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Dr. Steve Rosenberg

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The Truth About The Shoes Of Summer, Sandals, Flip Flops And Wedges

Posted: 07/25/2012 5:00 pm

Summer shoes: Ballet flats, flip flops, platform wedges and high heel, wedge, casual and dress sandals in the summer are a welcomed relief. Summer time means vacation time, so everyone is traveling, shopping and walking outdoors because of the warm weather. The thought of summer footwear is music to many women's ears and now that summer is here, women's feet can breathe a sigh of relief. They are not trying to stuff their feet in uncomfortable closed-type shoes or boots and can finally walk happily, all day, in sandals, flip flops, ballet flats and work in high heel, wedges or flat sandals. No matter what type of footwear is worn during the summer months, most women will be very comfortable and walk pain free.

Let the truth be told, most shoes are not designed for comfort -- only for fashion. They do not accommodate for the lumps and bumps that can cause blisters on the tops of toes and back of the heel. Hammer toes are very common foot problems and can get very irritated forming painful corns on the top of toes when wearing closed shoes. Bunions are another common foot problem and can cause joint pain in the great toe also when wearing closed shoes. So, wearing the latest new summer shoe styles gives your feet three months of freedom and greatly reduces the chance of developing joint pain, corns, and blisters.

Tips of the trade

Buy the Right Size Shoe.

Always buy your correct size; buying a smaller sandal just because it looks cute and you may be able to make it work is a recipe for disaster. If the sandal is too big, your foot will slide around which will create blisters on the toes, bottom of the foot and back of the heel. It could also cause the toes to grip the floor of the shoe resulting in an unidentifiable foot pain that comes on gradually after a long day walking and shopping. These common types of foot problems are a function of the bones and joints of your foot not being properly supported and the foot sliding around in the shoe.

Arch Support, Arch Support, Arch Support!

Sandals, wedges, sling backs, ballet flats and flip flops for the most part are not designed to be supportive and walking all day in those types of shoes can cause tired legs, sore backs, arch cramps and general muscle fatigue. The reason is that you are either walking on cement sidewalks or concrete floors while shopping which are hard and unyielding and can wear you down. By the end of the day, the muscles in the foot are screaming and burning. Finding supportive summer footwear or arch products that can be placed in these types of shoes will greatly reduce some of these common foot problems.

Know your Feet

It could be the difference between walking pain free or walking in pain.

1. If you have flat feet and wear flats, sandals, wedges and flip flops without adequate arch support, those types of shoes can cause arch cramps, muscle spasms and leg fatigue.
2. Do not force your foot in shoes that are too small just because they go with what you're wearing that day. Depending on what your plans are, make sure the shoes you choose have enough room in the toe box so the toes do not get cramped or blistered.
3. Sandals that have straps in the wrong places can also ruin your day, make sure that the straps do not irritate the tops of your toes or behind the heel. Straps can form thickened skin; corns from friction or excessive movement of your foot rubbing against them.
4. Since bunions and hammertoes are so common, shoes that are too tight can cause joint pain in the great toe and corns on the top of second through the fifth toes. Wearing open-toed shoes will eliminate that problem.

Know your feet, the shape, the lumps and bumps that are present that can be irritated by different shoe styles, know what types of shoes make your feet more comfortable and which ones do not.

 

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Summer shoes: Ballet flats, flip flops, platform wedges and high heel, wedge, casual and dress sandals in the summer are a welcomed relief. Summer time means vacation time, so everyone is traveling, s...
Summer shoes: Ballet flats, flip flops, platform wedges and high heel, wedge, casual and dress sandals in the summer are a welcomed relief. Summer time means vacation time, so everyone is traveling, s...
 
