Athletic Tape Info Center

Pain in the lower back and upper buttocks area is common in competitive cyclists. The combination of the severe forward leaning posture and the intense exertion of the muscles of the upper leg and gluteals puts constant squeezing pressure on the muscles and nerves in this area. Once inflammation develops it can be extremely difficult to get rid of for cyclists who train and/or compete daily.

Not only is this condition painful, but it can also negatively affect performance as the body tries to protect the painful area by decreasing muscle activation. Even those who are tough enough to “pedal through the pain” may find that they are no longer able to race as fast or as far.

A new solution being used by more and more competitive cyclists is kinesiology tape. This thin, stretchy, therapeutic tape can be worn on any injured or painful area and produce rapid relief of both pain and inflammation. Because a single application can be worn for several days, it is ideal for cyclists during lengthy races.

The quickest and simplest type of kinesiology taping is to use pre-cut kinesiology tape, made by SpiderTech. SpiderTech makes 15 different individually packaged, precut applications for different parts of the body. The SpiderTech Low Back application has become a mainstay in the sports bags of many competitive cyclists.

Dotsie Bausch, one of the world’s top female cyclists, described her experience with the SpiderTech Low Back Spider this way.

In 2008, I was diagnosed with Piriformis syndrome which is a condition in which the piriformis muscle irritates the sciatic nerve, causing pain in the buttocks and referring pain along the course of the sciatic nerve. This referred pain, called “sciatica”, often goes down the back of the thigh and/or into the lower back. I was having excruciating pain and numbness in my back and quads. It was causing me so much pain, that I had to miss out on some big races.

Enter: Spider Tech tape. Now that I use the lower back tape regularly, during hard events and after, as well as through all of my travels both flying and driving, I am pain free and one happy camper! It is truly remarkable the way the tape works. It is easy to use, does not irritate the skin, stays on for an entire week or more, and it does its job! It is a remarkable solution to pain with so much to offer the world by freeing people of their ibuprophen and aspirin addictions for the treatment of acute pain. I love Spider Tech and am a believer for life.

My next post will provide step-by-step instructions, plus a video for applying precut kinesiology tape for the lower back. Until then, happy cycling!