What Summer Shoes Do to Your Joints

Do you spend the summer in flip-flops, sandals, and other casual, lightweight, breathable shoes that lack support? If so, you might be harming not just your feet but also your joints.

Summer shoes can be stylish and cool, but with little heel or arch support, they can alter your walking and standing patterns. This can lead to foot pain and even issues with your knees, hips, and back. These shoes can also worsen arthritis.

How can one pair of shoes have such a big impact on your body? Here’s what happens when you walk around in flip-flops or sandals for too long:

Since flip-flops and other summer shoes don’t offer much arch or heel support, they can cause a misalignment in your gait. This means you’ll walk differently than you normally would, which strains your joints and ligaments as they compensate for the changes in walking patterns. You may use shorter strides, curl your toes, or use other unnatural foot movements as you walk.

With minimal cushioning, your feet, legs, and joints absorb more impact with each step. This can cause foot pain, stress your ankle, lead to shin splints, and increase joint wear and tear.

As your walking stride changes, it may also disrupt your body’s alignment and posture, putting pressure on your joints and creating muscle imbalances. This leads to pain, strain, and other joint and muscle-related issues.

Common problems from wearing flip-flops or sandals include foot pain, which is often caused by walking in flat open shoes. You might experience plantar fasciitis, a painful condition caused by irritation and inflammation of the connective tissues between your feet and toes, typically felt on the bottom of your foot or inside your heel. The lack of support also puts stress on the ankle, increasing the risk of sprains and pain. Changes in walking can inflame the Achilles tendon, which connects the heel bone to the calf muscles. You might develop shin splints, a condition resulting in pain along the shinbone caused by repetitive stress. Altered walking patterns and lack of shoe cushioning add stress to the knees, causing pain or injury. Changes in gait can lead to hip pain due to imbalances. Additionally, changes in gait and posture from wearing shoes like flip-flops can result in back pain and discomfort.