How to Tape the Arch of Your Foot

Taping the arch of your foot can help to relieve pain caused by a variety of conditions -- including plantar fasciitis and tendinitis. It can also help to provide stability and support to your foot. Stability and support allow you to return to sports sooner following foot injury or allow you to participate in exercise with an underlying foot condition.

Things You'll Need

• Skin toughener spray
• 1 1/2 inch athletic tape
• 1 inch athletic tape

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Instructions

• 1

  Prepare your foot for taping. Clean your foot with soap and water. Dry thoroughly. If you have hair on your foot, you may want to shave, to prevent the athletic tape from sticking to your foot.

• 2

  Spray skin toughener on your foot. Skin toughener will help prevent your skin from breaking down. It also provides a protective layer between your foot and the athletic tape.

• 3

  Wrap a piece of 1 1/2-inch athletic tape around the ball of your foot. The tape should make a complete circle around your foot.

• 4

  Use a piece of 1-inch athletic tape to tape from the head of your first metatarsal -- the long bones of your feet -- underneath the arch of your foot and around your heel. Apply an additional piece of tape running from your fifth metatarsal, under the arch of your foot and around your heel.

• 5

  Run a piece of 1-inch tape around the outside of your foot. Start at the base of your large toe and run a piece of tape all the way around the side of your foot, behind the heel and up the opposite side of your foot, until you reach the base of your little toe.