Taping for plantar fasciitis

BACKGROUND: Plantar fasciitis is considered the most common cause of foot pain. Numerous non-surgical treatments have been used to relieve symptoms. Taping is one of the most widespread treatments, with several techniques utilized in clinical practice. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate, based on existing literature, the efficacy of different taping techniques in relieving symptoms and dysfunction caused by plantar fasciitis. METHODS: PubMed, CINAHL, PEDro, ISI Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases were searched from inception until December 2012, using a predefined search strategy. Controlled trials of any methodological quality were included, without any language restrictions. The methodological quality of interventional studies was evaluated inter alia by the PEDro score. RESULTS: Five randomized control trials, one cross-over study and two single group repeated measures studies met the inclusion criteria. Two studies were high quality; two were moderate quality and four were of poor methodological quality. All eight studies favored the use of different taping techniques. The most common technique was low dye taping. CONCLUSION: We found that in the short-term, taping is beneficial in treating plantar fasciitis. The best evidence exists for low dye taping and calcaneal taping. More research is needed to investigate long-term effect and effectiveness of specific taping techniques.