Newsflash: Slippers bad for your health
June 6th, 2008 by Kim
Uh-oh. Bad news for, um, just about everybody in Hawaii.
The New York Times reports that researchers from Auburn University in Alabama have found that wearing slippers can be bad for your legs, ankles and feet. The researchers discovered that when people wear slippers, they alter the way they walk, which can cause pain in the hips and lower back:
For the study, the researchers recruited 39 college-age men and women and asked them to wear flip-flops [translation: slippers] or athletic shoes. They then had them walk a platform that measured vertical force as their feet hit the ground. A video camera measured stride length and limb angles.
Flip-flop wearers took shorter steps and their heels hit the ground with less vertical force than when the same walkers wore athletic shoes. People wearing flip-flops also don’t bring their toes up as much as the leg swings forward. That results in a larger angle to the ankle and a shorter stride length, the study showed. The reason may be that people tend to grip flip-flops with their toes.
A biomechanics doctoral student who presented the findings said this doesn't mean slippers should never be worn -- they should just not be worn for extended periods of time. Like to the beach, to lunch, to the office, AT the office, while shopping at Ala Moana, while walking in Waikiki, at First Friday, while hiking...
Darn. I think I've already done myself in for a lifetime of back pain.
June 6th, 2008 at 4:02 am
this is terrible news...i've worn shoes my hole life, my friend bought me a comfortable pair of local motion slippers...now i always wear slippers..i wonder if it makes a difference if your wearing crox?
June 6th, 2008 at 5:02 am
no worry beef curry. if slippers really did cause back pain, hip pain, whatever, we'd all be lying flat on top the beach right now in pain...and in shoes. haha no can!
June 6th, 2008 at 5:39 am
It's true.
The health of the foot and legs can be determined by the amount of articulation (rotation) at the ankle, which is about 120 degrees in the most flexible.
People who walk in slippers have almost no foot rotation but merrely shuffle their feet along which doesn't produce the full-range motion that causes maximum contractions at the extremities (hands, feet, and head), causing the blood to be forecefully pumped back to the heart, and so we see a disproportionate amount of people with the accumulation of water (bloating) at the extremities backing up to the heart.
In most discussions of the value of exercise, the focus is exclusively on working the heart harder and faster -- when the weakness of the circulatory system is in pumping the blood from the extremities back to the heart -- which the heart has no effect in. That effectiveness is determined by the voluntary contractions (movements) a person makes, or what is generally regarded as exercise.
For the past twenty years, I've been pointing this out to the fitness experts and other health practitioners, a few who see the obviousness of this point -- but the fitness industry has so indoctrinated people with their false notions that people continue to experience no immediate favorable health effects from such exercises and think it isn't worth it -- when in fact, the effects of "proper exercise" is immediate, apparent, curative.
But you have to have this right understanding -- and not increasing the problem, thinking it is the solution.
The proper use for flip-flops are the many situations in which ease of off and on is the highest priority -- only.
June 6th, 2008 at 5:58 am
About twenty years ago, I also pointed out to the instructors on CPR that it was not necessary to do mouth to mouth resuscitations and chest compressions because chest compressions alone caused air flow in and out of the lungs.
Breathing is caused by the difference in air pressure between the lungs and the normal atmospheric pressure. When one compresses the chest the air will flow out of the lungs, and normal atmospheric will reinflate the lungs -- just like in a Thermarest self-inflating air mattress I demonstrated the principle on.
Otherwise, people are reluctant to resuscitate others they don't know. The previous instruction on life saving, incorporated just this chest pressure technique -- involving the lifting of the arms to increase the chest volume -- but simply releasing the pressure is adequate because normal atmospheric pressure is sufficient to do the job, although we don't notice it because we are "used to" living in that environment.
June 6th, 2008 at 8:35 am
I grew up here and wore slippas all my life. I don't have any back, leg or hips problems. Us locals must have evolved to wear slippas from the rest of the world.
