Using Kinesiology Tape
The standard white athletic tape that athletes and trainers have used for decades is made from stiff cotton that can help immobilize or stabilize an injured body part. K-tape (shown in this photo) has polymer elastic strands woven through the cotton, so the tape is flexible and doesn’t impede range of motion when it’s applied. It is different than athletic tape or leukotape (that sticky brown athletic tape) as it can stretch and elongate when applied in a variety of ways to assist recovery progression.
Being aware of your muscles
Despite its flexibility, k-tape has been theorized to stabilize muscles and give the athlete awareness of muscle engagement, known as proprioception. In addition, application of the tape serves to lift the skin away from the muscle, which promotes the reduction of swelling and blood flow to the muscle.
Several systematic reviews have looked at the effectiveness of kinesiology taping and found that there may be some moderate benefits for immediate musculoskeletal pain relief. Basically, when you tape people, they can feel it. A cat knows when it has tape stuck to its paw, and so does a human! By reducing or mitigating pain or sensory input, we can affect changes in the “output” or motor control. Kinesiology taping may assist in the effectiveness of a rehabilitative exercise program.
Kinesiology tape uses strong elastic energy to absorb load to decelerate movement, much like a bungee cord decelerates a jumper. Energy is then stored in the form of elastic potential energy and reinjected as kinetic energy once muscle shortening commences. In this way, the tape helps with weak, injured and fatigued muscles. While there may still be pain relief with application, the strong elastic resistance and recoil combined with stretch resists and assists in deceleration. The stored energy can then assist with more fluid motion without limiting range of motion essential for performance.
Application candidates
K-taping is particularly valuable to the athlete who is trying to take care of an ongoing issue that they are “trying to baby” so they can continue to train. Application of kinesiology tape on a sensitive area helps keep it in-check by reminding the athlete to be proprioceptionally aware of the muscle and joint engagement. Tape application in conjunction with other manual therapies, such as lymphatic massage, can be a gentler way to assist with the flushing of fluids in an area of swelling.
Ready to try kinesiology tape?
When working with PEAK Movement Therapy, k-tape is often applied as part of our sports or remedial care plan. I am RockTape FMT certified for kinesiology tape application which is a typical service offered at a PEAK Event Support station during your event for pre-race care, along with sports massage and other manual therapy. And unlike other therapists, k-tape application is provided at no extra charge when needed in conjunction with sports and medical massage.