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Archive for the ‘Athletic Injuries’ Category
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
Kinesiology Taping Application Tips
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One of the features that makes kinesiology tape different from other types of therapeutic tape is its elasticity. Kinesiology tape is designed to stretch up to 40% beyond its “resting” length (i.e., its length with the paper backing still applied).
This “stretchability factor” greatly increases the therapeutic benefits available from kinesiology taping as opposed to traditional athletic taping techniques. This post will provide a general overview of the benefits associated with the elastic properties of kinesiology tape. The following information is equally applicable to both formats of kinesiology tape currently available: Kinesiology Tape by the Roll (brand names Kinesio Tex Tape and SpiderTape), and Pre-Cut Kinesiology Tape Applications (brand name SpiderTech Tape).
The Benefits of Stretchable Kinesiology Tape
When kinesiology tape is stretched as it is applied to the skin, it creates a microscopic lifting of the skin in the taped area. This relieves pressure on the local pain receptors, reducing irritation, pain and spasms. Conventional athletic tape, on the other hand, can actually increase pain in an acutely injured area as it does not accomodate to swelling or movement.- This lifting action also allows for enhanced circulation of both blood and lymphatic fluid. Increased bloodflow accelerates healing by delivering more oxygen and nutrients to injured tissues, while improved lymphatic drainage reduces swelling, edema and inflammation.
- The elastic properties of kinesiology tape allow it to provide therapeutic benefits to an injured or painful area without the rigid compression of traditional taping. This means that kinesiology taping applications can be safely left in place for several days, as opposed to conventional athletic tape that must be removed within hours because of reduced circulation. In fact, the longer a kinesiology taping application is worn, the better, since the therapeutic benefits continue to accrue for the entire time it is worn.
- The elasticity of kinesiology tape makes it the preferred method of taping for injured athletes who desire to continue training and/or competing as they recover from their injuries. When applied with the appropriate amount of stretch, kinesiology tape can provide support to an injured area, preventing harmful overstretching or over-contraction, without restricting a healthy range of movement.
- When stretched kinesiology tape is applied to the skin, the ongoing sensory stimulation from the tape can override pain signals from an injured or inflamed area, providing a safe, non-pharmaceutical approach to pain relief.
Watch for upcoming posts providing more detailed guidelines for stretching tape and muscles in kinesiology taping applications.
Kinesiology Taping Testimonials – Athletes
posted by Tape Expert @ 5:19 PM
Thursday, November 12, 2009
This is the first in a series of kinesiology taping testimonials, focusing on different user groups. The following testimonials are all from athletes who have benefited from kinesiology taping for sports injuries.
“Something better than any laser, wrap or electric massager. The tape … seemed to have special powers. Every morning before the stage, they would tape us all up, different parts of our bodies … the next day the pain disappeared — it was gone.”
—Lance Armstrong, Professional Cyclist (Austin, TX)
“As a Professional triathlete I need to have control over my ability to train and race to my full potential. A medical team I trust, the best training plan and equipment, good nutrition and SpiderTech are huge parts of my success strategy. Spider-Tech technology ensures that I am able to train and race through strains and aches that otherwise would hold me back. The tape played a key roll in allowing me to race pain free as I recovered from a broken heel in 2008. As a professional athlete I need to be able to push my limits by pushing through pain. With the help of Spider-Tech I am able to simply push my limits.”
—Ayesha Rollinson, Professional Triathlete (Toronto, Canada)
“Over the last few weeks, I have been having a re-occurring knee injury that I just can’t seem to get rid of with the amount of training I do. There are days where It has been so bad, that I have to completely stop training, and cut training hours on the bike. After finally running out of options I came upon Spider Tech Applications through Dr. Kevin Jardine. I have been using the upper knee spider and it has helped immensely. The difference between wearing the knee spider and not wearing it, is like day and night. With it on I can complete 4 hour work outs pain free and race at a professional level. It is the most amazing tape application I have ever worn.”
—Adam Morka, Cyclist (Toronto, Canada)
“It just kind of relieves whatever is hurting … It makes it feel better. I guess it’s the way it lays on the muscles, some pressure release or something.”
—J.R. Giddens, Boston Celtics
“… I am running the Chicago Half Marathon this weekend after having a hamstring tear as well as suffering from sacroiliitis … all because of your tape … I have been using your Lower Back Spider as well as your Hamstring Spider for the past few weeks. If it wasn’t for your tape, I don’t think that I could run this race…”
—Beth Battaglia, Long Distance Runner
“Bend ART Specialist, Mark DeJohn introduced me to SpiderTech when I had a chronic posterior tibialis injury in my foot. The SpiderTech calf tape, in conjunction with his thorough treatment, helped me get over the injury quickly. Now I always carry a set of SpiderTech tape kits in my car.”
