Tag: foot supports

What are the arch supporting flips flops?

Foot supports are a frequently used intervention for a number of foot and leg dysfunctional conditions. These are developed and helpful to correct alignment and biomechanical problems. All of the scientific data is that they are usually quite successful and also the patient satisfaction type research demonstrates that they are well accepted by those who use them. That will not mean that they don't have issues. They do have issues. They can only be used in a shoe which has the room for the supports to fit into. This means that they are unable to be used in certain types of sports footwear plus some shoes found in particular jobs. Also, in some environments closed in shoes are not that common because of the temperatures. Some people just have a philosophical objection to foot supports as they see them as being unnatural and as crutches which should not be used.

Although foot orthotics are simple and can very easily be designed to work in the short to medium term there are alternatives if patients want to follow that alternative. Exercise treatments are one option and muscle strength can be increased and used instead. Having said that, this could take a few months to work and it will be a good option to make use of foot supports initially because they can help get some good improvement virtually straight away. If shoes are the problem and it is difficult for financial, occupational, sporting or chosen lifestyle reasons to alter the shoes, there are possibilities such as the Archie Flip Flops that come from Australia and have a reasonable amount of arch support built in. There are more types of footwear like these that do have support integrated, though the amount is rather small compared to the Archies and might not be as useful. As always you should always talk to your podiatrist as to what they think is the best alternative for you.