A plantar plate tear is a tiny tear or strain to the ligament which is underneath the lessor toe joints in the foot. It is usually related to too much use, particularly in exercises that need the toes to be bent up or dorsiflexed. The pain is commonly just over the location distal to the joint on the bottom of the foot. Since this issue is due to the toe bending to far backwards or upwards (dorsiflexing) when walking, strapping is a great way to limit that movement.
An effective way for taping a plantar plate tear is to loop some strapping across the toe to pull the toe downwards in a plantarflexed placement. The ends of the tape go under the ball of the foot and by looping across the toe it should hold it straight down. The reasoning being is that when we walk, and the heel comes up off the floor and the toe flexes there is less force on the plantar plate because the toe is hindered from bending up. This way the plantar plate tear taping could actually help the damage recover. This can easily require some time however is by and large successful. Additional strategies could be used to help prevent the dorsiflexion across the joint that is painful, for example with a more rigid sole footwear which is not flexible as this can prevent an excessive amount of motion at the joints. Additionally, there are stiff plates which can be used as shoe inserts to help make the shoe firmer. A foot support device that features a hole over the uncomfortable region could also be used to get weight off the painful spot will likely allow it to be much more comfortable to walk on. These kinds of strategies are likely to be quite helpful, particularly that strapping. Nevertheless, as we still have to walk about on the feet and not get complete rest, it will take several months of this method in order to get a result. Sometimes it will not really work out that way or the problem is particularly distressing. In these cases, surgery to mend the tear can be indicated.