Kinesiology Tape is a latex-free, elastic porous cotton strip with a sticky water-repellant, medical-grade acrylic adhesive used for treating athletic injuries and a variety of other physical disorders. Kinesiology Tape stretches up to 140% of its original length, which allows much greater range of motion, compared to traditional white athletic tape. It can also be left on for longer periods of time (up to 4 days) before reapplication is needed. Kinesiology Tape is about as thick as human epidermis (skin) and is designed to mimic its elastic properties to alleviate pain, reduce inflammation, relax muscles, enhance performance, and help with rehabilitation as well as supporting muscles during a sporting event.
Kinesio Taping is a technique using elastic tape which helps reduces pain, reduces swelling, normalizes muscle tone and assists with normal function and movement. At our practice, we use RockTape. RockTape microscopically lifts the skin away from the muscle and fascia below, creating a decompressive effect.
RockTape Kinesio Taping is used for a variety of purposes including:
- Decompression Therapy: RockTape is “fanned” over the affected area to reduce swelling, inflammation and bruising in soft tissues. For example, edema following lymphectomies and other procedures can result in chronic edema (swelling). Decompressing the skin and the layers of tissue beneath it using RockTape can clear fluid from lymphatic ducts and blood vessels more efficiently than compressive garments.
- Pain Management: fanning RockTape over the affected area provides decompression and shear in the layers of constricted fascial tissues can help increase the sliding and gliding capacity of fascial tissues and reduce pain.
- Movement Correction: the shear patterns from RockTape application combined with the stretch of tape creates patterns of strain in the skin and underlying tissue and encourages a normalization of function. This changes the sensory input to the brain and promotes improved altered output.
Please Note: small amounts of body hair will not interfere with the effectiveness or adhesion of the tape. However, areas with significant amounts of hair should be clipped or shaved for best results and less pain when the tape is removed.
