More and more people are noticing Olympic, professional, and amateur athletes as well as coworkers in the office with colorful strips of tape all over their bodies.
This wonderful and recently recognized material is called Kinesio® Tape. Health care professionals around the world use this modality for its “grasping and elevating” effect on the skin to support and/or rehabilitate muscles and joints. It does this by increasing lymphatic drainage, which in turn elevates circulation and reduces pain by taking the pressure and irritation off of the neuro and sensory receptors of the body.
Kinesio® Tape was developed by Dr. Kenzo Kase, a chiropractor and acupuncturist, to mimic the natural qualities of the human skin. It is non restrictive, does not create drag on the skin and allows for full range of motion of the involved joint. Kinesio® Tape is made of 100% cotton fibers with acrylic adhesive; it is heat activated, and contains no latex.
Kinesio® Tape’s Benefits Include:
- increasing circulation and lymphatic flow
- supporting and assisting muscular function
- supporting fascial tissue
- decreasing pain
- improving joint function
When using the tape over wrist extensors, Kinesio® has been scientifically proven to significantly increase grip strength by facilitating the actual muscle contraction. It has also been demonstrated to increase the flexibility of the lumbar spine even 48 hours after removal of the tape! In this particular research study the tape did not need tension on the muscle to get positive results.
If you are still skeptical about Kinesio® Tape, here are a few more benefits:
It’s Used To:
- correct muscle function
- improve circulation
- relieve pain
- reposition subluxed joints (3).
Why Use Kinesio® Tape?
- Durable and Economical: it can be worn 24 hours, even in the shower, for up to 4 days straight with continual benefits.
- Versatile: with over 1,200 different applications, a single injury has multiple taping techniques to choose from.
- Revolutionary: one of a kind, designed to lift the skin away from the muscle to decrease pain and increase circulation.
- Rehabilitates: assisting in support, flexibility and rehabilitation.
- Unique: being 100% cotton, hypoallergenic and latex free, this elastic tape makes for a breathable and comfortable fit that comes in an array of colors and sizes.
It is used to treat a variety of musculoskeletal conditions:
- Forearm tendonitis (tennis and golfer’s elbow)
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Shoulder tendonitis/rotator cuff syndrome
- Shoulder instability/sprain/strain
- Shoulder bursitis
- AC joint sprain
- Hip bursitis
- Iliotibial band syndrome
- Shin splints
- Hamstring/quadricep strain/contusion
- Patellar tendonitis
- Knee sprain/knee bursitis
- Condromalacia patella
- Plantar fascitis/achilles tendonitis
- Ankle sprain
- Whiplash
- Neck/mid back/low back sprain/strain injuries
- And More!
This new, non restrictive, supportive tape is a wonderful new adjunct to aid in the healing process of the above listed musculoskeletal conditions.
However, Kinesio® Tape needs to be applied by a skilled health care provider or, at least the individual must be trained how the apply it for the specific injury or condition. Don’t let that injury drag on and prevent you from getting back to living your life.