Kinesio Tape
Kinesio tape has become very popular with today’s elite athletes. Conventional taping methods limit a wearer’s functional
capabilities, preventing necessary motion from occurring. This is a major problem for athletes who are fighting to gain and maintain their peak physical capabilities, even while injured. Kinesio tape provides a new approach to combating injuries without limiting functional capacity. Muscles constantly extend and contract within a normal range; however, when muscles over-extend and over-contract, muscles cannot recover and become inflamed. When a muscle is inflamed, swollen or stiff due to fatigue, the space between the skin and muscle is compressed. This results in constriction to the flow of lymphatic fluid. This compression also exerts pressure on the pain receptors beneath the skin, which, in turn, communicates discomfort signals to the brain. The person experiences pain known as myalgia, or muscular pain.
Conventional athletic tape is designed to restrict the movement of affected muscles and joints. For this purpose, several layers of tape must be rolled around and/or over the afflicted area, applying significant pressure, resulting in the obstruction of the flow of bodily fluid, an UNDESIRABLE side-effect. This is the reason athletic tape is generally applied immediately before sports activity, and removed immediately after the activity is finished. In contrast, Kinesio Taping is based on a philosophy that allows free range of motion to encourage the body’s muscular system to heal itself bio-mechanically. To ensure that the muscles have free range of motion, tape with an elasticity of 130-140% of its original length is used for Kinesio Taping. This specific elasticity will not allow an over stretch of the muscles themselves. It may look like conventional athletic tape, but Kinesio Tape is fundamentally different.
