What is Elastic Therapeutic Taping (Kinesiology Taping)?
Kinesiology taping works in many ways with regards to pain, performance and function of the body. It gives support and stabilization to muscles and joints without compromising your circulation or range of motion. Other therapeutic benefits include the stimulation of subcutaneous blood flow and lymphatic drainage. Taping relieves pain by alleviating pressure and irritation on nerve fibers and pain receptors.
This type of taping has been around for quite a while now (1994 and popularized when seen in the 2008 Olympics) and works differently than standard athletic taping where we tape to immobilize or restrict joint movement.
At Summit Sports and Spine we primarily use RockTape & Dynamic Tape
Dr. Perkins is FMT Level II Certified, PMT Certified through RockTape and Dynamic Tape. He is a former instructor for SpiderTech and is also certified by Kinesiotaping International. As a former Athletic Trainer he is also well versed in rigid taping applications such as Athletic Taping or Tab Taping with Leukotape.
An explanation of the benefits of taping are listed below:
1) Turns Down The Volume On Pain
More specifically, it runs interference on pain. Ever whack your shin and rub it, and suddenly realize you feel better? RockTape, Dynamic Tape etc on the skin can interfere with painful signals which are directed to the brain.
When the signals arriving to the brain are altered, it does not produce the sensation of pain. When Therapeutic tape is properly applied, many of our customers call it “magic” or think that it fixed their injury instantly. In fact, it helps to change how your body perceives and interprets pain, turning down the pain “volume” that your body hears. While it doesn't fix your injury it helps you feel supported and engaged with that area via the input from the skin to the brain, thus helping reduce edema or swelling, supporting a joint or injured tissue, and general posture.
2) Decompresses An Area Of Swelling And Inflammation
When Therapeutic tape is applied to the skin, it has a microscopic lifting effect underneath the skin and between the many layers. This allows the by-products created by inflammation to be removed more quickly.
3) Delays Fatigue
Research has shown that Therapeutic tape on the skin can attenuate muscle fatigue. In rehab, this is very important, not only for the parts of your body that are currently hurting, but also for the surrounding areas as they help to pick up the slack for muscles that are currently not working well. RockTape or Dynamic Tape can improve your ability to activate tissue around the joint.
4) Normalizes Muscle Tone
When someone is injured, fatigued, sick, or inflamed, the symphony of muscle action that normally takes place with great accuracy often falls out of tune. This can happen all over the body. For instance, research has shown that people who sprain their ankle tend to have altered activity of their hip muscle as a result. RockTape helps bring dormant muscle back to life and help calm down the overactive muscles. It helps your body coordinate movement as if it weren’t hurt, hence allowing it to heal properly.
5) Distributes Physical Stress
Unlike conventional taping, which prevents movement – Therapeutic tape allows full movement of a taped area. Through elastic properties and quick recoil, RockTape or Dynamic Tape can help distribute forces to other nearby areas through the fascia, ligaments, and even bones.
