Shoe Company Springs into Sunset
Z-Coil Shoes Reduce Impact on Joints by Absorbing Impact

photos: Francis da Silva

Marifran Mazza (right), the authorized dealer for Z-Coil shoes, stands outside Z Connection, her Irving Street store. Z Connection's hot-selling shoes (above) are designed to reduce the impact put on leg and ankle joints.

By K.J. Wentworth

While strolling down Irving Street in the Inner Sunset, it is hard not to spot a unique business - Z Connection. 

The store's window is filled with funny-looking shoes that have a steel spring in the heel.  They come in all shapes - running shoe, clog, Mary Jane, work boot - and sizes, including men's 16.  And the spring is no mattress coil. Think shock absorber - like the ones on a motor vehicle. 

"When people first try them on," said Marifran Mazza, owner of Z Connection, a supplier of Z-Coil Pain Relief Footwear, "they usually tell me they are 'unusual and different.'"

Then again, the springy shoes are not for everyone.

"These shoes are for people where impact is painful," said Mazza, who is also a registered nurse.

Her clients include health care workers, restaurant workers, construction workers - and anyone who suffers from chronic injuries or conditions, such as arthritis.

"(The store) is a destination site," Mazza said. "For the most part, people who come here already know what they want. The majority of our customers are referrals."

The shoe's design is simple: a rigid, full-length orthotic plate for support; a one-inch-thick neoprene forefoot for cushioning; and a tempered steel coil under the heel to absorb body weight. The result is a shoe that reduces impact to the body - and decreases pain to the feet, legs and back.

"People with hip and knee replacements, athletes who have injuries - these shoes are for anyone who experiences pain caused by the impact of walking," she said. "They enable the joints to rest and rehabilitate better."

Mazza got involved with Z-Coil while she was living in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where the parent company is located. Although she didn't have a specific foot or joint problem, she said she had "fitting" problems and went through a pair of athletic shoes every six months while working in the health care industry.

"When I came across these," she said, "I knew I could be helping people."

The rest is history.

She moved to San Francisco and started scouting for a property. 

"I wanted to be near UCSF," Mazza said, "because the health personnel could really benefit from this."

In December 2003, she opened the shop. A treadmill is parked in the front of the store for customers to use while they are being fitted. Red, yellow and blue racing stripes run along the store's pale gray walls.

Prospective customers are encouraged to take as long as they need to walk around the store, climb a ramp or just spring from where they are standing, Mazza said.

If interested in a particular shoe, the next step is the fitting, which takes up to an hour.

"It's not a custom shoe," Mazza said. "But it can be customized to the individual.

"We can change coils, make the inside more stable or work with people who have low arches or flat feet," she said.  "Our goal is that the shoe should not hurt anywhere when they leave."

After the fitting, Mazza records the customer's needs for future purchases.

"We can ship shoes anywhere," she said. "In fact, we get a lot of tourists who come here to buy them."

A pair of Z-Coils runs from $180 to $260 and they normally last up to three years with daily use. Depending on wear, the springs may need to be replaced (at $40). Mazza has a 14-day return policy, and the company will replace defective parts up to 90 days.

"One customer," Mazza said, "came in with a neck brace and crutches. He was 25 and had been in an automobile accident at 12. He had so much pain in his knees that he needed crutches to deflect the pain.

"He put on the shoes, and they immediately took the pressure off his knees.

"He walked out of the store," she said, "without having to use his crutches for support."

Z-Coil pain-relief shoes are available at 637 Irving St., between Seventh and Eighth avenues. For more information, call (415) 566-6877 or go to the Web site at www.z-connection.com.