—Conrad Stoltz, 3x XTERRA Triathlete, World Champion
Wondering what that funky-looking, colored tape is that so many athletes are wearing these days? It’s called kinesiology tape, and it has become an overnight sensation among injured athletes, people with chronic inflammatory conditions, accident victims and individuals recovering from surgery.
The surprising ability of this lightweight, thin, stretchy therapeutic tape to quickly relieve pain and reduce inflammation makes it effective for a wide range of conditions. Although best known as an athletic tape or sports tape, its uses extend well beyond the realm of athletics. Following is a partial list of conditions known to respond favorably to kinesiology taping.
Joint Pain - Arthritis, Bursitis, Lupus, Degenerative Joints, Poorly Aligned Joints, Joint Instability
Muscle Pain or Spasms - Torn Muscles, Pulled/Strained Muscles, Tight Muscles, Fibromyalgia, Muscle Spasms, Muscle Cramps, Calf Strain, Pulled Hamstring, Groin Pulls, Strained Gluteals, Abdominal Strain,
Soft Tissue Injuries - Tendonitis, Strained Tendons, Tennis Elbow (Lateral Epicondylitis), Golfers Elbow (Medial Epicondylitis), Patellar Tendonitis, Achilles Tendonitis, Whiplash, Back Strain, Neck Strain, Rotator Cuff Injuries, Iliotibial Band Syndrome
Joint Injuries - Joint Sprains, Dislocated Joints, Sprained Ankle, Sprained Knee, Sprained Wrist, Sprained Elbow, Degenerated Meniscus, Knee Cartilage Injuries, Unstable Joints, Joint Hypermobility
Overuse Injuries – Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Repetitive Stress Syndrome, Shin Splints, Iliotibial Band Syndrome, Tension Headaches, Tennis Elbow, Golfer’s Elbow
Swelling and Edema - Lymphodema, Joint Swelling, Edema, Lymphatic Congestion, Chronic Joint or Muscle Inflammation
Postural Problems - Poor Posture, Round Shoulders, Weak Muscles, Muscle Imbalance, Poor Muscle Tone, Hypotonia
Rehabilitation after Surgery - Athletic Injury Surgery, Reconstructive Surgery, Joint Replacement, Meniscus Repair, Ligament Surgery, Tendon Surgery
Bruising - Bruising following Injuries or Surgery, Contusions
Foot Pain - Plantar Fascitis, Fallen Arches
Following are some important things to know about kinesiology tape:
1. Kinesiology tape can be bought in rolls or pre-cut applications for specific body parts. Home users with no kinesiology taping training should begin with precut kinesiology tape.
2. When properly applied, one application of kinesiology tape can be worn for up to 5 days. It will remain firmly in place through showering, swimming and even heavy sweating.
3. The therapeutic benefits of kinesiology tape continue around the clock for the entire time it’s worn. Thus, a single kinesiology taping application can be compared to receiving continuous therapy 24/7 for up to 5 days.
4. Kinesiology tape is made from high grade cotton with a hypo-allergenic acrylic adhesive. It contains no latex and no medication. Very few people experience skin reactions to kinesiology tape.
5. Kinesiology taping is safe and effective for people of all ages, from infants to the elderly.
The manufacturer of Kinesio® Tex Tape™ donated several thousand rolls of kinesiology tape to athletes at the 2008 Summer Games. The high visibility of the colorful athletic tape on such athletes as beach volleyball gold medalist, Kerry Walsh, has created an enthusiastic following by athletes and trainers from around the world. Among those wearing the colorful therapeutic tape were:
♦ High Jumper, Germaine Mason – UK
♦ Long Jumper, Hrisopiyi Devetzi – Greece
♦ Tennis Player, Fernando Gonzalez – Chile
♦ Hurdler, Paulo Villar – Colombia
♦ Sprinter, Wallace Spearmon – USA
♦ Basketball Player, Alex Mumbru – Spain
♦ Wheelchair Basketball Teams, UK and S. Africa
♦ Women’s Field Hockey Team – China
♦ Water Polo Player, Fran Paskvalin – Croatia
More recently, Kinesio® has become an Official Medical Supplier for the U.S. Ski and Snowboarding Association (USSA®). This means that Kinesio® will provide the athletes on the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Teams with elastic therapeutic taping products as they train for and compete in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada.
Kinesiology tape will become more and more important to the Winter Olympic athletes as the games approach because of its ability to accelerate the healing process for many injuries as athletes continue to train.
