It never fails this time of year, I’ll have patients visit me complaining of foot, shin, hip or low back pain or all of the above. It also never fails that most of the time, these patients are sporting the summer footwear staple – flip-flops.Whether they are the kind you find for 99 cents at many discount stores or you pay more for a name-brand pair, these shoes should be tossed aside!Of all the harmful summer footwear out there, traditional flip-flops are perhaps the most damaging. Traditional flip-flops are flat, offering little support or cushioning to the foot. Not surprisingly, reported rates of heel pain, frequently due to plantar fasciitis, statistically rise in the spring as flip-flop wearers shed their winter footwear in favor of the popular sandal.Improper footwear – shoes with no support, protection or cushioning - can lead to degenerative changes in the muscles, joints and connective tissues over time. With your feet compromised, your gait can change, putting pressure on your knees, hips and back. All complaints that I tend to hear about more in the warmer months.A component of good footwear or sandal is called a shank. A shanks is a semi-rigid and semi-flexible material that allows for support and a normal or optimal range of motion when the foot is functional. The typical summer sandal is very thin, not allowing a shank. Another component is arch support – support for every area of your arch. The arch a very important structural feature of our feet, which bear 200,000 to 300,000 pounds of stress each mile we walk. Arches absorb the brunt of the pressure our bodies thrust on our feet with each stride. Properly supporting the arch can prevent a variety of musculoskeletal problems that can lead to inactivity and even disability.Your choice of footwear affects your structure. High-quality, supportive footwear, ideally with good arch support, gives the body a healthy and solid foundation that is less likely to experience biomechanical problems. Or next time you are in our office, ask me about customer orthotics. The benefits of ordering and wearing these orthotics are another blog post all together