Archive for the ‘RockTape (Brand)’ Category
PowerTaping to Enhance Athletic Performance
posted by Tape Expert @ 12:14 PM
Thursday, March 4, 2010
PowerTaping … Taping Movements, Not Muscles
“RockTape” and “PowerTaping” have been all the buzz lately, ever since NBC profiled these exciting new kinesiology taping products during their coverage of the Winter Olympics. My last post featured an overview of RockTape, also referred to as Power Tape, plus a video of the NBC segment.
Going hand-in-hand with RockTape is an innovative new kinesiology taping method called PowerTaping. Rather than taping an isolated joint or muscle group, PowerTaping protocol focuses on the entire chain of joints, muscles, fascia and nervous system components responsible for specific movement patterns. The result? Improved efficiency of movement, structural reinforcement of correct motor patterns, and improved fluid dynamics, which all contribute to reduced fatigue, faster recovery and improved biomechanical function.
Benefits of Power Taping
» Delayed onset of fatigue
» More rapid recovery
» Improved flexibility/range of motion in tight muscles
» Relief of swelling, edema and bruising
» Stronger activation of weak, injured or imbalanced muscle groups
» Regained coordination in weak or injured muscle groups
» Correction of balance insufficiencies
» Regained speed after injury or overuse
» Enhanced muscle activation (timing)
» Relief from muscle inhibition following injury or overuse
PowerTaping for Cycling
The image above illustrates one of the possible sport-specific movement chains for cycling. The upper body taping reduces fatigue and muscle vibration in the shoulders, upper arms, forearms and wrists – areas that fatigue in events such as time trials.
Note: The PowerTaping Manual is written for sports practitioners, and demonstrates how to apply RockTape power tape to increase athletic performance. It also provides an overview of the science behind the protocol.
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What does it take to get over 2 minutes of free coverage on NBC during the Olympic Games? A totally hot, new product that has implications for athletes of all ages and abilities!
RockTape is an exciting, new kinesiology tape that has been specifically engineered to enhance athletic performance. It provides the same therapeutic benefits as regular kinesiology tape, but some unique properties of the tape, combined with an innovative taping method called PowerTaping™, allow it to also delay the onset of fatigue, accelerate recovery and improve muscle activation during athletic activities. Following are some of the properties of RockTape that has made it a hit with performance athletes:
- A Tighter Weave allows it to provide superior support for working muscles, while still allowing a full range of movement.
- Greater Elasticity (190% vs 130%) creates enhanced “snap back,” for enhanced muscle activation.
- A Stronger Adhesive allows it to stay in place for the duration of even extreme events like Ironman triathlons, marathons, etc.
The results for athletes? Delayed onset of fatigue, enhanced bloodflow to working muscles, accelerated lactate removal and improved muscle activation.
Here’s what NBC had to say about RockTape:
Kinesiology Tape – Avoiding Skin Irritation
posted by Tape Expert @ 11:21 AM
Friday, February 26, 2010
Kinesiology tape is made from cotton with a medical grade acrylic adhesive. It is latex-free and non-medicated, making it hypoallergenic for virtually everyone except those with allergies to any type of adhesive. With this said, however, a small percentage of kinesiology tape users do experience irritation, itching or redness after wearing kinesiology tape. The purpose of this blog is to examine the most common causes of skin irritation, and present some possible solutions.
True allergic reactions to kinesio tape are rare, so most rashes come from simple skin irritation. Following are some of the most common causes:
1. Too Much Stretch in the Tape – When kinesiology tape is applied with a great amount of stretch, it pulls on the skin as it attempts to contract back to its unstretched state. If only a small piece of tape is being used (as in the RockTape Pain Zapper technique), this doesn’t usually create a problem. When larger areas of skin are covered with extremely stretched tape, however, the potential for irritation or even blistering is much greater.
Solution: Be careful not to overstretch the tape when you apply it. Kinesiology tape is already stretched 25% on the paper backing, so an effective stretch can be achieved even when applying with “tape off tension.” In general, the larger the area being taped, the less additional stretch is necessary during application
2. Applying Stretch to the Anchor Ends – The anchor ends of the tape are the final 1-2″ of every strip. When these ends are stretched during application, they will pull on the skin with every movement. After a period of time, this can cause redness and irritation.
