Athletic Tape Info Center

While traditional athletic tape only provides support to an injured area, kinesiology tape does this and much more. It is the only tape that actually has therapeutic effects that include accelerating the healing process. This translates to a large list of benefits of kinesiology taping, that extend far beyond the athletic realm.

When kinesiology tape is applied to the body, the skin is lifted slightly, creating a space between the skin and the underlying muscle. This space allows for enhanced blood flow, enhanced lymphatic flow and relieves the pressure on local pain receptors. This concept will be explained in greater detail in a future posting, but for now, let’s examine the benefits associated with these effects.

1. Pain Relief – reduced pressure on pain receptors helps relieve both acute and chronic pain.

2. Reduced Swelling and Inflammation – reduced pressure on the lymphatic drainage channels, allows better removal of fluids and other materials that collect in an injured area. This applies, not only to sports injuries, but to other inflammatory conditions, including lymphodema (severe swelling of the extremities.)

3. Prevents and/or Relieves Spasms and Cramping – the same features that reduce inflammation can help prevent or relieve spasms and cramps in overused or injured muscles.

3. Speedier Recovery of Overused Muscles – the enhanced circulation helps remove metabolic byproducts of exercise (such as lactic acid), allowing a more rapid recovery.

4. Provides Support without Restricting Range of Motion –  kinesiology tape’s unique elastic properties allow it to provide support to an injured muscle or joint without restriction of range of  motion.

5. Allows Athletes to Remain Active while Injured – this is one of the most important benefits of kinesiology tape for competitive athletes. Applied properly, kinesiology tape can prevent either overstretching or over-contraction of injured muscles. Except in the case of severe injuries, this can allow athletes to continue training and/or competing as their injuries heal.

6. Enhances Strength and Muscle Tone in Weak or Poorly Toned Muscles – certain neurological or muscular disorders can make muscles so weak that it is difficult to do the exercises that are critical to improve daily functioning. Kinesiology tape can improve the activation of these muscles, allowing therapeutic exercises to be carried out. One of the major uses in this category is with infants and young children with hypotonia, poor muscle tone that limits their ability to learn to sit up, crawl, etc.