Soft Taping

Many different types of taping are used by a lot of therapists for a variety of foot problems. I’ve tried dozens of techniques through the years with disappointing results. In some cases, these are for emergency purposes, such as following an accident to provide temporary immobilization. In other cases taping is used during an athletic event. At other times it’s to provide support during a healing process. Some taping that is too tight, however, can weaken the muscles and ligaments. Instead, you want what I call soft taping.

The intention of soft taping is not to directly support the foot or ankle by attempting to physically hold it in place, but to stimulate the sensitive nerves to improve foot-sense, which allows the body to support itself. Soft taping is very light and delicate, using just two pieces of tape.

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Recall that foot-sense (along with K-sense) is associated with the feeling of position and movement. The loss of foot-sense can lead to dysfunction and injury, while improving this awareness can restore normal foot function. Soft taping of the lower leg, ankle, and foot improves foot-sense and can be a powerful therapeutic tool for many types of chronic foot problems. These include recurrent sprained ankles, plantar problems, heel problems, and many others including those annoying undiagnosed conditions.

Soft taping is accomplished with two simple steps. It requires one-inch white athletic tape available in most drug stores. Slightly wider or thinner tape is acceptable. Both pieces should be about twelve inches, more for larger and less for smaller bodies. Here are the two steps:

First, place one piece of tape around the lowest part of the leg, just above the two prominent bones on either side of the ankle. This piece should overlap itself by a couple of inches, fit snug but not tight, and should stick to the leg.

Second, attach another piece of tape on to the first, facing downward, and wrap it down the outside and under the mid-foot. Wrap it up the inside of the ankle at the middle of the arch, and attach it to the other side of the first piece. See figure to the right.

If the second piece of tape does not stick well to the first, apply a short, two-inch piece over the attachments to help it stick.

The goal is not to support the foot or ankle, so you should not feel the tape providing any supporting role. It should be comfortable, not tight. At the end of the day when you may have more fluid in your foot and ankle, it should not be tight or uncomfortable. For this reason, in some people it’s best to first apply the tape in the early evening.

Leave the tape on for several days. It will gradually begin to peel off—if this occurs sooner, apply new tape. It should not be soaked in a bath but can be wet from a shower and carefully dried. Remove it after a few days and leave it off for a week. If you are spending time barefoot, you should feel improvement in the function of your foot after the first application. If there is no or only very small improvement, tape the foot and ankle again for the same period of time.

In some situations, soft taping may have to be done regularly. This may be the case when bad shoes have been worn for a long time, when you have to wear heavy or over-supported shoes for work, or any footwear that is not comfortable (until you buy new shoes), or as part of a rehabilitation program for a more severe problem such as a stroke or spinal injury.