Are Flip Flops Bad for Your Feet?
By Dr. Lallas

Warm weather is here and time to take off those winter shoes and slip on your favorite open toed shoes. For many people this means wearing flip flops throughout the summer. Although they provide some basic protection from sharp objects, are they at all beneficial to your feet?

	Dr. Lallas is a board certified Podiatric Surgeon at Lakeshore Clinic in Kirkland.
Peter Lallas, DPM

To avoid unnecessary foot pain, look for more sport oriented sandals. These typically have various straps, a supportive heel cup, and are not too flexible in the arch. The better support you give your feet, the more they can carry you throughout the long summer days.

New research, printed in American Journal of the Podiatric Medical Association*, suggest that flip flops may actually cause foot pain or foot problems to arise. Researchers measured pressure to the bottom of the feet, in flip flops, barefoot and athletic shoes. Walking on computerized pressure mats, pressure to the bottom of subjects' feet was compared. In all subjects, the highest pressures were recorded for persons in flip flops. This means that athletic shoes were the most protective, followed by bare feet, then flip flops. The popular sandals actually cause more damaging pressure points than bare feet!

* JAPMA, Vol 98, No. 5, pgs. 374-378, 2008.

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Walking - The Easy Solution
By Sally R. Esser, M.D.

Ever feel like there's a vitamin supplement, list of five best foods, or exercise routine for every possible medical condition? Sometimes the list of things we are supposed to do regularly for our health grows so long that we wonder when we're going to do anything else: floss your teeth, take an aspirin, count your calories or carbs, condition your hair and skin, do a self breast exam, brush your hair 100 strokes, care for your cuticles, eat your blueberries...on and on the list goes.

	Sally R. Esser, M.D. Lakeshore Clinic Specialty: Family Practice
Sally R. Esser, M.D.

What if there was one thing you could do for a half hour a day, 6 days a week, that helped your weight, muscle tone, diabetes risk, stroke risk, cholesterol levels, risk of breast cancer, lowered your stress and improved your sleep? What if we added improved bone density, time to spend with a friend or blissfully alone, and an increased sense of well-being? The answer is walking. Just walking.

Heart attack risk can be decreased by 30-40% with brisk walking 3 hours a week. The good HDL cholesterol increases with walking. Increase that walking to 5 hours a week and your risk is decreased by 50%.

Diabetes risk can be cut by 50% when regular walking is combined with a healthy diet. The need for gallstone surgery is reduced by a third by walking regularly.

Recent data shows that breast cancer survivors who walked just one hour a week cut their risk of dying from breast cancer by 20%. If they walked 3 or more hours a week, the risk was cut by almost 50%. That's impressive.

Even better are the intangibles of hearing the birds sing, feeling the breeze in your hair, and getting some fresh air and sunshine. Kids will confide in you during walks. Your dog will be delighted to keep you company. If your body says no, my feet hurt too much or my joints ache when I walk, that's when it's time to call your doctor. We want you to walk and will be glad to help you figure out the best way to make that happen.

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