A Perfect Foot Taping Job
A question I am often asked is how to tape one’s feet. This is not a simple question. Some people are better at taping than others. Some can’t self-tape because of the hard to reach areas of their feet. Some simply don’t have the patience for it. Others have the wrong tape, or
Denise Jones with Shannon's taped feet
have not read the how-to’s that I and others have written on the topic.
Today I want to share two pictures from Badwater. The lady pictured is Denise Jones, and I consider her one of the best at taping. She loves helping runners and has loads of patience – both of which are important. It can easily take at least 1 1/2 to 2 hours to complete a full tape job that includes heels, balls of the feet, and toes. It can also be a backbreaking job.
The feet shown here belong to Shannon Farar-Greifer. Denise did the tape job on Wednesday – after Shannon cut her Badwater run short due to hydration/stomach issues. The taping was in preparation for Shannon’s run on Saturday at the Vermont 100. The tape held and Shannon completed Vermont.
A bottom view of Shannon's feet
A well-done tape job will hold for several days. The second photo shows the tape job from the bottom of the feet. You can see the detail in taping the toes. Denise is a master at taping.
For those wondering how to tape, I am working on creating a DVD showing many of the things I teach in my foot care clinics. Stay tuned here for details as I work on this project over the coming months.
The tape used is Kinesio Tex tape with a strip of Hypafix between the toes. A good tape job involves cleaning the skin, prepping the skin with Compound Tincture of Benzoin, then cutting and layering the tape in a specific order, rubbing the tape to activate the bonding character of the tape’s adhesive, applying a light power to cut and remaining stickiness of the benzoin, and finally, rolling the socks on the foot. You can shop for tape and other supplies at Zombierunner.com.
Comments
5 Comments on A Perfect Foot Taping Job
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Des on
Tue, 19th Jul 2011 3:26 pm
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John Vonhof on
Wed, 20th Jul 2011 9:41 pm
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Ron Jones on
Fri, 22nd Jul 2011 9:21 pm
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James on
Tue, 11th Oct 2011 10:32 am
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John Vonhof on
Tue, 11th Oct 2011 8:49 pm
I seem to get blisters on the balls of my feet no matter what shoes or socks I wear, would taping prevent these blisters from forming?
While there are no guarantees, taping would probably help. A good tape job should last through a marathon, an ultra, or even several days. Sometimes we tape from the base of the toes up onto the heel. I’d also suggest trying other insoles. Maybe their surface is too rough. If you are lubing the balls of your feet, try switching to powder.
A righteous tape job indeed! Thanks for sharing!
Can you tape heels? Would it help? I ran about 500 miles training for a 50 mile ultra. Not once did I get a single blister. By mile 30 my heels were blistered and hurt allot. What can I do?
You can tape any part of the foot. Heels can be taped around the back, side to side and then a strip or two overlapping under the heel, or under the heel only. General taping rules apply. Did you change anything from your training runs? Did you use the same shoes – and maybe they had seen better days.
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