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)