Letting your toes breathe in a pair of flip-flops is a nice feeling, but wearing the footwear can really leave you with problems.
Podiatrist and foot and ankle surgeon Dr. Christina Long tells the Daily Mail that wearing flip-flops can alter your natural stride, leaving you with shin splints, Achilles tendon problems, and lower back pain. Wearing the shoes can also result in plantar fasciitis-- inflammation of the band of tissue that runs from the heel to the ball of the foot.
Long adds, "Wearing flip-flops is better than going barefoot because they do provide some protection for the bottoms of your feet, but that's about it. Flip-flops don't offer any arch or heel support, and you have to grip them with your toes to keep them on."