What is a plantar plate tear?

A plantar plate tear is a small tear or strain to the ligament which is under the smaller toe joints in the foot. It is almost always associated with overuse, especially in activities that require the toes to be bent back or dorsiflexed. The pain is commonly just above the region distal to the joint on the bottom of the foot. Because this issue is due to the toe bending to far backwards or upwards (dorsiflexing) when walking, tape is a great way to restrict that motion.

The easiest way for taping a plantar plate tear would be to loop some strapping across the toe to pull the toe down in a plantarflexed placement. The ends of the strapping go under the front foot and by looping around the toe it can keep the toe plantarflexed. The reasoning being is when we walk, and the rearfoot lifts up off the floor and the toe flexes there is less stress on the plantar plate because the toe is kept from bending up. That way the plantar plate tear taping can assist the injury get better. This can require some time although is usually effective. Some other approaches could be used to help prevent the dorsiflexion across the joint which is hurt, such as having a more rigid sole footwear that is not flexible since this will prevent excessive motion at the joints. There's also stiff plates which you can use as insoles to help make the shoe firmer. A foot orthotic device that has a hole over the sore spot may also be used for getting load off the painful area will likely allow it to be more at ease to walk on. These types of strategies are likely to be rather helpful, especially that strapping. Even so, as we still have to walk about on the feet rather than get total rest, it will take a few months with this method to obtain a result. It sometimes does not work out like that or the problem is especially painful. In these circumstances, surgery to correct the tear could be suggested.