Solution: Regardless of the amount of stretch used in each strip of tape, the final 1-2″ should always be applied with absolutely no stretch.
3. Hair Follicle Irritation in Unshaved Areas – The benefits of kinesiology taping are achieved via direct contact between the tape and the skin. A properly-applied kinesiology tape application provides continual sensory input on the skin’s surface. If the taped area has significant amounts of hair, this sensory stimulation is transmitted to the hair follicles, which can become irritated.
Solution: Clip excess amounts of hair close to skin level before applying kinesiology tape.
4. Skin Irritation in Freshly Shaved Areas – Shaving removes the uppermost layer of skin, exposing fresh skin for the first time. Because this skin hasn’t had time to “toughen,” it is more easily irritated, especially if the area is not shaved regularly.
Solution: To avoid hair follicle irritation from shaving, try clipping the hair close to the skin rather than shaving. Clipping leaves the top layer of skin intact, decreasing the likelihood of irritation.
If the above precautions have been taken and skin irritation persists, the following products have been found to be helpful when applied to the skin prior to taping: Liquid Milk of Magnesia, Benadryl Itch Stopping Gel, Maalox, Skincote and Tens Clean Coat Skin Wipes.
For most recreational tennis players, tennis season is back in full swing after an extended break between Thanksgiving and late January. For many, taking a break for a few weeks was just what they needed to recover from nagging overuse injuries such as tennis elbow. Unfortunately, tennis elbow is one of those maladies that can rear its ugly head at any time, being triggered by a new racquet, a technique change, or even a workout with old, heavy balls. This is the type of injury that is perfectly suited for kinesiology taping.
For players with tennis elbow (or anyone else afflicted with lateral epicondylitis), kinesiology taping can relieve pain, reduce inflammation and accelerate the healing process. It soothes and supports those overused forearm muscles, as well as their attachment on the lateral epicondyle – the bump on the outside of the elbow. One of the most loved features of kinesiology taping for tennis elbow is that most players can continue to play and compete as they heal.
Following is a simple kinesiology taping technique for tennis elbow, presented by RockTape, a new kinesiology tape designed for performance athletes.
Kinesiology Taping Instructions for Tennis Elbow
Kinesiology Taping Application Tips
We’re moving into track and field season, which means that the incidence of shin splints is about to increase dramatically. Runners and jumpers are especially prone to this excruciating pain in the muscles attaching to the front shin area. Once an athlete has developed shin splints, they can become chronic, causing pain and dysfunction that can significantly impact an athlete’s ability to train and compete.
Kinesiology tape is a thin, stretchy therapeutic tape that is particularly effective for relieving muscular pain, spasms and inflammation. Used as both a therapeutic medical tape and a sports tape, it can be applied to an injury such as shin splints, providing rapid relief of pain and inflammation. This allows many injured athletes to continue to train and compete as they recover from this type of overuse syndrome. Once applied, most kinesiology tape applications can be worn up to 5 days, providing therapeutic benefits 24/7 the entire time they’re worn.
This is part of a series of posts presenting simple, yet effective, kinesiology taping techniques that virtually anyone can master. They were developed by the makers of RockTape, a new brand of kinesiology tape that has been engineered to enhance athletic performance in addition to providing therapeutic benefits.
Kinesiology Taping for Shin Splints
Kinesiology Tape Application Tips
We’re moving into track and field season, which means that the incidence of hamstring injuries is about to increase dramatically. The knee flexion and hip extension movements involved in all of the sprinting and jumping events put a lot of strain on the hamstrings. Once injured, a hamstring injury can hang on for months, causing pain and dysfunction that can significantly impact an athlete’s ability to train and compete.
