Taping Tuesday: week fourteen - kinesiotape Achilles tendon

Welcome back to another week of Taping Tuesday!

This week senior physiotherapist Greg Diamond is again taking the reins, demonstrating how to tape for Achilles tendinopathy with the use of kinesiotape.

Achilles tendinopathy is a relatively common issue in the plethora of musculoskeletal conditions that physiotherapists see on a daily basis.

It is typically an overuse condition in which the tendon is unable to withstand the ongoing, increased or changed loads being placed on it.

After watching the above video, some important steps to note when using kinesiotape for Achilles Tendinopathy are:

• Preparing the tape – Measure out the length of the kinesiotape from the top of the calf muscle to the mid foot, round off all the edges to ensure the tape sticks well
• Splitting the upper length – Cut down the middle of the tape covering the calf, anchor from the Achilles and applying 20% traction as you place the tape up, tracing the line of the lateral and medial muscle bellies.
• Remember don’t apply any traction as you lay down the end of the tape as it can cause irritation of the skin
• Patients foot in dorsiflexion – Ensure the patient dorsiflexes their foot to put the calf and Achilles on stretch as you again apply about 15% traction and pull the tape down over the Achilles and onto the mid foot.