The Internet loves to mock Crocs. Made popular by Mario Batali and rabidly purchased by Dez Bryant-loving Big Gulp enthusiasts who gave up on life after the last Cowboys Super Bowl in 1996, they’re pretty much the herpes virus of footwear.
But now there’s an actual medical reason to hate Crocs. The Huffington Post talked to a podiatrist about how Crocs can cause major health issues to your feet. TLDR: Because they don’t offer heel support, you’re putting your foot at risk for tendinitis and a bunch of toe and heel problems:
“Unfortunately Crocs are not suitable for all-day use,” Dr. Megan Leahy, a Chicago-based podiatrist with the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute, told HuffPost. While she granted that they “offer nice arch support,” she added that the real reason you shouldn’t wear them over long periods of time is that “these shoes do not adequately secure the heel. When the heel is unstable, toes tend to grip which can lead to tendinitis, worsening of toe deformities, nail problems, corns and calluses. The same thing can happen with flip flops or any backless shoes as the heel is not secured.”
Dr. Alex Kor, the president of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine, told HuffPost that the most important feature in any shoe is the shank, the supportive structure between the heel and the toe. “Patients are more likely to have foot pain if their shoes bend in the shank,” said Kor.
Crocs, according to Kor, “are the ‘poster child’ for shoes with a flexible shank. … In other words, on a daily basis, I see patients who come into my office complaining of arch or heel pain and they are wearing Crocs,” he said.
Oof. In other words, Crocs are bad for you. Now you have an actual scientific reason to not wear Crocs that’s completely unrelated to your attempts to get laid.