Taping injuries with Kinesio

You may have noticed it on the bodies of some Olympic athletes or even on soccer superstar David Beckham, but what is it? 

There’s a new type of tape on the scene. It’s Kinesio (kin-EE-sea-oh) tape. Volleyball player Kerri Walsh sported it at the Olympics. Champion cyclist Lance Armstrong swears by it in his new book. 

But Kinesio tape isn’t just for professional athletes. The elastic woven material is also helping patients in physical therapy recover from injuries. The tape improves circulation and helps remove painful fluid buildup. The tape typically stays on for three to five days before needing to be reapplied. It is made of 100 percent cotton fibers, and it stays on in the shower. A roll costs about $15 and is applied by a specially-trained physical therapist.

Background:

Kinesio taping is a taping technique based on the body's own natural healing process. It gives support and stability to a person's joints and muscles without affecting or reducing circulation and range of motion. Kinesio taping is a latex-free (hypoallergenic), therapeutic tape, which rehabilitates the affected areas or can be used as a pain reliever. It can also be used as preventive maintenance, to re-align bones and muscles or for patients with edema. The Kinesio taping method is applied over the muscles to reduce pain and inflammation, relax overused or tired muscles, and to support muscles in movement. Using the elastic tape helps muscles and other tissues by outside assistance, still allowing the bio-mechanics of the human body. Kinesio taping shows its effectiveness through the activation of neurological and circulatory systems, lifting the skin and providing support for surrounding soft tissue. This method stems from the science of Kinesiology, hence the name "Kinesio."

Miracle tape:

Kinesio tape is used for anything from headaches to foot problems and everything in between. Examples include muscular facilitation or inhibition in pediatric patients, carpal tunnel syndrome, lower back strain or pain, knee and shoulder conditions, hamstring problems, groin injury, rotator cuff injury, whiplash, tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis, patellar tracking, pre- and post-surgical edema, ankle sprains, athletic preventative injury method and pinched nerves.

"The Kinesio tape is applied with a stretch, so when you naturally stretch something, and you place it down, its tendency is to recoil," Christopher Stavres, a physical therapist at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, told Ivanhoe. "When you apply that in the situation where you've got this compression of these lymphatic and circulatory and pain functions, when you apply the Kinesio tape, as the Kinesio tape recoils, what it does is it then creates these convolutions along the skin, which relieve that pressure. It enhances the circulatory flow, of blood and lymphatic waste drainage, and it decompresses the nerve structures, which are causing you to have the pain as a result, so in that, it allows the circulation to channel more efficiently."

Permanent treatment:

The goal of Kinesio tape is not long-term continual use; it is mainly for short-term use. Many athletes use the Kinesio tape as support during sporting activities.

For more information, contact:

Christopher Stavres, PT

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare

Tallahassee, FL

Christopher.stavres@tmh.org

http://www.tmh.org

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