Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Gazette, The (Colorado Springs): Special shoes put spring in your step

The Z-Coil shoe, with a steel spring mounted on the heel, looks a bit like the spring-loaded shoes wile e. coyote sometimes wears in his fruitless pursuit of the Road Runner.

Z-Coils may seem a novelty, but their purpose is serious: an escape from pain. the springs suspension system absorbs the impact of walking or running. And despite its high-heel look, the Z-Coil is designed to offer greater stability than other shoes.

Ruth Lamers, 70, of Colorado Springs has worn Z-Coils for about three years. the shoes have eased her chronic back pain and truly put spring into her step. Before, walking half a block was a struggle. Now she takes a half-hour walk on most days.

"I can go shopping," she says happily. "I still get tired if I do too much, but I can shop like normal people."

Albuquerque, N.M.-based Z-Coil Footwear has spread to more than 150 distributors nationwide since opening six years ago. Business, built largely on word of mouth, is booming. Z-Coil had $2.7 million in sales in the fiscal year ending June 30, a 270 percent growth over the year before.

In Colorado Springs, Valentine Comfort Shoe Specialists started selling Z-Coils last year. they have become the top seller or close to it among the store's 15 lines of shoes, says John Mishasek, who owns the store with wife Meg.

Mishasek, a certified Pedorthist - an expert in footwear and foot anatomy - was skeptical at first about Z-Coils. He peppered creator Alvaro Gallegos with questions by phone and visited the Albuquerque store with his wife.

"The store was packed," he recalls.

"It was people buying their third pair or their fourth pair, and it made us think it wasn't a fad. There must be something there." (more)

November 2002

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

If, like me, you can't stand the pain of chiropractic treatment but you are looking for an effective, long term remedy for your back problems then may i suggest a new mattress (or to be more specific – an orthopaedic, temperpedic, or memory foam mattress)
A whole range of specialist mattresses have been designed in order to try and correct posture and alleviate back and neck pains. The benefits are long-term and you don't need to regularly visit [and pay!] some heavy handed therapist to relieve the pain! I recently purchased an orthopaedic memory foam mattress online, and I can report, that after a fortnight sleeping on it, i wake up feeling much better than I did when I slept on my old mattress and i foresee a lack of future visits to my heavy handed chiropractor!!

Although one may jump to the conclusion that such specialist mattress prices are high, if you look hard enough you can find cheap mattresses out there, especially online. If you are dispirited by the expense, just think of the long term benefits for your health... a decent mattress can last up to 10 years!
Bed UK