Hey, I’m Shelley from Miami Physiotherapy. Today I want to explain why we use taping to support the arch of the foot and if you hang around, I’m going to show you an arch taping (we call this low-dye taping).
Our feet have an important job to do, getting us around all day. And I’m sure you’ve all heard people talk about flat feet, or high arches, or they need arch supports. So let’s get to the bottom of the foot issue (ha ha pun intended!).
If you have flat feet – so a low or no arch, and your foot rolls in (we call this pronating) this can put pressure on the structures in your feet, but also causes an inward rotation of your knees – putting pressure on the medial structures of your knees. Your hips roll in as well, and so this can put pressure on the hip joints. These biomechanical issues can also affect the posture of your back and lead to back pain.
Alternatively, if you have high arches, and your foot rolls outwards (we call this supinating) this can put pressure on the lateral structures of the ankle, put you at risk of ankle sprains and decrease the shock-absorbing capabilities of the lower limb – setting you up for issues in the legs and impact issues in the back.
If you can relate to this, comment “flat feet or high arches” below and I’ll be able to chat with you to help you out.
As part of your assessment and treatment, at our clinics in Falcon and Lakelands we often use foot taping to both assess and correct the affect your arches are having on your injury or problem. We use the tape to support your arch, offload the arch and correct the arch position. For some people this is a temporary measure whilst we strengthen the foot muscles to be able to hold a better foot arch position. Sometimes strengthening isn’t enough and we will recommend orthotics.
I’m going to show you now how this taping looks.
Low dye taping is pretty tricky to do yourself, and can lead to incorrect loading if you do it wrong – so if you think your arches are causing you issues – comment below “high arches or low arches” and lets have a chat and see how we can help you.
