How Z-CoiL shoes work
The Z-CoiL Spring:
The Z-CoiL Spring makes each step safer and softer. The unique replaceable conical coil design reduces impact up to 60%* more than conventional shoes. And since impact is the primary cause of foot, leg and back pain, your body will notice an immediate difference. Walking in Z-CoiL is unlike anything you have felt before. Some people describe the feeling like gliding. Each step feels easy, light and enjoyable. Your body will love the Z-CoiL Spring. Not only does the Z-CoiL Spring reduce impact, it can control over-pronation. Over-Pronation is when your feet roll too far inward when walking or running. The spring can be adjusted in 90°increments to add more resistance to the inside of the foot, to correct over-pronation. Last but not least, when the rubber heel pad wears out on the spring, you can simply replace the spring unit (open or enclosed) rather than replace your Z-CoiL! This saves money and reduces unnecessary waste in landfills.
* Tests performed by the US Department of Energy
Z-Orthotic:
The Z-Orthotic is a “rigid” foundation built into every Z-CoiL extending from the ball of the foot to the heel. It works by mirroring the shape of your foot which equalizes pressure across your bottom of your foot, reducing fatigue and pressure points. Equally important the Z-Orthotic supports your plantar ligaments which eliminate painful conditions in the foot like plantar fascia and heel spurs. You will notice improved posture, stability and confidence in each step. The Z-Orthotic makes walking or hiking on uneven or hard surfaces a breeze. Custom orthotics can be used in Z-CoiL footwear, but are often unnecessary, since the built-in Z-Orthotic is more than sufficient.
Additional Features:
Additional features include Rocker bottom sole in the forefoot that assists your foot during toe-off. A built-in flex line in the ball of the foot encourages a natural bending motion during toe-off. An extra thick forefoot and extra wide toe box dramatically relieve pressure on forefoot/metatarsal joints when walking and standing. The combination of Conical Spring, Z-Orthotic, Forefoot Rocker and ¾ forefoot cushioning protects and comforts your foot. Z-CoiL acts as protective barrier between your foot and the damaging affects of repetitive impact on hard surfaces. Give your precious feet the support and impact protection they deserve, and they will serve you with miles and miles of uncomplaining service.
More on the Z-CoiL® Technology...
Z-CoiL® Pain Relief Footwear®'s revolutionary technology isn't really revolutionary at all. It's evolutionary. It's engineered to help you stride the way the human body was designed to, in an environment that the human body was not designed for.
Gait Cycle and the Kinetic Chain
Humans propel themselves through the concrete jungle the same way they have for thousands of years: heel strike → full forefoot load → heel lift → toe off. During a normal gait cycle, your heel makes contact and immediately redistributes the forceㅡtwice your body weight on each footㅡup along the side of your foot, the part of your foot designed to actually absorb impact and transfer energy to continue forward motion. However, not all impact is transferred up your foot. Much energy is transferred along what chiropractors call the kinetic chain: heels → ankles → shins → knees → thighs → hips → pelvic girdle/lower back.
Unlike the environments our ancestors walked, today's concrete and other hard surfaces are much less forgiving, resulting in significantly more stress to the body. Every day we experience thousands of collisions with the ground. The greater impact delivered up the kinetic chain, sometimes exacerbated by an improper gait cycle (over-pronation or supination), compromise the human body's ability to absorb and redistribute stress forces, causing injuries.
Impact Reduction, Stability and the Problem with Modern Footwear
Preventing stress injury and providing relief for existing injuries requires impact reductionㅡi.e., footwear that actually limits the amount of force that travels up the kinetic chain. However, cushioning impact alone will not ensure healthy joints and pain relief. Shoes that offer extra padding actually encourage atrophy in the muscles of the foot. Weak muscles can lead to a number of compensating movements, many of which direct stress forces to areas of the foot that are not designed to absorb impact. Unfortunately, most modern footwear has taken an either-or approach to solving the problem of increased impact along the kinetic chain. Either they provide cushiony soles to reduce the force of impact but allow the flexibility for soft tissues to move outside a normal range of motion, or they provide a rigid sole to keep the foot (and stress forces) in a natural range of motion but with very little impact-absorption, resulting in high impact all the way up the kinetic chain.
The Z-CoiL Solution
Z-CoiL Pain Relief Footwear is the only shoe that offers both the impact reduction and stability you need for pain relief, injury prevention and whole body support Z-CoiL shoes have the:
o Patented conical spring in the heel, which reduces impact by 40-60% (according to tests performed by the American Department of Energy) and provides energy return, reducing fatigue.
o Patented Z-Orthotic™ to stabilize tendons and ligaments.
o Rocker bottom sole that assists forward motion and limits movement during toe-off.
o Flex line at the forefront of the foot to encourage bending at the ball of the foot.
o ¾” Cushioning in the forefoot to protect delicate metatarsal/forefoot joints, ligaments and bones.
o Extra wide toe box to relieve pressure on toe joints.
All elements of our shoe design provide Z-CoiL treatment-effective pain relief from a number of lower body impact-induced conditions.
Foot pressure distribution about general footwear(left) vs Z-CoiL footwear
As shown in the figure below, the Z-CoiL footwear are designed to evenly distribute the pressure applied to the feet and to avoid stress on the joints due to a small load. (Red and yellow indicate that the pressure is concentrated.)
1. Upper
All RX uppers are well-constructed, using top-quality materials such as sandwich mesh , cowhide grain leather and tire rubber, for years of wear.
2. Z-Orthic
Z® footwear is built upon a rigid RX®-orthotic foot cradle plate that supports and protects your entire mid-heel foot. By preventing over-stretching of the plantar ligaments across the base of the foot, this patented RX®-orthotic helps to prevent painful heel spurs and plantar fasciitis. It also serves to distribute impact pressure evenly across the bottom of the foot, reducing sore spots. Many of our customers report an improvement in their posture when they wear RX shoes as well.
3. Forefoot cushioning
The metatarsal bones at the ball of the foot are prone to injury from repetitive impact. RX® footwear protects your forefoot with nearly an inch of soft and resilient cushioning, and its rocker-bottom shape gently assists your forward motion.
4. Flex line & rocker bottom
Flex line is built into the shoe at the ball of the foot where the RX®-Orthotic plate ends, allowing your foot to bend naturally where it should and keeps the plantar ligaments from over-stretching. Contrary to popular belief, flexible shoes aren't what your feet need.
5. Spring
The signature coil under the heel of RX footwear helps to protect your body from the damaging effects of impact, much like the shock-absorbers in a car. As the coil compresses during heel-strike, it significantly slows the rate of impact experienced by the body. In fact, studies by Sandia National Laboratories in U.S.A. have shown that RX footwear provides 50% more cushioning than conventional shoes do. An added benefit is energy return. The impact energy absorbed by the coil is stored as tension. As the foot moves forward, that tension is released, delivering 40-50% of your kinetic energy back to you. People who wear RX footwear often report that they feel less fatigue and have more energy at the end of the day.
6. Spring heel
The heel can be easily replaceable and adjustable in a few minutes depending on customers' body weight, type of gait (walking style), type of illness, type of occupation, type of exercise, and other conditions. The heel has two types, open type of coil heel and enclosed type of coil heel. And each of them has more than 5 different coil sizes and tensions in order to customize. The open RX® heel can be adjusted by every 90 degree, and exchanged the left heel to the right heel and the other way to customize and fit, if needed.
