The Green Girl has been struggling with issues with her right foot ever since she sprained her ankle last year.When I twisted my ankle, I damaged the posterior tibial tendon. This injury made it very painful for me to flatten my right foot when I walked. My podiatrist (also a runner!) diagnosed me with posterior tibial tendonitis and recommended prescription orthotics.
The posterior tibial tendon helps hold your arch up and provides support as you step off on your toes when you walk or run. I tape my arch when I run to give the posterior tibial tendon additional support.
I always use Mueller M-Tape® but I would assume any brand sports tape would do the trick. I use sports tape instead of kinesiology tape for my posterior tibial tendonitis because it's much more supportive.
This is how the I tape for posterior tibial tendonitis:
- I take 3 approximately 10" strips of sports tape and I stick them from one side of the ankle bone to the other. Make sure your foot is at a 90° angle when you are taping. You want the tape to be snug but not too tight. This will be one of those things you figure out by trial and error. If it's too tight, you foot will start to throb.
- Here's the second 10" strip:
- Here's the third 10" strip:
- The next step is to wrap sports tape around the ankle to secure the 3 strips. If you do this too low, you will find it pinches your skin with each step:
- The final piece of tape will wrap around the arch once more. Start the tape to the side of your leg and 'figure 8' it down around:
- And 'figure 8' it back around the ankle and then cut the sports tape:
- Your wrapped foot will look like this:
