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I came across Zori slippers in a drug store’s brochure. Now I wear insoles from a podiatrist for heel spurs. I always have them in my shoes, but in the summer a slipper is also nice. They say in the brochure that Zori slippers also help with heel spurs. I would like to hear from a specialist if this is really the case.
Teuni
Sepp Mortelmans, podiatrist
I don’t know the Zori slipper personally, but I looked it up on the internet. From what I understand this is a slipper with a supportive footbed.
Disadvantages
Whichever way you look at it: a slipper cannot be compared with a good shoe in terms of properties. When rolling off the foot, the heel rises during the so-called ‘heel lift’ in order to put one leg in front of the other. The moment the heel comes up, the slipper is still on the ground and then ‘flapping’ behind it. This is also the typical sound that can be heard when wearing slippers. From the moment the heel comes up, the footbed of the slipper has a lesser function, because there is simply no more direct contact with the foot.
People also take shorter steps in slippers and do not complete the step well. This will certainly apply to people who have difficulty walking in slippers due to the construction of their feet.
Also, the heel often falls off the slipper because it provides no support. Just keep an eye out for random people on the street wearing flip flops. Slippers with a footbed provide more support than a flat slipper, so that people slip off the slipper less quickly.
Claws of toes
Another problem when wearing slippers is the claws of the toes. To keep the slipper on the foot, the toes automatically claw. As a result, there is a lot of pulling force on the tendons of the toes and on the tendon plate under the foot, causing it to become irritated or even inflamed, resulting in pain. With a severe tendon plate irritation/inflammation you can be busy for a year and a half before these complaints are over.
Injuries from slippers
If you walk in slippers for a short period and alternate this with good shoes, wearing slippers often does little harm. But whoever wears flip-flops most of the time is really doing it wrong. In the United Kingdom, research has been conducted into the number of conditions caused by wearing flip-flops and the costs involved. This showed that, in the United Kingdom alone in 2012, there were about 200,000 complaints and injuries caused purely by wearing flip-flops. More than 62 million dollars was needed for the treatments.
So my advice is: slippers are fine for use at home or at the campsite for shorter periods, but it is not wise to walk in slippers all summer.
Do you also have a question? Then ask one of our experts. Always go to your doctor with urgent questions, the experts are not the right person for that. They also do not diagnose. You can find the other conditions here.
Sepp Mortelmans is a podiatrist. He is a specialist in the field of ultrasound and foot complaints as a result of rheumatism. You can ask him questions about foot problems in general and his field in particular.