June 6th, 2008 at 8:43 am
Prrffft. I'll "take my chances" (being sarcastic here) and I agree with M.
I can't make the mis-correlation between instances of diabetes in this state with wearing slippahs, but, methinks those with the ailment would do well to wear slippahs every so often, air out the feet, you know?
Anyways, I only wear on the weekends, when I have to go out casually in the evenings, heck, whenever I'm in shorts and t-shirt and gotta go out.
I think the alternating between wearing shoes during the workweek and slippahs at other times IS a healthy thing. Can't be constricting your feet all the time you're outside.
June 6th, 2008 at 9:13 am
Guess I have to go back to black socks and sandals...and hope the fashion police don't arrest me.
June 6th, 2008 at 9:43 am
I sorta agree with the different mechanics involved between wearing shoes and slippahs and that shoes or bare feet is probably better for your body. Especially if you are on your feet for extended periods of time, you can tell the difference between wearing shoes or slippahs...shoes more comfortable and less tiring on your legs and back. Off course if you wearing spike high heels, worn out or improperly fitted shoes then bets are off. I run often so get new pair every 6 months.
June 6th, 2008 at 9:49 am
I think that is only for people who wear shoes all the time.
June 6th, 2008 at 9:56 am
The article doesn't apply to us local Midlifers. We grew up running around barefoot. Subsequently, our feet have evolved to a condition called Luau Feet. And slippers were made for Luau Feet.
Remember when the continent people used to call slippers "go aheads"? Because if you go backwards, they fall off.
June 6th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Don't the mainlanders call slippas "shower shoes"?.
June 6th, 2008 at 10:41 am
I've got some Olukai sandals that are supposed to be anatomically correct for your feet. Not sure if they really are, but they are comfortable.
June 6th, 2008 at 11:17 am
As a woman, I'm always mystified at how others of my sex wear those crazy high heels all day long. Are they secretly wearing slippers or athletic shoes to the office, then only wearing the heels when they have to be seen by others?
Also, I have yet to find a pair of dress or even work shoes that look great/fashionable and are totally comfortable. Usually, the most comfy women's shoes are, well, not much to look at. It's tough because my average day can include covering a press conference, chasing people down on the beach, or shuffling through hay and, ahem, other things, at a horse stable. Where can I find a pair that contribute to the health benefits that Mike describes AND are aesthetically pleasing?
June 6th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
@Kim
You need to have a getabako in your car trunk. One pair of slippers for the beach, a pair of hiking boots for the mountains, waterproof boots for the stables, and a nice pair of heels for the fancy luncheon.
June 6th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
This research came from a college in ALABAMA. I don't think anyone can put too much into it. I think they are still living in the 60s down there.
June 6th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Replying to M,
On the mainland they call them thongs. When I brought wife (raised on the mainland) home on vacation and went to Ala Moana, she said, really loudly, "I want to buy some thongs!" I was slightly mortified when people in the crowd looked at us. "Slippers!" I said. "They're called slippers!"
I think people fail to recognize that losing some of the muffin tops aka opu aka love handles can help your back much more than a nice pair of shoes.
Also, the emphasis on chest compressions, rather than providing rescue breaths, is because of the need to circulate blood throughout the system, and not because chest compressions are a substitute for breathing through pressure changes. But in one respect Hu is right, everyone should learn how to do chest compressions because providing circulation in those precious minutes before the ambulance arrives is critical.
June 7th, 2008 at 12:34 am
While we're on the subject of slippers, here's something interesting that we learned in Japanese class last summer. When local people go to someone's home, they always leave their shoes/slippers pointed in the direction of the home...that's the way they took them off. But Japanese will point their shoes in the direction of the street...away from the home. This is so they can slip into them easily when leaving.
Knowing this, it's easy to tell how many local people and how many people from Japan are at a party. Just consider the way the shoes are pointed!
