Zero Drop Shoes

Zero drop shoes are simply shoes in which there is no elevation difference between your ankle and your toes. They rest on the same height from the ground.

Most shoes these days have heels.
Women’s heels are infamous for causing distress if worn for too long. However even formal shoes for men have very obvious heels.
And unsuspiciously, most of our sports shoes and sneakers also have 4-8% incline inside the shoe due to a thick sole.

Well, long story short, this is not particularly great for our bodies in the long run and here is why -

1. Change in Posture - Our feet are the foundation of our body, a simple change in the angle at the bottom implies a whole lot of muscles required to put in additional effort to keep us upright.
This causes additional strain on our knees, hamstrings, and lower back.
Now while this load may not feel like much, it is very much these and causes muscle stiffness.

2. Loss of Balance - Staying at a constant incline leads to desensitization of our foot muscles due to the additional cushioning. This causes reduced sensory feedback reaching our brains causing a loss in the ability to balance.

3. Tight Foot Muscles - An incline inside our shoes means that the top part of our foot is constantly in a shortened position. With each step, we add more strain and limit our mobility.

4. Hammer Toes - Hammer toes is a condition where our toes change shape and become curved. This shape is usually made by our toes to prevent ourselves from falling forward. Being in shoes that put us in this scenario at all times causes this deformity.

5. Tight Calves - Heel elevation means that our calf and achilles tendon is in a shortened position. Long term this means tight calves and limited mobility.