Nowadays I’m sure you have seen somebody with weird looking colored tape on part of their body.
It’s a good chance you are looking at Kinesiotape.
Kinesiotape was invented by a chiropractor in Japan in 1973, but did not debut in the US until 1995 in our own backyard in Portland, Oregon!
Now the tape is seen literally everywhere. Today there are many brands of this tape to choose from, but arguably Kinesiotape is the original.
This special type of therapeutic tape is for musculoskeletal injuries. It mimics the qualities of skin, which allows continued body movement while supporting an injury at the same time.
It can be useful for a wide variety of injuries such as:
Sprains, strains, injuries of the neck, back, shoulders, knees, hand, hip, leg, and foot – just about anything you can think of has already been thought of!
The tape can stay on for days while allowing for showering, icing, workouts and daily living. It is non-latex, and essentially waterproof.
There are also many colors to choose from – even a flesh tone – which helps me when I tape OSF actors. Ever seen Romeo or Hamlet with bright blue tape on their arm? I only had to be told once from the costume department. Yea – that wasn’t so good…
Having a practitioner who is trained in this technique yield the best results. There is a certain amount of knowledge and practice that goes into learning the proper application techniques and management of the tape.
Our practitioners will often teach our patients how to effectively apply it to themselves, so they don’t have to rely on us.
Kinesiotape does not work 100% of the time, but as a practitioner who has been studying and taping since 2004 I can attest to this amazing product. Another benefit of using this tape is if one type of application does not seem to yield a result, one can easily remove it and re-tape a different way.
I use Kinesiotape (and other types) with almost every athletic sport I treat, and here at Southern Oregon Sports & Spine we go through yards of the stuff. I will often tape our SOU Raiders in the locker room in conjunction with other types of tape that the athletic trainers will use. The football players sometimes look like mummies – but hey, whatever works – 2015 NAIA Champions – Go Raiders!
If you have any questions about Kinesiotape (or other types of tape) give me a call and I will be happy to “talk tape” with you!
Matt Terreri, DC, CCSP can be reached at Southern Oregon Sports & Spine
(541) 482-0625
