A recent article in The Age advised against wearing thongs . It stated that thongs lead to poor joint alignment that damages joints; and damaged joints require surgery. The reality is that wearing thongs is just fine, and most damaged joints do acceptably well without surgery. Thongs are a trivial challenge for the body because, unlike a machine, the human body can adapt to accommodate a wide range of postures and movements. Over time, bones, muscles and joints that are loaded become stronger. Portraying the body as fragile is not only incorrect, this could potentially scare some people away from physical activity. And this would be a shame as the human body thrives on physical activity. When joints are damaged by disease or injury people may look to surgery to fix the problem. But trials that have compared surgery to placebo (pretend surgery) or appropriate non-surgical measures (like exercise) […]