the chance of more trauma in that things may well drop on the foot. They aren't permitted to be worn in a good many workplaces, particularly construction ones, because of this.

The flip flops tend to be used in the warmer environments where the lifestyle enables their use plus they are so handy. On the other hand, they usually are not much use to those people who have foot issues that really need the foot orthotics. It's impossible that one could wear an arch support or foot orthotic in the flip flop because there is not a way of keeping the support in position. For people who must use footwear in the warmer climates as a result of requirement use foot orthotics within their shoes have limited possibilities. Most recently a number of models of flip flops have come to market with an arch support already a part of them included in the construction. These designs are becoming widely used for those who like or need foot orthotics but are on the less severe end of the range and don't always need to wear foot supports constantly.

One brand name which is enjoying a great deal of interest is the Archies Arch Supporting Flip Flops. They are coming from Australia and in Australia they name flip flops, thongs. These are a one-piece flip flop that have a tighter strap as compared with the more conventional flip flops therefore there will not be a major issue with the toes clawing to hold the flip flops to the feet. The arch that is built into them is roughly the same height as most of the pre-made arch supports available on the market. This makes the flip flops most valuable for people who need to use a foot orthoses or arch support and for some reason have difficulty with using the footwear that they must be worn in. Making use of enclosed footwear for foot orthoses can be a problem in the warmer temperatures as a result of lifestyle concerns along with options. The Archies were initially manufactured by a physical therapist in Australia and initially sold at Saturday trading markets. They are now largely being offered in podiatry and physical therapy practices.

What are the alternatives to using foot orthotics?

Foot orthoses are widely used to treat a range of biomechanical ailments of the foot and lower leg. These foot supports are inserts which are worn in the footwear in an attempt to modify alignment of the foot in such a way that they help conditions in the foot and leg. These problems vary from, for example, plantar fasciitis in the heel to medial stress syndrome that can occur in the legs of runners. All the research evidence shows that the clinical outcomes with foot orthoses are likely to be beneficial and most people that have foot orthotics are satisfied with them. Nevertheless, foot orthoses are only ever be any good if you in fact wear them. You do need to have proper shoes to wear them in and use them enough for the problem they were used for to resolve.

One of the difficulties with foot orthotics is that you simply need to use them in shoes. This can be a dilemma if you don't like using shoes or reside in a hot environment in which the wearing of shoes is difficult. In these climates people like wearing jandals (known as ‘thongs’ in Australia) which you can simply not wear with a foot orthotic. There are several options that you can get. Among those is to limit the time that you are not using the foot orthoses, so that you wear shoes with the foot supports enough and do not wear the sandals too much so that the painful problem does not occur. Another option is to use such things as the arch support sandals or jandals like the Archies Flip Flops from Australia. These have some arch support included in them and can typically be used instead of foot orthoses. Shoes much like the Archies will most likely not be as effective as an adequately made foot orthotic, but they would be more than satisfactory to supplement them and use when the proper footwear can't or will not be worn.

 

Why Podiatrists try to get the right dosing of foot orthotics

The idea of foot orthotic dosing continues to be getting even more recognition in recent years. It is in line with the analogy of drugs dose. Each person who may be taking a unique drug or medicine for any medical condition should really in principle taking an individual dosage or volume of that drug. Exactly the same should be the situation with regard to foot orthotics. A distinct “dose” of foot supports really needs to be applied. All too often foot orthoses are generally used the same dose of foot orthotic, specifically in studies or research. An instalment of the weekly podiatry live show, PodChatLive hammered out this dilemma. The hosts of the show talked with Simon Spooner to try to highlight some of the constraints of foot orthoses research based on the principle. They outlined the way clinicians really should be viewing all findings from research made in the framework of these limitations. They discussed as to what “perfect” foot orthotic research might look like, the points we might choose to ‘measure’ and also the evident discussion between the lab and the clinic. Most significantly they discussed exactly what ‘dosing’ is, and how it may also help us answer concerns which are currently left unanswered.

Dr Simon Spooner qualified as a Podiatrist in 1991 graduating from the University of Brighton, and in addition to his BSc in Podiatry, he was granted the Paul Shenton award for his research into callus. Then he continued to finish his PhD in Podiatry from the University of Leicester in 1997, where he researched the reasons and therapy for inherited foot issues. He is now the Director of Podiatry at Peninsula Podiatry. His practice specialties include sports medicine, foot orthotics, and children as well as adult foot and gait irregularities. In addition to his own clinical work, Simon has published numerous research articles on podiatric care and has delivered presentations at both national and international conventions, and furnished postgraduate training for quite a few National Health Service Trusts.