Kinesiology tape is a thin, stretchy therapeutic tape that is particularly effective for relieving muscular pain, spasms and inflammation. When used as a therapeutic sports tape and applied to an injury such as a strained hamstring, it can provide protection and support without limiting a safe range of motion. This allows many injured athletes to continue to train and compete as they recover from this type of injuries. Once applied, most kinesiology tape applications can be worn up to 5 days, providing therapeutic benefits 24/7 the entire time they’re worn.
This is part of a series of posts presenting simple, yet effective, kinesiology taping techniques that virtually anyone can master. They were developed by the makers of RockTape, a new brand of kinesiology tape that has been engineered to enhance athletic performance in addition to providing therapeutic benefits.
How to Tape a Strained Hamstring
Plantar Fasciitis is one of those conditions that is not life-threatening, but can make you feel so miserable that it sometimes seems that it’s taken over your life. Marked by pain in the arch of the foot and the bottom of the heel, plantar fascitis reminds its victims of its presence with every step they take. Once it’s taken hold, it’s very difficult to get rid of, and many people suffer for years, trying a litany of orthotics, special shoes, liniments and other fruitless remedies.
Kinesiology tape is a thin, stretchy therapeutic tape that is particularly effective for relieving muscular pain, spasms and inflammation. Once applied, most kinesiology tape applications can be worn up to 5 days, providing therapeutic benefits 24/7 the entire time it’s worn. It has been used to effectively treat plantar fasciitis, as well as other causes of foot and ankle pain.
This is part of a series of posts presenting very simple, yet effective, kinesio taping techniques that virtually anyone can master. They were developed by the makers of RockTape, a new brand of kinesiology tape that has been engineered to enhance athletic performance in addition to providing therapeutic benefits.
How to Tape the Foot for Plantar Fasciitis
Neck pain is a common complaint among athletes, office workers, manual laborers, health care professionals … in fact, there are few people who don’t experience neck pain or spasms at some point in their lives. Many others live with it on a daily basis, ranging from those nagging little “hot spots” to debilitating pain that takes over people’s lives.
Kinesiology tape is a thin, stretchy therapeutic tape that is particularly effective for relieving muscular pain and spasms. Once applied, most kinesiology tape applications can be worn up to 5 days, providing therapeutic benefits 24/7 the entire time it’s worn.
This is part of a series of posts presenting very simple, yet effective, taping techniques that virtually anyone can master. They were developed by the makers of RockTape, a new brand of kinesiology tape that has been engineered to enhance athletic performance in addition to providing therapeutic benefits.
How to Apply Kinesiology Tape for Neck Pain
The horizontal strip can be applied at whatever level the pain or spasms are most intense.
Lower back pain, without a doubt, is the ailment that knows no barriers … it plays no favors among the young and the old or the fit and the sedentary. In the athletic realm, each sport has certain injuries that are more common – for example, long distance runners and IT Band Syndrome go hand in hand. Low back pain, however, crosses boundaries from sport to sport, striking runners, cyclists, gymnasts, racquet sport players, and so on, showing absolutely no respect.
There are almost as many remedies for back pain as there are back pain sufferers, and yet, it continues to strike 80% of the population at some point in their lives. Kinesiology tape is a therapeutic tape that is used to relieve pain, reduce inflammation and prevent to eliminate muscle spasms. While kinesiology taping is not a cure-all for back pain, it can be incredibly effective for those suffering from back pain related to inflammation, poor posture, improper movement patterns, overuse, and more.
This part of a series of posts presenting very simple, yet effective, taping techniques that virtually anyone can master. They were developed by the makers of RockTape, a new brand of kinesiology tape that has been engineered to enhance athletic performance in addition to providing therapeutic benefits.
How to Tape for Lower Back Pain
At our kinesiology taping booth at the 2010 Houston Marathon, we taped injured runners from the minute the booth opened until it closed. Although IT band tapings definitely took top honors, runner’s knee came in a close second. Luckily, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to apply a basic runner’s knee kinesiology taping.
This is part of a series of posts presenting very simple, yet effective, taping techniques that virtually anyone can master. They were developed by the makers of RockTape, a new brand of kinesiology tape that has been engineered to enhance athletic performance in addition to providing therapeutic benefits.
How to Tape Runner’s Knee