 
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averagezoe
Don't breed or buy while homeless animals die!
04:35 PM on 07/29/2012
I will never ditch my flip flops! They are all I wear pretty much year round and I only put them aside when the temperature goes below 30 degrees and I am forced to wear closed shoes. Other than that, I will continue to live in them - I can't stand any other type of shoes.
09:40 PM on 07/29/2012
I can't stand the sound of flip flops smacking against the person's foot. It is worse than fingernails on a chalkboard to me. I also hate the sight of nasty feet sliding sideways off the shoe.
10:37 PM on 08/07/2012
Sorry. I don't own a pair of flip-flops or any other sandal. I laugh at someone wearing flip-flops in the winter. If its under 60F then flip-flops belong in the closet.
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ohslimgoody
Nothing new under the sun.
03:35 PM on 07/29/2012
In my opnion skecthers have the best summer sandals.
03:18 PM on 07/29/2012
I have been wearing Birkenstock Arizonas since 1970 or so...2 or 3 straps and I have very happy feet all these years. I understand that sometimes they are appropriate, so I wear flats when absolutely necessary...I hate pain so never heels. In the winter I wear then with sox. Pricey, but worth every penny!
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Catriona49
02:42 PM on 07/29/2012
I have two pair of flip flops that have arches , and they feel great! I have narrow feet- B with a AA heel . Super hard to find shoes that fit, and if you do , they are massively expensive. I also have toes that are not all the same length , and some shoes are just sort of boxy. Suffice it to say, given I worked on my feet in the medical field for 36 years, I wore real leather, good arch supports, well constructed shoes. The last 10 years I worked, I wore Birkenstock clogs. Wore wooden clogs too. No shin splints , no pain. I wear Crocs in the garden, and change out my flips every summer.
12:07 PM on 07/29/2012
Man went barefoot for thousands of years. Our feet were not meant to be put in shoes. That is why people have feet problems to begin with.
11:39 AM on 07/29/2012
flip flops originally were called thongs, lol, now thongs are underwear that give you an indian, yes, not PC but you know what I am talking about lol
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allen92909
Sailor's wife
02:07 PM on 07/29/2012
I've always known thongs as butt floss...lol.
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lghiata
11:39 AM on 07/29/2012
Picking on flip-flops, wedges and sandals? My feet never hurt after wearing flip-flops.
Please stilettos are way worse.
02:53 PM on 07/29/2012
Once again it simply amazes me how someone can say what is or isn't comfortable on everyone as a blanket statement. I wear flip flops and I also wear stilettos. And I am comfortable in both styles.
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lghiata
12:00 AM on 07/30/2012
I said stillettos are worse compared to flip flops...but I think flip-flops are comfortable. I really just was annoyed by the article. I didn't mean to attack stillettos.
hollyk
Laugh, love and enjoy what you have
11:06 AM on 07/29/2012
Hawaiians will be sad to here this--their "slippas" are the only thing they wear!
01:53 PM on 07/29/2012
Not so. We also wear closed shoes.
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purkasz
04:17 PM on 07/29/2012
Even better were what we called "Go aheads" when I lived in Hawaii. Cuz you wake up. get up and walk into your 'go aheads.' Life is but a dream so dream big.
hollyk
Laugh, love and enjoy what you have
08:50 AM on 07/30/2012
Never heard that term--I loved the slippas--especially when we kicked them off on the grass to play outside (I was a teacher there). Here in Florida, can't kick your slippas off as there are choke fire ants!
09:50 AM on 07/29/2012
It is next to impossible to find properly fitting shoes anywhere anymore. Unless shoes are now custom made, stores just do not carry anything for people with narrow feet. it used to be that the store owner would call us in when shipments arrived becauuse those narrow feet needed to be the first tried on so that they weren't stretched out. My sister had a company special make hers because her feet were so narrow. The thing is, because my parents were so insistant that all of us have properly fitting shoes, and never shoes too small, none of us have bunions or other problems and I'm in my 60's. I don't like shoes with any arch that touches my arches. Regarding flipflops, Reboks in 2004 made the ultimate ones. So great that I bought every color in them available. They were a stiffer sole and wore like iron. I throw them in the washer all the time. I am down to 2 pairs of the originals. I've bought other sandals, they get pitched and I always go back to the Reboks. Pity they quit making them. They are more comfortable than sports shoes. I've walked hundreds of miles in them, even a mountain trail in the Smokys to a waterfall, and if I could buy another 2 dozen pair, I would. Yeah, I know I should not have climbed a mountain trail in flip flops but these were the ultimate shoe.
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02:08 PM on 07/29/2012
You are so right aout getting should to fit. In my town its mostly small to meduim width. I have to got miles away to get a wide or Xwide shoe in most styles of shoes. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY!
To our manufacters they don't care about the condition this pointed shoes can cause!
WE Should demand a better fit shoe particularly in the USA!
11:41 PM on 07/29/2012
back in the 70's when i worked for the largest shoe buying company in the world, my mgr explained that to get say 7AA, 7B, etc. each last (size and width) was an extra $100,00. So all the back, hip and leg problems and those added feet probs can be attributed to the initial making of a shoe and a company's reluctance to invest in them. Imagine if that cost that much back then what it is now.
11:42 PM on 07/29/2012
and back then, those better fitting shoes were made in Italy and England, US made very few shoes, that place I worked for got lots from South America and some from Spain.
03:20 PM on 07/29/2012
Lillie...I am your age and I love my Birkenstocks! Try them. You will love them!
09:35 PM on 07/29/2012
unfortunatly they're wider, but you're right,they can be comfy. merrils, and a few others are as well, but I usually have to try in about 30 pair before I fine a fit *and I used to sell shoes for a while). Those Reeboks were the best ever. unfortunately they all the sports companies went to that awful jell stuff-and with sandals there is always a ridge on the edge of the entire shoes which is not nice.
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Mrs Roberts
09:43 AM on 07/29/2012
Years ago, when our country first started to be flooded with products only from other countries, I started to notice that shoes became shaped for flat feet. And now for some reason, you can only choose between ugly shoes with perfect arch support or pretty, stylish ones with no arch support at all. Why can't comfortable be pretty?
08:12 AM on 07/29/2012
Duh!
09:17 AM on 07/29/2012
Flip flops are wrong!! DUDES these do not go on your feet! Not with jeans, not ever. 101, flops are failures, and shoes do not flip!!
09:55 AM on 07/29/2012
so wrong, they go with everything-not the 39 cent kind, but there are flipflops that go with everything. My first pair were a gift from a foreign exchange student from Japan when I was 7. White wood, with red design and red velvet. I fell in love with them and have always had them in varying styles since them.
Ihearyou777
happy happy joy joy
11:32 AM on 07/29/2012
I agree. I hate seeing men in flip flops - especially if they have gnarly feet.