Check for the 1⁄2 inch (1. 3 cm) of room while standing still and walking around because your foot might shift as you walk.
Tight rubber straps might cut into your skin over time and loose rubber straps might cause irritation friction.
If you can feel your heel hitting the hard ground when you walk, that’s a sign of a thin sole. Too much walking in a thin flip flop will eventually cause your feet to be sore. Light foam footbeds might seem like a cheap, easy option, but this material provides little to no support. Over time, wearing flip flops like this can cause plantar fasciitis (painful inflammation near the heel of your foot). Try bending the flip flop with your hands to test its stability. Too much bend near the center of the footbed means it provides little stability.
Note that if you currently have foot problems like pronation or supination (that is, your weight rolling either to the inside or outside of your foot), foot-molding footbeds might exacerbate the problem.
Try on different pairs of contoured flip flops as the heel cups (the back part cradling your heel), toe boxes (the front part holding your toes), and arch height can vary from model to model. Note that contoured flip-flops can be pricey, but it may be worth it for the health of your feet! Plus, they’ll probably last a lot longer than foam-soled flip flops.
If you naturally walk pigeon-toed or duck-footed, you can correct your gait by doing hip and leg rotation exercises.
This simple exercise will help your hips’ external rotation—internally rotated hips are a common cause of pigeon toes.
Do this simple move 10 to 12 times on each leg at least once a day.
Taking smaller strides also helps absorb some of the shock when you step. Over-striding might can also cause sore heels and lead to plantar fasciitis over time.
You don’t have to actively try to do this as it should just come naturally. If your flip flop comes off even if you’re pinching your big toe and second toe together, that’s a sign that you need to go down a size.
As your foot is directly under your body, your toes will naturally curl as if to grip the ground. Then, once your foot passes behind your body, your toes straighten again in order to propel you forward while keeping your balance.
Touch the ground with the fleshy part of your heel first, then roll your foot downward onto the ground so the outside of the arch will make contact before the ball of your foot and toes. The flip flop should hit the heel of your back foot as you lift it off the ground to bring it forward again (hence the name “flip flop”).
