Arthritis Awareness Month

May is Arthritis Awareness Month:

Our store, Your 2 Feet, will be fitting the arthritis chair of the Mt. Vernon chapter who will be participating in the May 13 Mt. Vernon walk with Z-coil pain relief footwear after measuring for pressure analyses with the I-Step. This will allow a fitting for the proper type of Lynco arch supports/ orthoses.

Arthritis sufferers have benefited from wearing the pain relief footwear in many circumstances. Since there are over 31 adjustments, caution is recommended for a slow break in period until the proper adjustment has been obtained. The main effect of the shoes is to reduce impact. They have been shown to reduce impact by 50% or more. You will also notice your center of gravity changes when wearing the shoes. This engages different muscles, the lateral stabilizing muscles, with every step. It is often necessary to wear them for as little as an hour the first day, and increasing the wearing time gradually every day. As you become stronger, this sensation of "bouncing" and balancing dissipates during the break in period.

Depending on your type of arthritis, as well as which stage of progression you are in, this new way of combating the negative forces of gravity may prove very beneficial for relieving your arthritis symptoms. As you are reducing your impact via the coil action, there is a component of ground reactive forces that provides an energy return as well. This redistributes the forces through your lower extremity. I recommend caution in more advanced arthritis since the compensation necessary to accomodate for this redistribution may not be available. I see this footwear as a device to be added to the armentarium of arthritis sufferers, and the providers attempting to relieve their patients suffering. The results, positive or negative, are immediate, minutes or at least within five days. We allow a trial wearing for five days. Returns for full refund of footwear in resellable condition are allowed within that five day period.

Visit the "Your 2 Feet" store for more info and get your own evaluation in Seattle-1201 Pine St or 1764 NW 56th St. Or call 206-782-7300. See us at The Fremont Fair in June as well. May 21 is our in store event "Free Foot Screening Day". We will have pedorthist Ed Cael, and podiatrist Dr. Lotchie M. Kerch performing I-step evaluations for Lynco orthoses. Adding these devices to the footbed of the Z-coil pain relief footwear adds an increased element of support and cushioning making them the "cadillac" of impact reducing footwear with a rocker sole.

May is National Arthritis Month, and the Arthritis
Foundation is looking for walkers to raise money to
fight the painful disease.

About one of every three adults and about 300,000
children are afflicted with arthritis nationwide.

In May and June, Washington State Arthritis Walks and
health fairs are scheduled in four counties:

Skagit
May 14 at the Cascade Mall in Burlington

Kitsap
May 21 at Waterfront Park in Silverdale

Pierce
June 4 at Owens Beach at Point Defiance Park in Tacoma


Spokane
June 18 at Centennial Trail at Gonzaga University in
Spokane

The mission of the Arthritis Foundation is to improve
lives through leadership in the prevention, control
and cure of arthritis and related diseases. The
Arthritis Walk is the Arthritis Foundation's
nationwide event that raises awareness and funds to
fight arthritis, the nation's leading cause of
disability.

The walk serves as more than a fund-raiser and roaming
support group. Another goal is to promote a greater
awareness that the condition victimizes even the very
young, contrary to the common misconception that
arthritis is a condition striking only the elderly.
Arthritis affects more children in the United States
than muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis and
sickle-cell anemia combined.

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 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. (more)

Swedish Walking Program Keeps Ballard Healthy

I met with a lively group of morning people today at 8:30AM in the cafeteria at Swedish Hospital, Ballard Campus. After registration, Dr. Waymack performed individual healthy heart screenings while I gave a presentation on "Ten Tips to Keep you Walking". This was followed by a walk to the Ballard Locks and back. Many questions were answered about ways to avoid foot injuries as well as treatment options.

I showed everyone my Z-coil footwear and how they can aide on the road to recovery from injuries.

Call 206-782-7300 for a private consultation in my Ballard or downtown Seattle clinics so I can better assist you in developing your own personalized program for healing and non-narcotic pain relief for lower extremity problems. The walking program is monthly at Swedish Hospital, Ballard Campus.

I will be giving my next talk on this subject May 7, 11:00 AM at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. The talk is entitled: Limp In, Leap Out in conjunction with the African American Conference on Kidney Health. I will also be performing foot screenings, free to the public at this event.

The African American Conference on Kidney Health is a one-day family event with the goal of educating the community about kidney disease, kidney failure, and the potential risk factors that make those worse. The event is free and open to the public. As you many know, it is estimated that over 80,000 persons in the Seattle-King County area have some form of early kidney disease, and that over 100,000 are eligible for early treatment intervention. Increasing education regarding treatment for high blood pressure and diabetes, which is the leading cause of kidney disease, can help in that process.

Workshop sessions are allotted 45 minutes total. Youth are welcome to attend; youth focused sessions will also be offered. The event is scheduled for Saturday, May 7, 2005, 10a to 2:30p at Mt. Zion Baptist Church (1634-19th Ave, corner of 19th and Madison, Seattle).

Tip for the day: Warm up and stretch before and after walking.

Yours in Health,

Lotchie M. Kerch, D.P.M.

2005 Northwest Women's Show: Laura_Sterling's Story

I got my Z-CoiLs because when I first put them on I could feel the difference in my low back. They had been saying that I had degenerative disk (disease) for several years and I knew that I had to take care of it and... (Audio: 2 minutes, WAV)

Laura has been wearing Z-CoiLs for two years.

What is “Lumbar Degenerative Disk Disease?”
For most people with low back pain, an injury doesn't just happen. Instead, over the years, the stress your back has been subjected to begins to take its toll. The repeated sprains and strains and overuse add up and cause a slow degeneration of the disks of the spine. (more)

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)