Hip Pain and Flip Flops

**NOTE: I am not an expert, nor do I have any clinical knoweldge about this ish. If you think walking in flip flops is causing your hip pain, you may be right. You should probably be calling a doctor instead of googling your ailment.**

Over the past few months i've gotten quite a few hits on this blog from people googling some variation of the title of this post. I mean, I can see why this blog would show up on that google search! ;)

I thought I'd address the issue quickly for googlers passing though, so that they haven't completely wasted their time (or stay a while, or follow me! :D )

I am no expert. And my hip pain isn't exclusively related to flip flops. It's the result of a variety of things - back injury as a teen, one leg longer than the other, overdoing the training from time to time. However, do my beloved flip flops help? not a single bit. In fact, they probably make it worse.

After high heels, flip flops are likely the WORST shoes for you. Just walk barefoot for crying out loud - at least with that you can justify strengthening your foot in by using it naturally. Flip flops offer ZERO supprt for your feet, and believe it or not, that flipping and flopping and tensing of your foot muscle to keep that bugger on is actually working against you.

My guess is, that if you have hip pain after a long "hike" in flip flops you may be an over pronator. Look at an old pair. Check out that indentation where your heel is - is the inside of your heel more indented than the out? yep - you're an overpronator. welcome to the club. :D

If your hips hurt from walking about, and you were wearing flip flops, they may not be the cause, but they certainly aren't helping. If it's bad see a doctor. or get a pair of proper sneakers for your next romp around town. I will NEVER stop wearing flip flops. I just can't. however, i've laid off a considerable amount now that I have a professional job, and am not in grad school any more.

so yes, googlers, your hip pain can be caused by flip flops. I used a stability shoe when I run to alleviate overpronation and hip pain. If you want to go au natural - check out miss zippy's blog for a foray in to the world of minimalism and barefoot!

Thanks for stopping by, googlers! It's ok to stay a while!! :)