Chief Podiatrist Endorses Flip Flops!

[Longboard]

.......For walking on the beach sand that is....provided they are not flexible, have support, and ideally are made of leather.

Seriously! No bare feet on the beach sand or in the water any more. And this is'nt my wife's grandmother trying her best to micro-protect the kids, it's the president of the American Podiatric Medical Association!

Joseph Caporusso, DPM, president of the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) offers some advice:
At the beach
You may enjoy the sensation of sand between your toes, but avoid walking barefoot....
....Always wear sturdy flip-flops or sandals when walking in sand, to help prevent injury.

Full story here:

http://www.lvrj.com/sponsored/tips-to-keep-feet-healthy-and-in-step-with-summer-fun.html?ref=965





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[DNEchris]

Being English I'll just call that an "interesting" perspective!

 

[Longboard]

Being English I'll just call that an "interesting" perspective!

Possibly the doc had a bad experience at Brighton Beach and thought all that gravel was sand?

 

[Barefoot TJ]

You may enjoy the sensation of sand between your toes, but avoid walking barefoot....

How can you enjoy the sensation of sand between your toes if you don't go barefoot in the sand?

 

[Longboard]

....
....Always wear sturdy flip-flops or sandals when walking in sand......

I spent Presidents Week this past February injured on Ft. Myers Beach FL , and the week before Easter
still out of comission at Cocoa Beach FL.
Both of these classicaly busy FL beach weeks found me mostly sitting and watching rather than participating.
Not counting the ridiculous shod beach runners, my estimation is that greater than 98% of beach walkers were barefoot. No, not wearing minimalist footwear or socks, but truly skin-to-the-sand barefoot.
How will we ever produce enough podiatrists to care for them all?
And will a national health care plan ever be able to cover all those barefoot beach goer's injuries without bankrupting the system?
I should have gone to Kalamazoo for IBRD even though I'm unable to run......all of this extra thinking time is starting to wear me out.

 

[NickW]

Funny, but I've hurt myself and rolled my ankles much more in footwear that is supportive and inflexible than I have barefoot or huaraches. What's this dudes problem? Is he really paid off by shoe companies? He has to be to be spouting this crap.

 

[Longboard]

Is he really paid off by shoe companies?

Podiatrists do receive a few discounts and perks from shoe companies, but that's not what motivates that type of thinking. It's the idea that footwear with custom orthotics inserted is required for proper functi0n that is the true culprit.
When the beach walkers get any type of soreness from the TMJ down after getting out of their Lazyboy recliner for a day or two and strolling the beach in those leather fully supported flips, they will be told that custom fabricated inserts from real casts will be their only salvation.
That's where the REAL $ enter into the picture.

 

[NickW]

Frustrating that someone in that high of a position is willing to put bad info out there like this. He has to know he is idiotic for even saying this. My wife even said that was stupid, and she thinks I'm a nutter for going barefoot most of the time.

 

[Longboard]

And even she sees nothing wrong with being barefoot on the beach, right?

 

[NickW]

Exactly. She loves going barefoot on the beach.

 

[Neil_D]

Oh dear, maybe we should all just live in plastic bubbles and roll around so nothing can hurt us.
I get so tired of all the crap these idiots spout I don't know how they have the nerve to call themselves professionals. I was running on the beach today over mounds of broken shells and shock horror my feet did not bleed, maybe I am a messiah, it must be a sign of my superhuman powers. Yes all you mere mortals wear your hiking boots to the beach, get your booster shots and maybe full body suits, a day at the beach would never be the same again.

Neil

 

[RunningPirate]

Oh dear, maybe we should all just live in plastic bubbles and roll around so nothing can hurt us.
I get so tired of all the crap these idiots spout I don't know how they have the nerve to call themselves professionals. I was running on the beach today over mounds of broken shells and shock horror my feet did not bleed, maybe I am a messiah, it must be a sign of my superhuman powers. Yes all you mere mortals wear your hiking boots to the beach, get your booster shots and maybe full body suits, a day at the beach would never be the same again.

Neil

Well, the full body suit would also protect against UV rays....

...and what the hell are "Sturdy" flip flops? Since at least 1977, it has been commonly known that flip flops are prone to blow outs...

 

[Longboard]

Since at least 1977, it has been commonly known that flip flops are prone to blow outs...

Yeah, but what happened immediatly following that?
I'll bet the heel cut was made up though.
Maybe he started the whole fear of sharp objects thing himself...
Think about it, 1977, the disapearence of bare feet in public...
That's it, I'm skipping Comerica Park in July.

 

[Rusinque]

Wowwwwwwwwwwwwwww. I cant believe it.

 

[migangelo]

huh, when i did a speech last year in public speaking class i found an article that sighted many podiatrists were against flip flops. make the toes work too hard and give you hammer toes and other things.

 

[Pes Planus]

I actually quite like wearing Flip Flops that are flexible with no support around town (have actually never seen Flip Flops with support now that I think about it...). Seems close to barefoot to me

 

[PatrickGSR94]

Wow really? Seems like the only flip flops I can find around here are thick, stiff, and/or have molded arch support. At least that's how it is among men's flops.

 

[NickW]

Mens flip flops seem to be much harder to find without that stuff unless you go to the dollar store or somewhere they have the cheap cheap flip flops. Almost all of them that I've found around here have elevated heals with some arch support. Of course, most places it seems carry very minimal variety of mens shoes and it's a shoe-a-palooza for the womens section.

 

[PatrickGSR94]

I used to have some that were relatively thin and flexible (rubber) with rubber thong straps. But I always had problems with my foot slipping off of them. It was quite annoying. Plus the rubber straps made them difficult to get on and off. I would rather just go BF than wear those things.

 

[Pes Planus]

Wow really? Seems like the only flip flops I can find around here are thick, stiff, and/or have molded arch support. At least that's how it is among men's flops.

Are we talking about the same things?