Do you find that after a day in thongs or flimsy shoes you have heel pain, calf ache, ankle swelling and a flare-up of old leg injuries? That’s because thongs can be common foot pain causes.
Thongs are flimsy, flat, have minimal straps and zero support. Their main function is to stop the soles of your feet burning on hot ground.
Therefore, to keep them on your feet, you have to claw your toes to grip and hold on. This action makes your walking stiff and it is impossible to have a natural action.
Thongs will not give you any ankle and arch support and your feet will ache when you don’t change your footwear from the beach to the shops.
Thongs are flat – just a thin piece of rubber. People who have calf or foot pain usually prefer to stand in shoes where the heel is higher than the toes as this takes the stretch off sore muscles and tendons.
When you walk, the normal action is heel contact and then roll through to push off at your toe joints.
It is very difficult to walk with a natural action wearing thongs – so you develop compensation pain
So what should you look for in footwear so that you can cool down in summer, walk naturally and not end up with sore feet?
If thongs are foot pain causes, what should you wear instead?
In Summary
Pain from poor support in shoes can start slowly and be just an ache. However, a large proportion of people still have symptoms after two years like Achilles Tendinopathy (Tendinitis), Plantar Fasciopathy (heel spurs, fasciitis) [Read our Blog on Plantar Fasciitis here], flat feet and calf pain.
