Millions of Americans deal with plantar fasciitis every single year, and the number of cases is constantly rising.
What’s worse is that sufferers reported consistent pain before ever being diagnosed, causing them to live with agony and the implied damage of not having their feet taped up for that duration of time.
Taping for plantar fasciitis is designed to cradle the tendons in your feet that swell and become inflamed.
This applies pressure to alleviate pain throughout use.
Of course, there is more to it than that, so let’s cover everything that you need to know about taping for plantar fasciitis.
Why you Need Tape When you Have Plantar Fasciitis
In your foot, you have a series of tissue called the plantar fascia, which is where the term plantar fasciitis comes from.
The plantar fascia connects the bones in your heel to the rest of your feet, and is responsible for the movement of your toes, as well as the strength of your muscles.
If you curl your toes right now while reading this, you can feel pressure at the end of your foot just before your toes begin.
Using KT tape for plantar fasciitis alleviates the pressure on that tissue and on those muscles.
Those that are suffering from plantar fasciitis will feel the pressure in that toe-curling exercise to be uncomfortable, or downright painful.
That pain can either be a dull ache that persists throughout the day, or it can be extremely sharp and cause you to clench your teeth.
The reason for this reiteration is because we need to understand the exact points where we’re feeling pain to understand the best option for taping it.
While we all have a plantar fascia tissue, no two diagnoses are the exact same.
You could be feeling it in one specific area, or your entire tissue could be affected. It’s more common for it to occur on a single foot.
Kinesio tape for plantar fasciitis and medical/athletic tape both offer the same basic remedy for the pain: applying pressure in key locations.
The k-tape will help decrease inflammation by bring blood flow to the area and get rid of some of the swelling by aiding the lymphatic system.
If the pain isn’t gone, it will be significantly diminished (every case of plantar fasciitis is slightly different).
How Long Should I Keep my Feet Taped?
You should only apply plantar fasciitis taping for short intervals of time.
Once the swelling is gone, the compression will begin to restrict necessary blood flow to those areas, not just the influx.
You have two options at this point.
1 – You can remove the taping for plantar fasciitis, and take it easy for a while. When the next stint of swelling occurs, it’s time to reapply the tape.
This can get tedious very quickly, which is why the second option is preferred by most.
2 – Adjust your tape. Depending on the way you tape up your feet, you can adjust the end point to slightly alleviate the amount of pressure throughout the day as needed.
When the pain lessens, loosen the tape so you aren’t restricting all blood flow.
If you’re on your feet for most of the day and the pain returns, simply tighten the tape.
Benefits of Taping your Feet
While we wish there were a long-term solution for plantar fasciitis (other than release surgery), plantar fasciitis taping is a remedy, not a cure.
It’s something that you will do off and on over the rest of your life, but the long-term benefits of that alleviated pain and damage is still something worth pursuing.
Less Painful Than Physiotherapy
If you’re unfamiliar, physiotherapy is the usage of electric shocks and currents (nerve stimulation) that targets areas of your plantar fascia with pinpoint accuracy. Physiotherapy only produces a very small and manageable amount of pain, but taping your feet offers nearly immediate relief. Combining these two practices is time-consuming, but the benefits stack. Kinesio tape for plantar fasciitis is your best option.
Short-Term Pain Relief
Pain affects everything you do. It will impact how well you perform at work, how attentive you are to your partner, and your overall quality of life—it’s a big deal. Short-term pain relief from plantar fasciitis taping requires consistent adjustments throughout the day, but it’s that or be in pain.
Peace of Mind
To combat those quality of life repercussions we mentioned before, plantar fasciitis taping is the best option. Once the pain is relieved, even if it’s only by 70% or so, you’re able to focus on living. Chronic pain of any sort is debilitating. The persistent relief from the symptoms of plantar fasciitis will be enough of a reason to continue with it.
Types of Tape for Plantar Fasciitis
There’s KT taping for plantar fasciitis, and athletic/medical tape for plantar fasciitis—depending on your pain and activity level, you might find benefits from switching it up and using both types. This is a basic breakdown on each tape type, and how beneficial they are for you.
Athletic/Medical Tape
Plantar fasciitis taping is done differently with standard medical tape, which is also known as athletic tape. It gets a bit dodgy, because you can search for athletic tape and come up with KT tape, even though they are slightly different.
Standard medical taping for plantar fasciitis cradles pressure points, but it applies more restrictions on blood flow in a wider area. It’s less about pinpoint accuracy, and more about compressing a large area to deal with a problem at its source.
