How Z-CoiL Footwear Can Ease Your Back Pain

According to the American Chiropractic Association, 80% of the population will experience a back problem at some point in their lives, and half of all working Americans admit to having back pain symptoms each year. The back is a complicated structure of bones, joints, ligaments, and muscles. You can sprain ligaments, strain muscles, rupture disks, and irritate joints, all of which can lead to back pain. In addition, arthritis, poor posture, obesity, and psychological stress can cause or complicate back pain. Back pain can also directly result from disease of the internal organs, such as kidney stones, kidney infections, blood clots, or bone loss.

How Z-CoiL® footwear can help:
The shock-absorbing heel in Z-CoiL® footwear, in conjunction with thick forefoot cushioning, reduces impact to the body by up to 50% compared to conventional shoes. The built-in Z-Orthotic™ also promotes good posture, which relieves further stress on your back, while rocker-bottom soles in the shoes help you maintain a smooth gait as you walk.

Test out a pair of Z-CoiL shoes for yourself and feel the difference! Z-CoiL Store Locator

Tips on Staying Social

How can we ensure that strong human connections continue to be an integral part of our lives as we age? Aging experts recommend staying involved in religious and community functions, maintaining a network of friends and family with whom we regularly interact, and volunteering in organizations that get us out and among other people. Here are just some of the options available for staying connected:

• Pursue social activities, like wine tastings, lecture programs, or traveling with friends.
  
• Get involved in projects that require you to have regular contact with others, like planning a gathering for a club, organizing a card- or game-playing night with friends, or helping out with a church supper.


• Investigate the options for social interactions available in your community — take advantage of programs and services offered at community and senior centers.


• Seek out people who may share your interests by getting involved at your place of worship, in clubs, and in other organizations.


• Volunteer for a cause you believe in by contacting a local nonprofit organization, such as a charity you find meaningful, or a local school or museum.
  
• Get connected while you improve your health: Join a walking or biking club or your local fitness center, go out golfing, or take yoga or cooking classes.
  
• Take an adult-education or college course in something that interests you — you might be amazed at how much you enjoy going back to school!


• Consider animal companionship, too. Furry, finned, and feathered friends can bring great joy, love, and meaning into our lives. Animal shelters are full of potential companions looking for good homes. (They can also be great places to volunteer.)

Courtesy of aarp.com

There are many resources to help you connect with opportunities for social interaction in your community. And once you get going, you may find you’re having so much fun it’s hard to stop!

Have any other great ideas that are not listed? Please add your comments.

More Reason to Connect

Not only is it fun to spend time shopping with friends or visiting with loved ones—researchers now know that time can also help keep your brain healthy as you age.

Some research indicates that people who have good social networks live longer. They also are physically healthier than people who are socially isolated. In fact, experts say that how socially connected a person tends to be is one of the most important ways of predicting his or her health and independence in later years.Maintaining supportive relationships is an important element of effective aging. The more contact we have with others as we age, the better we may be at retaining mental sharpness.

A large study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine found that people who engaged in leisure activities such as learning to play a musical instrument or dancing were less likely to develop dementia.Dancing may be especially beneficial to the brain because it combines physical activity with social interaction, and often involves a cognitive challenge in learning dance steps.

“There’s a lot of evidence that other people are the most unpredictable things you can encounter,” says Lawrence Katz. “So activities that have you engaging with other human beings are a fantastic form of brain exercise.”Other studies suggest that people with the most limited social connections are twice as likely to die over a given period as those with the widest social networks. Many experts believe that social isolation may create a chronically stressful condition that accelerates aging.

This information is especially important to older people, who may be more likely to lead solitary lives—especially if family and friends have moved away or died. Of course, combating loneliness requires time and energy, both in establishing new relationships and in deepening existing ones. But the benefits are well worth the effort.

Stop back tomorrow for Tips on Staying Social!

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Z-CoiL® Pain Relief Footwear®: The Ergonomic and Economic Cushion in Hard Times

Wall Street Journal reports rise in number of pain patients due to stress as economic crisis worsens. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports most at-work pain sufferers cited back pain, arthritis pain, and other musculoskeletal pain. The Ergonomic Z-CoiL® Pain Relief Footwear® helps reduce muscular stress and musculoskeletal pain.

Santa Fe, NM (Vocus/PRWEB ) April 14, 2009 -- In hard economic times, stress levels go up, muscles tighten and vulnerable people start feeling pain. One way to cushion the beating that bodies (and wallets) take when times are tough is to simply to wear the right shoes. Many people are working longer hours or taking on extra jobs to make ends meet, and when people spend that time on their feet, standing or walking on hard, unforgiving floors, the result can be devastating to health.

According to a recent interview in the Wall Street Journal* with Dr. Christopher L. Edwards, director of the Behavioral Chronic Pain Management program at Duke University Medical Center, they are seeing a rise in patients amid the current economic crisis. "There's a very strong relationship between the economy and the number of out-of-control stress cases we see." Muscular tension is the typical bodily reaction we see when someone is stressed. So if we walk around without coping with it, it takes a toll on our muscles. Over time this can lead to the chronic aches and pains associated with stress.

For people struggling with chronic pain due to heel spurs, plantar fasciitis, arthritis in knees and hips, or lower back pain, wearing Z-CoiL Pain Relief Footwear can help them to stay active and productive, for far less than the cost of doctor visits, pain medication, custom orthotics, or even surgery.

For only about $200 a pair, these shock absorbers for the body not only cushion the foot's impact with the ground by 50%, but also reduce fatigue by returning 40% of the energy! The durable construction of Z-CoiL shoes makes them last for years, and the heel coil assembly is designed to be replaced at a minimal cost, further extending the life of the shoe.

According to Charlene Chavez, a Registered Pharmacist in Gallup, NM, "Standing all day long had taken its toll on my feet and back. I was constantly in pain and I didn't know how much longer I would be able to work. Finally, I tried Z-CoiL shoes and have never been happier or more pain-free."

Pain experienced at work hurts productivity, to the tune of $61.2 billion per year, according to a study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association**. The majority of at-work pain sufferers cited back pain, arthritis pain, and other musculoskeletal pain as the principal causes of their lack of productivity.

Z-CoiL Pain Relief Footwear can be an excellent cushion in hard times, providing affordable health benefits that keep active people going strong.

*WSJ.com – Health Journal, March 17, 2009 -
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123724722718848829.html**JAMA, November 12, 2003—Vol 290, No. 18.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/Z-CoiL/pain_relief_shoes/prweb2320924.htm