In the last few months the use of kinesiology tape to treat aches and pains has become a viral marketing phenomenon. From sideline chatter among soccer moms to international coaching conferences, word is spreading like wildfire that kinesiology tape has become the “must have” product for injured athletes. Exactly what is this new craze and why has it become popular so quickly? Let’s take a look at some of kinesiology tape’s winning features:
1. Kinesiology tape provides support without restricting range of motion – a crucial factor for athletes who need to continue training and/or competing as they recover from injuries.
2. It begins to relieve pain and swelling almost as soon as it’s applied.
3. Once applied, kinesiology tape can stay on for 3-5 days, providing therapeutic benefits 24/7 for the entire time it’s worn.
4. The cotton fabric combined with the wave pattern of the acrylic adhesive allows both air and moisture to flow through the tape. This allows it to stay on through intense exercise, showering and even swimming without coming off or irritating the skin.
5. It’s inexpensive, costing approximately $14 for a 16 foot roll or $8 – $11 for a precut kinesiology tape application.
6. It’s small and lightweight making it convenient to carry in a sports bag or trainer’s kit.
7. While traditional sports tape is restrictive and can lead to overuse injuries in muscles recruited to compensate for the restricted area, kinesiology tape allows all muscles to function within a safe range of motion.
8. Kinesiology tape can be used effectively on virtually any type of injury on any part of the body.
Look for my next posting on the conditions that kinesiology tape can be used for.
Kinesiology tape is becoming a viral marketing phenomenon. Why? Because it works! It is a safe, inexpensive, noninvasive modality for relieving pain, reducing inflammation and enhancing performance. No wonder both professional and amateur athletes around the world are now using it and loving it.
Lance Armstrong was one of the first world class athletes to extol the virtues of kinesiology taping as an athletic tape for sports injuries. Following is an excerpt from his 2003 book, “Every Second Counts,” written with Sally Jenkins (2003, Broadway Books, a division of Random House).
“The team wasn’t just the riders. It was the mechanics, masseurs, chefs, seigneurs, and doctors. But the most important man on the team may have been our chiropractor.
The Tour hurt in a dozen different ways. We were all sore. Sore necks, sore knees, sore hamstrings. Guys got tendinitis all the time. They crashed, or they rode in a fixed position for hours on end, and they got it. They woke up one morning and it was in an elbow or a knee.
The guy who put us all back together was our chiropractor, Jeff Spencer … Jeff is part doctor, part guru, part medicine man. He had all kinds of strange gizmos and rituals and cures, a remedy for every condition. He did things we had no explanation for-but they seemed to work. His methods ranged from basic stretching and massage to high-tech lasers, strange wraps, tinctures, and bandages. If you got road rash, he put a silvery wrap on the injury, and shot you with a laser. George swore Jeff’s lasers made road rash heal twice as fast.
Sometimes he did things to parts of your body that didn’t hurt. Let’s say your foot hurt. He’d shoot the laser at your neck, and talk to you about “nerve connections,” while you half-listened. But the next day, your foot would be better.
But Jeff had something that was better than any laser, wrap, or electric massager. He had The Tape. It was a special hot-pink athletic tape that came from Japan and seemed to have special powers. George got a problem with his lower back. Jeff turned him around and started putting hot-pink tape on it. George thought, “How can that help?” But the next day the pain had disappeared – it was gone.
” … it could fix things. It could seriously fix things …”
We swore by Jeff’s pink tape. He would tape the hell out of anything. You had a tweaky knee? He taped it. A guy would start to get tendinitis and he’d say, “Don’t worry. No problem. We’ll tape it.” We all had pink tape on our legs.
Every morning before the stage, he’d tape us all up, different parts of our bodies. He’d do George’s back, Chechu’s knees. Sometimes we’d be so wrapped up in hot-pink tape that we’d look like dolls, a bunch of broken dolls.
One day, Johan went to him and said, “The tape is too flashy. People see the tape, and they think we’re all screwed up.” Jeff said, “What do you want me to do?”
“Tone down the tape,” he said. “Can’t you get the gray color?” But the pink tape worked, so we kept it, because it could fix things. It could seriously fix things.”
In the last few months the athletic therapy community has been invaded by a new breed of spiders. These spiders are leaving their distinctive marks on the necks, shoulders, elbows, wrists, backs, thighs, calves, ankles and feet of injured athletes. Rather than a cause for alarm, as one might first think, this spider invasion has been welcomed with open arms. Why? Because the spiders I’m talking about are therapeutic spiders, made of kinesiology tape … the thin, stretchy “miracle tape” that relieves pain, reduces inflammation and enhances function.
