What is K-tape?
Have you noticed athletes sporting colourful tape over a knee, shoulder or other joint? If you have you’ve probably wondered what the tape is all about. Why exactly would they want to decorate themselves with colourful tape? What you’ve noticed is Kinesio Tape or K-Tape.
How does it work?
K-tape a therapeutic tape that is stretchy so it doesn’t hinder or restrict movements of the body. With careful application by a skilled therapist, the stretchy properties of therapeutic tape can be used to stabilize a joint in one plane while allowing full range in another. Therapeutic tape is also used to facilitate the healing process and managing pain following an injury. In this application the tape works by targeting receptors in the body’s sensory system and has a skin lifting effect which promotes a decrease in pain and inflammation in damage tissues.
Common applications
A common application of K-Tape and one that you’ve probably noticed is to stabilize the shoulder joint. The shoulder is a very important joint; however, it is quite unstable by design. The shallow ball and socket permits the great range of motion required of the shoulder but it doesn’t provide optimal stability. This is where therapeutic tape and a skilled therapist can help. Armed with knowledge of anatomy and biomechanics and an understanding of the physical demands of the sport or functional activity the therapist will apply K-Tape in a manner that increases the stability of the joint while still allowing complete range of motion. K-Tape will be applied in different ways depending on the joint or muscles affected and the performance needs of the client.
Do you think K-tape may be right for you?
If you are interested in optimizing your sporting performance, preventing injury, or managing an existing injury the staff at the Physio In Motion look forward to talking to you about the benefits of Kinesio Tape or K-Tape. Please call us at (905) 667-3979 and schedule your in-home physiotherapy consultation.