June 7th, 2008 at 10:44 am
The reason chest compressions are better than blowing air into an already inflated lung is that the lungs mean "branched" tissue -- which means that one (air pipe) become two (lungs), and two becomes four, on down to the fine tissues, where it meets the capillaries of the blood system for an efficient exchange of gases, rather than being a simple air sac, like in more primitive life forms -- without the more critical need for oxygen to the brain.
Air movement in and out of the lungs is caused by varying air pressures -- and the compression to partial inflation is the better exchange rather than blowing into an already partially inflated lung -- because with branched tissue, it must follow the path of first in-last out, and last-in, first out. So if the lungs never get fully compressed, the air blown into a partially inflated lung simply forces the residual (oldest) air back into the lungs, not allowing fresh air to make contact with the blood stream. And since one is already doing the compressions, and it is much less objectionable to do, why do something less productive -- than the best thing one can do.
In ancient understandings of breathing (yoga, tai-chi, aerobics), the focus was on the inhalation as the important aspect of breathing -- rather than the effort being that of completely emptying out and then just relaxing and nature will do the rest. Generally, when breathing is taught as something separate from another primary movement, as opposed as coming naturally with another, they can be out of synch and counterproductive -- like in throwing a shotput, punch, weightliifting. The proper execution of that movement produces a maximum exhalation -- because at that one moment, all the muscles in the body must be contracted as though it is one.
When all the muscles are contracted simultaneously, air has to leave the lungs because all the muscles are contracted, shortened, compressing of the chest. In this respect, CPR is actually a superior manner of breathing because another person is devoted entirely to produce this movement for another -- but the much smaller but dedicated and specialized organs of the heart and lungs in each individual will have to suffice -- under normal circumstances.
But during these extraordinary circumstances, one should be focused on doing the mostt important thing -- which is to provide that circulation of the blood or the air goes nowhere. But in that simulation of the heart beat, one also produces the most efficient form of breathing -- also.
June 7th, 2008 at 11:20 am
Teva-style sandals are a huge improvement, allowing full-range motion for any activity imaginable. Once you know what THAT feels like, that is the prototype you'd be looking for. Some people run the marathon and bike-race in them.
Flip-flops are dangerous to do much else but use them to keep your feet clean -- so if you're always wearing them, chances are, you won't be doing much else. And that is most people's problem.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Hey Mike! Huh?
June 8th, 2008 at 11:53 am
Mike,
When your intercostal muscles and diaphragm contract, the chest cavity *expands* and does not compress, this allows air to *enter* and not leave the lungs. You have a lot of information in your comment, but--and this is just my opinion as a physician--it does not make sense to me. Sorry. But have a great day. Aloha.
June 8th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
OK, I don't doubt that comfortable shoes are better for your joints and back than slippers. But once I heard these folks were from Alabama, I began to doubt about a direct transfer of this study's results to local people. Mainland haoles don't know HOW to wear slippers and often exert a lot more effort than someone who has been properly raised wearing them.
I would bet that local people, going through the same tests, would have a more relaxed posture and stride wearing slippers than folks from Alabama. Which is not to say that good shoes are not better--just that slippers are OK for folks who know how to wear them and not for those who cannot.
June 9th, 2008 at 9:21 am
Take it very simply and slowly then.
Do you agree that when you compress the chest (as in CPR)), air leaves the lungs, and when you release that pressure, air automatically re-enters the lungs?
June 9th, 2008 at 9:33 am
I even hear the slippers can lead to alcoholism...since some of them double as bottle openers. Never understood why on earth a manufacturer (like Reef) would market something like that. Weird.
June 9th, 2008 at 3:28 pm
What if I wore socks with my slippers?
June 9th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Reef should discontinue the bottle opener ones because they get uncomfortable pretty quick if you wear slippers alot and also get rid of the slipper that serves as a flask.
Maybe yoga, tai chi, or some type of practice lidat can off-set the negative effects of wearing slippers so much. Someone will have to let me know as I'll just keep wearing my slippers until they fall off. Then I'll get another pair or chance those new things that are like being barefoot but with grip and are made for all purpose.
July 1st, 2008 at 2:31 pm
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