Everyone flips for the 'miraculous' FitFlop

At £90 a pair, the latest range of flip-flops might seem an unlikely summer bestseller. But, according to an adviser on biomechanics to UK Athletics, this is not simply beachwear: the FitFlop appears to be capable of performing miracles.

Despite the product being originally designed and marketed as a "vanity shoe" that would help body-conscious women to tone their bottoms and legs, stories of how people crippled with arthritis or back pain are suddenly able to walk again are flooding in, according to the manufacturers.

The FitFlop is said to produce a similar effect to walking barefoot, but with a degree of shock absorption. This makes the muscles work harder, creating the toning effect.



But Dr Phil Graham-Smith, head of the directorate of sport at Salford University and a consultant biomechanist for UK Athletics, also believes they may make the body adjust its walk to ensure the knee is correctly aligned.

Marcia Kilgore, founder of the FitFlop company, admitted they were initially designed for their cosmetic effect on the body.

"They were originally launched as a vanity shoe – you could walk and help tone your legs. But over and over again, we'd hear things like 'I've had a degenerative spine disease, haven't been off morphine, and all I have to do is put on a pair of FitFlops and suddenly I don't feel pain any more'," she said. "A lot of people with severe and chronic back pain have reported a vast improvement, an almost miraculous improvement on putting these things on."