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A Simple Way to Tape for Lower Back Pain
posted by Tape Expert
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
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My last post discussed the incidence of lower back pain in competitive cyclists. The following instructions for applying pre-cut kinesiology tape for lower back pain are not limited to cyclists, however. Anyone who has experienced spasms, stiffness or pain in their lower back can benefit from the following technique.
Unless you have specialized training in kinesiology taping techniques, I recommend using pre-cut applications. Already designed for specific parts of the body, precut kinesiology tape allows you to completely skip the often difficult steps of designing and cutting an application from a roll of kinesiology tape. There is only one brand of pre-cut kinesiology tape currently available. It’s called SpiderTech Tape, and it comes in 15 different applications for different parts of the body. As the following illustration shows, the reverse side of the tape is divided into numbered sections, making it simple to know which pieces to apply first.
Here are the step-by-step instructions for applying the SpiderTech precut kinesiology tape application for the lower back.
Note: Because the goal of this application is pain relief, we follow the principle, “stretch the muscle, not the tape.”
Preparation
Ensure that the skin of the elbow and forearm is clean and dry. Prepare the precut lower back kinesiology tape by tearing the backing along each of the perforated lines. This will allow you to apply each section individually, creating a more effective application.
Step 1: With subject standing, peel the backing from half of section 1 and apply (with no stretch in the tape) at the base of the lower back. Remove the remaining backing from section 1 and apply. Gently rub the tape from the center toward the outside to activate the glue.
Step 2: Have subject bend forward into a curled position to obtain maximum stretch of the back extensor muscles. If necessary, the arms can be used to support the upper body against the thighs.
Step 3: Begin peeling the backing from the left “arm” of section 2, and begin applying the tape (with no additional stretch) along the muscles directly left of the spine. Continue removing the backing and pressing the tape against the skin until the entire strip has been applied.
Step 4: Begin peeling the backing from the right “arm” of section 2, and begin applying the tape (with no additional stretch) along the muscles directly right of the spine. Continue removing the backing and pressing the tape against the skin until the entire strip has been applied.
Step 5: Begin peeling the backing from the outer right arm of section 3, and apply the tape (with no additional stretch) in the direction of the right armpit. Continue peeling away the backing and applying the tape until the entire section has been applied.
Step 6: Begin peeling the backing from the outer left arm of section 3, and apply the tape (with no additional stretch) in the direction of the left armpit. Continue peeling away the backing and applying the tape until the entire section has been applied.
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