Kt tape how does it work

Ever since it started gaining visibility on the bodies of Olympic and professional athletes, many people have been curious about the possible benefits of kinesiology tape, or kinesio tape for short. Do those brightly colored strips of tape help athletes by preventing musculoskeletal pain or treating injuries? Can they help me too? Kinesio tape is popular with some athletes, but research doesn't reveal many benefits. Research is still ongoing, but most studies so far point to the answer: Probably not.

Or, at least, no more so than any other means of pain reduction for sports injuries. The standard white athletic tape that athletes and trainers have used for decades is made from stiff cotton that can help immobilize or stabilize an injured body part. Kinesio tape, however, has polymer elastic strands woven through the cotton, so the tape is flexible and doesn't impede range of motion when it's applied.

Despite its flexibility, Kinesio tape is supposed to stabilize muscles and give the athlete awareness of muscle engagement, known as proprioception. Most individuals, athletes or not, have experienced a musculoskeletal injury due to the overuse of a specific tissue or muscle. These overuse injuries can slow down an individual either in the workout routines or daily life.

While not all injuries react the same way, many overuse injury areas are known to build up lymphatic fluid causing swelling and pain. The swelling and pain come from the accumulated lymphatic fluid putting increased pressure on the injured muscle or tissue. Taping using Kinesio Tape KT has become a very popular proposed treatment and recovery aid over the past couple of years.

KT became popular after the Beijing Olympic games, where beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh Jennings caught the attention of many spectators for wearing multi colored tape strips on her shoulder.

KT is believed to lift the skin from the underlying layers of fascia, or bands or connective tissue. The lifting of the skin from the fascia results in a greater movement of lymphatic fluid, which transports white blood cells throughout the body and removes bacteria, waste products, and cellular debris.

When the tape is correctly used it may also be able to provide support to the surrounding muscles and help to ensure that the muscle does not over extend or over contract [ 1 ].

Research suggests show that the tape will allow increased oxygen to the injured muscle and decreased inflammation. A study tested the effects of KT on blood flow in the gastrocnemius muscle and whether or not the way KT is applied changes the outcome on the muscle performance. In this study 61 healthy active individuals with no recent leg injuries were assigned to either treatment KT, sham KT, or a control group.

Before taping a blood flow, circumference, and water displacement was taken for the gastrocnemius muscle. The individuals were then taped, and each measurement was taken again 24 hours and 72 hours after being taped.

The results of this study showed no significant differences in the blood flow to the muscle using KT. From five previous systematic reviews, a new systematic review had been created to evaluate whether or not KT was more effective than no treatment or a placebo treatment, for people with musculoskeletal conditions, on pain levels, disability, and quality of life.

Several different studies had been performed that looked at the pain levels on a scale from for performing different activities while wearing either KT or another form of tape. These studies are prone too potential bias from the users and small sample sizes.

Anchor the end with no stretch near the top of your quadriceps," says Dr. In the video above, you'll see that you can apply two strips of tape instead of one for extra tension. Applying kinesiology tape to your hamstring is similar to applying it to your quad, in that you'll usually want two stripes sloping across the muscle group. Have someone anchor the tape with no stretch at the back of the knee," says Dr. Anchor with no stretch towards the top of the hamstring.

Low back pain is one of those cases when you'll probably need someone else to apply the stuff unless you're some kind of contortionist. Position yourself in child's pose with your back rounded.

Anchor the strip just above your pelvis to the side of the spine along the muscle. Follow the muscle fibers up the back with 75 percent stretch. Anchor the strip with no stretch.

Repeat along the spinal erectors on the other side of your low back," says Dr. If shoulder bag-back has got you down, Dr. Yuen has a quick solution to make it feel a bit better. Anchor one strip near the bony edge at the top side of your shoulder. With 75 percent stretch, place the tape along the front of your shoulder following the outline of your deltoid. Anchor the other strip at the bottom of your deltoid with no stretch," he says.

Colloquially known as "golfer's elbow," this injury is also common to those of us chained to our desks. For some relief, "bend your elbow to about 90 degrees.