Research: with Auburn’s marching band showed “a majority of the members who had leg pain indicated they had been wearing flip-flops 75 percent of the time.” Lindsey Davidson / PHOTO EDITOR
Auburn’s biomechanics lab recently completed a study that may have you asking if you are putting your best foot forward.
Graduate student Justin Shroyer’s interest in flip-flops began with an idea from Wendi Weimar, director of the sports biomechanics lab.
“Our lab is in the coliseum and watching the participants of the summer camps, I noticed that a lot of campers were wearing flip-flops,” Weimar said. “It appeared that they walked differently while wearing them.”
Research with Auburn’s marching band showed “a majority of the members who had leg pain indicated that they had been wearing flip-flops 75 percent of the time.”
Shroyer, Weimar and their team recruited 39 students, men and women, between the ages of 19 and 25.
To participate, the volunteers could not already have leg problems that altered their gait.
The participants’ vertical force was measured by a walking platform. Their length and stride were also measured, using a camcorder.
The results matched what they had observed.
Participants wearing flip-flops had less vertical force than those wearing traditional tennis shoes. Flip-flops also caused their toes to grip, instead of bringing them up during the leg’s swing phase.
When the participants changed to tennis shoes after wearing flip-flops, a change in gait had developed, and because of this change, a discomfort was reported.
“Wearing flip-flops changes the way you walk,” Weimar said. “So, perhaps people should rotate their shoe-wearing options so that they do not completely adopt a new walking pattern.”
”Flip-flops offer the wearer no support when walking, and this causes people to change the way they walk.”
“We believe it is the persistence of the ‘flip-flop gait’ while wearing a more traditional shoe that may contribute to the discomfort that some people encounter.”
Weimar said, “Another way to avoid a change in gait is to replace older, worn down flip-flops.”
People need to replace their tennis shoes every three to four months, so they should replace their flip-flops the same way. Shroyer said. “It’s just like tires on a person’s car, the material wears down.”
“If you do not already have lower leg pain or discomfort, then there is no need to change what you are doing,” Shroyer said.
“However if you do, you should look into changing what you wear or how often you wear it.”
“Flip- flops are not bad, they serve a purpose,” Shroyer said. “But sometimes they are just used for the wrong purpose.”
The biomechanics lab is now looking into studying a wider range of flip-flops at different prices and different styles.
They are also looking into whether flip-flops cause the wearer’s legs to work harder than other shoes and do certain shoes, such as Crocs, change the way people walk.
Shroyer and his team appeared on Good Morning America June 6 and have also presented their findings to the American College of Sports Medicine.