Kinesiology tape hit the big time at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where many of the world’s top athletes were seen wearing it on their injured or overused body parts. Instantly, people around the world started searching for this therapeutic phenomenon. Hundreds of thousands of rolls of the black, blue, pink or beige tape were sold. Unfortunately, many of these purchasers experienced a let-down after they found it, as they discovered that it was almost impossible to create, cut and apply the intricate configurations of tape without specialized training.
This is where the spiders enter the story … or SpiderTech, to be completely accurate. SpiderTech Tape is the next generation in kinesiology tape – pre-cut, individually packaged kinesiology tape applications for specific parts of the body. No designing, no measuring and no cutting are required.
Pulled groin muscle? Try the SpiderTech Groin Spider. Follow the simple instructions in the package and on the back of the tape, and you’ll have your own kinesiology tape application in a matter of minutes! Stiff neck? Try the Neck Spider. Plantar fasciitis? There’s a Calf & Arch Spider that works wonders. A Wrist Spider can be used for carpal tunnel syndrome, as well as strains and sprains. Other applications include Neck, Shoulder, Elbow, Upper Back/Postural, Lower Back, Hip, Hamstring, Ankle and three sizes of Lymphatic applications (designed to reduce severe swelling and inflammation).
The products are backed with excellent instructional materials, both in the packaging and online. Free printable PDF’s are available providing step-by-step instructions for each of the 15 applications. For those who prefer to both see and hear instructions, there is also an instructional video for each product.
Who’s using SpiderTech now? Coaches and trainers are carrying it in their kits. Athletes keep them in their sports bags, for quick application should an injury occur. Many physical therapists and chiropractors have incorporated kinesiology taping into their practices, and are loving the speed, simplicity and duplicability of working with pre-cut kinesiology tape applications.
SpiderTech Tape can be used to treat acute or chronic injuries, as well as to prevent injuries from occurring in the first place. In addition to rapidly relieving pain and inflammation, it also enhances activation of muscles, providing a natural boost to performance.
If you’re dealing with strains, sprains, any of the “itis” disorders, swelling and edema, stiffness, fatigue, cramps or spasms, it could be time to go on a Spider hunt!
Since last summer’s Beijing Olympics, more and more professional athletes have been spotted wearing kinesiology tape. In today’s semifinal match at the US Open, Novak Djokovic, #4 player in the world, wore kinesiology tape on his left knee. Other prominent athletes who have worn kinesiology tape include cyclist Lance Armstrong and his entire US Postal team, soccer player David Beckham, and tennis players Serena Williams, Robby Ginepri and Justine Henin. The athlete responsible for much of the current kinesiology taping craze is beach volleyball player, Kerri Walsh, who displayed it prominently on her shoulder during the Beijing Olympic Games, at which she won Gold with partner, Misty May Traynor.
What is it that makes kinesiology tape so popular with athletes? Let’s count down the top 10 reasons:
10. It’s lightweight and portable – easy to keep in a sports bag for last-minute applications.
9. It’s inexpensive (< $10 per application).
8. Once applied, it stays on for up to 5 days.
8. It’s so thin and stretchy that it’s virtually undetectable once it’s been applied.
7. It provides structural support without restricting range of motion.
6. It begins to relieve pain and reduce inflammation within minutes of being applied.
5. It enhances performances via increased activation in muscles that have “shut down” due to pain or injury.
4. It stays on through sweating, showering and even swimming.
3. It can be applied on any part of the body that is experiencing pain or inflammation.
2. The new pre-cut kinesiology tape applications don’t require any specialized training to apply.
1. It comes in 4 colors and looks totally cool!
For competitive athletes, kinesiology tape is becoming the “go to” therapy product for all of their aches, pains and injuries.
Spiders took over at several beach volleyball events this summer … SpiderTech Spiders, that is! SpiderTech is the name of a new type of pre-cut kinesiology tape that is currently taking the athletic world by storm. Already configured for specific parts of the body, a SpiderTech precut kinesiology tape application can go from sports bag to body in a matter of minutes. The result? Rapid relief of pain, swelling and inflammation, plus enhanced activation of injured or fatigued muscles. Decreased pain and increased funtion … sounds like a winning combination for any athlete!
This image shows top AVP player, Nicole Branagh, wearing a SpiderTech Shoulder Spider as she wins the AVP Crocs Manhattan Beach Open with partner, Elaine Youngs in July.
Kinesiology taping is an especially valuable tool for competitive athletes because it provides protection and support for injured muscles without restricting range of motion. This allows many injured athletes to continue to train and compete effectively as they recover from injuries.
