Posterior Tibial Tendonitis Taping

Posterior Tibial Tendonitis Taping

Posterior tibial tendonitis taping is proven to be extremely effective at supporting the arch of the foot. Thereby, giving the affected tendon time to relax and recover.

If you are suffering from any of the following:

  1. Pain in the arches of the foot,
  2. Swelling or redness along the inside of the foot, along the arch up toward the calf
  3. Stiffness and soreness around the ankle along the arch and the calf

Then, you are suffering from posterior tibial tendonitis also known as posterior tibial tendonitis disfunction (pttd).

Posterior tibial tendonitis can wreak havoc on your life. It makes many simple tasks such as walking and running extremely painful.

The best way to treat Posterior Tibial Tendonitis is a three pronged approach. This constitutes inflammation control through proper footwear, orthotics and taping of the foot.

 

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How To Tape The Foot For Posterior Tibial Tendonitis

The following two methods are the easiest and best for taping the foot for posterior tibial tendonitis.

In order to perform posterior tibial tendonitis taping, make sure to first clean the skin around the foot.

To do this, wipe the skin under the heel of the foot, along the arch and up the ankle bone with a piece of cloth and rubbing alcohol.

This will get rid of any moisture, cream or oils on the skin.

Best Kinesio Tape For Posterior Tibial Tendonitis

Method 1 : Spiral Taping For Posterior Tibial Tendonitis

The objective of posterior tibial tendonitis taping is to lift the arch of the foot. This provides ample support to the tendon, allowing it to rest and recover without being further strained or re-injured.

This method for taping the foot for posterior tibial tendonitis is extremely simple and effective.

 

  1. To begin, measure a piece of kinesio tape, starting from the outside ankle bone, running under the heel and three quarters of the way up the calf.
  2. Tear the backing paper from the top of the tape and anchor the tape to the bottom of the arch of your foot.
  3. Then, applying about 80% stretch to the tape bring the tape up toward the top of your foot. The idea is to lift the arch, so that it is supported by the tape. This should invert the foot, so you will have to pull the tape in an upward direction while applying 80% stretch to it.
  4. Stick the tape down at the top of your foot and wrap it around your outer ankle bone. Make sure to keep the recommended stretch on the tape.
  5. Anchor the end of the tape without any stretch to it. This ensure that the tape sticks properly to the skin.
  6. The idea is that the tape should be able to wrap around from the bottom of your arch over your foot and around the outer ankle bone.
  7. After applying the tape, it is good practice to rub the surface of the tape with your hand. This will make the glue stick to the skin better.
  8. You can apply another piece of kinesio tape over the existing one if you feel that the pressure isn’t enough. Apply the tape the same way, making sure to keep the stretch on the tape. You can follow the path of the existing tape, just making sure to anchor on the skin at the top and bottom.
  9. After applying the tape, take a walk and see how it feels. If it feels like you’re walking on the outside of your foot, you’ve applied too much pressure and will need to reduce the pressure on the tape. Perhaps one tape maybe better than two.
  10. When you walk with this tape, it should feel like you are walking in a more neutral position. Yet, the arch should feel supported.

Method 2: L-Taping For Posterior Tibial Tendonitis

This method of posterior tibial tendonitis is a little more complicated than the first and involves 2 strips of kinesio tape. When complete, the two strips of kinesio tape will overlap to form an ‘L’. This method offers slightly more support to the tendon.

 

  1. To begin, measure the first strip of kinesio tape. Start measuring at the outer ankle bone, around the achilles tendon and up to the three fourth the length of the arch.
  2. Tear the backing paper from the strip and anchor an inch of this strip to your outer ankle bone. Then bring the strip toward the inner ankle bone from around the heel of the foot. Make sure not to apply any tape to the Achilles tendon.
  3. Then applying about 20% stretch to the tape, stick the tape to the arch of the foot, leaving about 2 inches of tape with no stretch to anchor on the foot.
  4. Anchor the remaining tape to the arch of the foot making ensuring that there is no stretch. This will make the kinesio tape adhere properly to the skin.
  5. Then, measure another strip of tape from the outer ankle bone, under the arch of the foot, around and up to the top of the inner ankle bone.
  6. Tear the backing paper from the strip  and anchor it to the outer ankle bone, bringing it under the arch of the foot using zero stretch.
  7. Once under the arch of the foot, apply 50 to 80% stretch to the tape and paste it up and around the inner ankle bone. Make sure to leave the last 2 inches of the tape to anchor to the skin without any stretch.
  8. Apply the rest of the tape without any stretch to the top of the ankle bone without any stretch.
  9. Rub the tape down to create heat in order for the tape to stick to the skin.
  10. To test whether the tape is supporting the arch of the foot, take a walk with the taping on. If you feel like the support provided by the tape is insufficient, you can apply a third strip of tape just like the second strip was applied. Just make sure to anchor the second strip toward the center of the arch of the foot. Then overlap the first by about 50% and follow the same steps used to apply the second strip. Make sure to end the anchors of the third strip on top pf skin for better adhesion.
  11. Test if the tape is applied properly by walking with the third taping applied to the foot. It should feel like you are walking with more of a neutral foot position as opposed to walking on the outside of the foot. If you feel like the taping is making you walk on the outside of your foot, remove the third strip and reapply it to the foot. Although, this time you can use less stretch on the tape.

Posterior Tibial Tendonitis Test – How To Tell If You Have Posterior Tibial Tendonitis

All of the aforementioned symptoms can be indicators of Posterior Tibial Tendonitis. But they can easily overlap with other foot injuries.

To be absolutely certain that what you are experiencing is Posterior Tibial Tendonitis, perform the following simple test.

  • In order to perform this test, stand up on both your feet.
  • Then keeping your affected foot firmly on the ground, raising the knee of your unaffected foot in front of you.
  • Then raise your heel of your affected foot off the floor by standing on your toes. Make sure not to bend your knee when standing on your toes.
  • If you feel any pain or tenderness along the arch of your foot and ankle, you have posterior tibial tendonitis.

Conslusion:

Posterior tibial tendonitis taping is an extremely effective method of supporting the foot in order to aid recovery.

It keeps the arch of the foot supported so the tibial tendon has enough time to rest.

For best results make sure to wear the right footwear and orthotics to completely support the arch and speed up the recovery process.

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