While medical tape might be a better option if you’re experiencing pain while working on your feet, kinesio tape for plantar fasciitis will be better for working out and athletic exercises.
The benefit of medical tape is that you get more for less, so if pain management comes on a budget, you will save money by going for medical tape.
You can also find reusable medical tape, such as an Ace bandage, and adjust it as you see fit throughout the day.
KT taping for plantar fasciitis
Kinesio tape for plantar fasciitis is much different.
One simple image search, and you’ll see plenty of photographs where KT tape is surrounding a kneecap on a runner, or across the shoulders and triceps of bodybuilders and lifters.
KT tape is also known as elastic therapeutic tape and k-tape. It uses an acrylic adhesive to stick to your skin, even when you sweat, and give about eight to twelve hours of relief (depending on brand and bonding strength).
Kinesio tape can be used all over the body. It is designed to alleviate the pressure of muscle contraction without limiting mobility, prolonging fatigue for longer periods of time.
With KT tape, you don’t need as much as medical tape. It can be used for post-surgery relief as well as a general remedy for ongoing conditions like plantar fasciitis.
We recommend going with KT tape for plantar fasciitis, regardless of what you’re using it for. You’ll get a tighter bond, better durability than medical tape throughout the day, and relief for the muscles that you rely on when you go easy on your plantar fascia.
Top 3 KT Tape for Plantar Fasciitis
1 – Rock Tape
As the best KT tape for plantar fasciitis, Rock Tape has a long lineage of providing relief for other muscle areas as well.
Bodybuilders, runners, cyclists and others rely on Rock Tape to get the job done and alleviate their symptoms.
Rock Tape is completely hypoallergenic, so those of you that encounter rashes from acrylic adhesive won’t have to worry. There’s no zinc, and there’s no latex.
Depending on your preference, you can get a continuous roll, or pre-cut strips if you’re specifically using them just for plantar fasciitis.
2. Physix Tape
Revered by athletes all over the word, Physix Gear Sport made a close second-place for the best KT tape for plantar fasciitis.
Physix leaves behind little to no residue on your skin, so ten seconds of air hitting your skin will remove any moisture and get back to feeling good.
Assured to exceed your safety expectations, Physix stays on your skin until you decide to remove it. You’ll experience minimal skin irritation for 12+ hour applications, and next to nothing for standard 8+ hour run times.
Four-way stretch fibers found within the tape offer better agility and dexterity, so you’ll forget you were ever wearing it.
3. KT Tape (Precuts)
They simply named their brand KT tape, and never looked back. This comes in precut strips that have plenty of KT tape for plantar fasciitis, and are commonly relied on by athletes for durable performance throughout continuous use (sometimes 10-12 hour days).
This KT tape is designed for athletic use only. You could get away with wearing it on a daily basis, but it’s not designated for sedentary use, so you’ll have to adjust it regularly if you have a desk job.
KT Tape is built to last, though it should be applied one hour before you expect any pain or discomfort from occurring.
Tips to Remember When Taping Your Feet
Plantar fasciitis taping isn’t difficult, but you might encounter a few inconsistencies if you’re new at it.
Don’t worry; taping for plantar fasciitis doesn’t take long to master, especially if you put these simple tips into practice.
Mind Pressure on Blisters
If you currently have a blister on your foot, it’s the perfect indicator of how tight or loose your tape is. When you properly tape up a blister (as runners often do), you should have nothing but relief. Any increase in pain and pressure on the blister means you didn’t tape up right.
Check for Mobility
Once you believe you’re done taping your foot up, give it a bit of a stretch and see how it feels. Monitor the tension and how it ripples from your foot, and pinpoint any problems you might have throughout the day. Walk a straight line and turn around to get a feel for how supportive it’s going to be.
It’s Not a Christmas Present
You don’t have to focus on making it look aesthetically pleasing, just make sure it’s functional. If it looks uneven but it is clearly supporting you and reducing pain, don’t mess with it.
Relief and Recovery from Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis taping alleviates pain, reduces long-term damage to your plantar fascia, and delivers peace of mind that is hard to come by when you suffer from chronic pain.
Taping for plantar fasciitis comes down to two different types, and each can be used to alleviate pain at different activity levels and durations.
If you aren’t able to consider release surgery as an option, kinesio tape for plantar fasciitis is your best long-term alternative option.
