Testimonial: Susan Rogers

I suffer with a disability known as "dropped foot" (also called "foot drop"). This is a result of a ruptured disc in my lower back, which has since been removed, but has left me with some lasting nerve and muscle damage, the worst of it being "dropped foot" on my left side.

I cannot lift my weight with my left foot at all and must concentrate on every single step I take.

I walk with a limp and cannot run, jump, skip, or dance. Sometimes I stagger because I cannot support myself with my left foot. And because I also can't lower my body weight on the left foot, my whole left side takes an extra jolt every time I put that foot down when I'm walking.

It is jarring and painful and adversely affects everything from heel to ankle, knee, hip, and lower back. Chronic pain becomes a constant companion, and walking becomes an activity I want to do as little as possible, to avoid the pain. When I do walk, I must focus on each step to try to lessen the pain. I cannot walk along absent-mindedly, like most people do, or I will come down harder on the left side. Even with concentration, I could not avoid the limp and some pain, and after 10 years of this, I had developed a chronic pain in my left hip that kept me awake at night.

I would buy good running shoes, the ones with the most cushioning in the heel that I could find, and wear them until the cushion in the left shoe was mashed down from the pounding it had taken. The shoes would last two months at the most. I also own every gel and cushion insole out there.

Several weeks ago, my husband saw a colleague wearing [Z-CoiL® footwear] and asked her about them. She explained that she was wearing them because of knee and back pain and she said they helped her. He wondered if they would help me.

I contacted a dealer 29 miles away and he called headquarters in Albuquerque to inquire about any other people with drop foot who had been helped. I was encouraged when I learned that one gentleman with drop foot had great results. This encouragement was enough to get me beyond the negative Good Housekeeping review I had seen that was not very scientific or helpful.

I decided to make the trek to the nearest Z-CoiL® store and check out the footwear. They initially felt bouncy and a little strange, but very comfortable, and much to my surprise, I didn't feel like I was going to topple off of them. I took a pair home and wore them for four hours that evening. I told my husband at one point that I was torn between literally crying for joy and shouting from the rooftops because of the difference these shoes made for me in every step I took. I could feel leg muscles being used in my left leg that hadn't been worked in a decade. I was loath to take the shoes off at bedtime.

Usually it was pain that kept me tossing and turning through the night, but this night it was excitement over my new shoes. I was NOT in pain and I truly felt like I had been given a new lease on life. I decided that I would buy more styles of [Z-CoiL® footwear] and I would live in them.

My husband and I attended a semi-dressy event and I wore my white Freedom 2000s. My husband waited for me to get into the car, watching me come down the front steps of our house. When I got in the car he exclaimed, "You NEVER come down stairs like that!" Since I became disabled I have always come down stairs slowly and carefully, holding on to the banister on one side, or both sides if two are available. In my [Z-CoiL® shoes], which both increase my stability and significantly reduce the impact of stepping down, I was actually able to go "bouncing" rapidly down those few front steps without hesitation or even holding on to both banisters!

No, these shoes are not a cure for foot drop; I still cannot run, jump, skip, or dance, even when wearing them - but what I CAN do is walk with a barely perceptible (if even noticeable at all) limp. I can walk with surprisingly more balance, including on uneven surfaces like gravel. Most importantly, I can walk with FAR less pain, which means that I can walk more, even somewhat faster, and be on my feet longer. And once I really got used to the shoes, which takes surprisingly little time, I found I could actually walk comfortably without mentally focusing on every step, which for me is an amazing and wonderful thing. These shoes actually work with the way those of us with foot drop are forced to walk anyway, which is heel first.

From my experience as a person with foot drop, I can highly recommend [Z-CoiL® shoes] to anyone with dropped foot, and would be very surprised if they didn't make a significant difference in the quality of their health and life. I advise that a person be professionally fitted by a trained, authorized Z-CoiL® distributor to make sure the footwear and coil strength are properly adjusted for the individual's needs.

My [Z-CoiL® footwear] make such a difference that, because I can actually walk without so much effort, and with the pain factor reduced to virtually nil, I wear no other kinds of shoes. They're on my feet from the time I get up until the time I go to bed. I own three pair so far, and intend to buy more. (And hope to see more styles come out!)

Comments added April 8, 2005: I went bowling the other day - and after wearing nothing on my feet during my waking hours but Z-Coil® shoes for four straight weeks, walking in bowling shoes was a reminder of just how much difference my Z-CoiL® footwear makes. Gone was the spring in my step (no pun intended) and I felt hobbled again, limping and shuffling towards the line where I would just stop and throw the ball without the forward momentum that most bowlers have. I know that other people there must have noticed, but that didn't bother me as much as feeling like a cripple again, like I was walking on a wooden foot and struggling with every step. Believe it or not, I had actually forgotten just how disabled I am when I'm not wearing Z-CoiL® shoes.

Susan R.
Stafford, VA

Press Release: A Simple Footwear Concept is Changing Lives for Thousands of People in Pain

Testimonial: Javan R. Oston, Doctor of Chiropractic

I am a chiropractor with a busy schedule, on my feet for hours a day, adjusting patients four to five days per week. I am always looking for tools to help me increase my energy and effectiveness. Z-CoiL® shoes have been a boon to me and my practice.

Since childhood, I've had a tendency toward flat feet, a slumped posture, and overall tightness in muscles and joints. Biomechanically, I knew I needed something more in the way of foot support, but had never had good results with traditional orthotics. High quality shoes helped, but did not solve the problem. I had seen friends and colleagues wearing Z-CoiL® shoes for years and had been struck by their innovative design. Coincidently, two patients of mine, long-time employees of Z-CoiL Footwear, began to educate me about the Z-CoiL products and methods. I tried a pair of Z-CoiL clogs in March 2004, and have been in love ever since.

To date, my posture is straighter, my arches are higher and stronger, and I am less tight and tired at the end of the day. Due to my better alignment in the Z-CoiL® footwear, I believe that all my muscles are more "switched on" and that it takes less effort to perform the same tasks. I wear my Z-CoiL ® shoes throughout my workday, and now cannot imagine doing without them.

Patient response to Z-CoiL® footwear has been overwhelmingly positive. I've been as impressed with Z-CoiL's dedication to service as I have been with the results of wearing the footwear. Everyone is treated and fitted as an individual, and Z-CoiL employees are trained to work with customers until their needs are met. This has always been my central concern in practice, and I am pleased to be able to recommend a company and a product that share my same patient-centered philosophy.

A number of years ago, I was forced to stop running due to a knee injury. I look forward to buying my next pair of Z-CoiL® shoes, the Freedoms, and getting back to a sport I enjoy.

My Z-CoiL® shoes are important because I enjoy chiropractic and intend to practice for another 20 years. Z-CoiLs will help me continue to do this energetically and without pain.

Javan R. Oston, Doctor of Chiropractic
Albuquerque, NM

Seeing is Believing

Using an i-Step machine, I tested my own feet. I actually was surprised to see just how great these shoes are. Below are the results:

"'The introduction of computerized foot analysis systems in the early 90's brought the science of pressure and gait analysis to an exciting phase. Using this new technology, scientific studies demonstrated that there is a direct cause and effect relationship between unbalanced pressure distribution during the gait cycle and lower extremity pain in areas such as the knee, ankle, or foot.' (View Video)

The red areas are those with the most pressure - the blue areas are those with the least pressure.

For this test I first stood on the machine barefoot, the results show a large amount of pressure on my heel and the outside edge of my foot. I roll my feet to the outside, this is called Over Supination. This is a common problem associated with knee and foot pain.

The popular shoe I tested had only been worn for a month and still look brand new. The popular running shoe did nothing but distribute the pressure around the whole foot no real impact reduction.

Next, I put a gel heel pad in my shoe, this took some pressure off my forefoot but my feet still absorbed most of the pressure.

Finally the Z-CoiLs - really do I even have to say anything? The Z-CoiL Spring actually absorbed most of the impact. And the Z-CoiLs I did this test with are a year and a half old.

This truly shows how great this product is."

Jeremy Brock
Feel Good Footwear!
Bellevue, WA

Press Release: April is Foot Health Awareness Month – Pamper Your Feet With a Z-CoiL® Treat

Uniquely Engineered Footwear Brings Welcome Relief to Sore Feet

( Albuquerque, NM ) — Your feet take tremendous abuse. The impact of walking can deliver a force that is two to three times your body weight, and three to five times your body weight when running! No wonder the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) has declared April to be Foot Health Awareness Month, to focus attention on this often-neglected, yet hardest-working part of the body.

“I have been off work for over one year, now going on two because of plantar fasciitis. I have had three different podiatrists as well, numerous orthotics, then I was given a series of shots, from cortisone to steroids and even shots to dissolve nerves in my heels. Nothing worked!” says Jovonne Rodriguez of San Bernardino, CA. By chance she discovered Z-CoiL® Pain Relief Footwear™ and says the shoes have made all the difference.

For millions of people like Jovonne who suffer from foot pain, heel spurs, plantar fasciitis, arthritis, or lower back pain, finding relief from pain may be as simple as finding the right footwear.

“Your Z-CoiL® shoes are a miracle!” Jovonne adds. “Now I actually look forward to going to the mall or to any function just to walk around. I don’t go places and just sit anymore; I’m up and moving or socializing. People don’t realize that they don’t have to go through life with foot pain. I can’t say enough about how your shoes have helped me.” (more)