Kinesio tape

I love the Olympics, and the summer games are quickly approaching. Most of you remember the last summer Olympics and seeing a weird colorful tape on the volleyball players shoulders and backs. This year you will likely see athletes with that tape again.

It is called kinesiology tape, and while it’s in the news the past few years, the concept of medical elastic adhesive tape is from the 1970’s. I remember about 10 years ago taking a continuing education seminar to learn about this kind of taping. I’ve used it off and on over the years but was never happy with the short term use and results. A few months ago I thought I’d try it again (thank you to a few of my patients for being my test subjects) and am very happy with the advances over the past few years.

There are two main uses

• Provide dynamic support to an painful area while still allowing safe and functional motion. This is what I most commonly tape, kind of like a splint to protect the area but still allowing for motion
• To help lift the area and reduce inflammation
• “Power Taping” to increase endurance by reducing fatigue. Many sports require repetitive motions that can irritate can cause injury. For example, I’ll use this for my runners and cyclists.

So how can kinesiology tape help you? I’ve used it with problematic low back pain, sore ankles and neck pain. It will work well with flare-ups of chronic problems, including back and neck pain or old ankle and knee injuries. The tape lasts 3-5 days.

There are many products out there, I’ve found that I prefer rocktape.

Have questions? Just ask!