Sports Taping
Designed and applied to suit each individual patients needs.
Kinesio Taping - A science not just pot luck
"taping correctly can reduce recovery times by as much as 50%"
Kinesio Taping has taken the sports and medical markets by storm. Developed by Dr Kenzo Kase, the innovative and brightly coloured Kinesio sports tape has helped many professional athletes at the top of their game, as well as amateur enthusiasts participating in grass roots sports. You'll have seen the tape at the London Olympics and Wimbledon and regularly worn by footballers throughout all the League’s, including many premiership players. It is also actively used by healthcare professionals within the NHS and private medical settings.
With over 35 years of research and development, Kinesio has become the therapeutic taping of choice for athletes to support muscles, cut injury recovery times and aid lymphoedema reduction. Using a unique adhesive tape, and specialist applications, Kinesio provides muscle support during activity without affecting range of motion. This innovative taping method has been embraced by physiotherapists, sports therapists, occupational therapists, osteopaths, chiropractors, lymphoedema specialists and other healthcare professionals throughout the world.
As a certified Kinesio Taping Practitioner I feel privileged to be using this advanced bodywork technique on my patients to aid recovery times and reduce pain levels significantly. All of the pictures on this page are examples of my techniques and procedures that I have used on my patients.
Kinesio Taping for Support, Recuperation and Recovery
Putting You First
Applied correctly Kinesio Tape can help not only in the recovery from pain and injury but also to support in every day movement and athletic performance. The key is in the application, not just wrapping it in any direction as tight as it will go.
A full assessment is required to understand the injury, pain or weakness, this coupled with an advanced knowledge of anatomy and physiology will guide me in applying the tape to achieve the maximum benefit.
Techniques may involve:
Facilitation:
Kinesio Tape can be used to help improve muscular firing and contraction patterns, normalising muscular tone and improved athletic and every day performance and movement.
Support and stability:
I frequently use tape to treat conditions such as low back weakness, IT band issues, shoulder instability and lower leg injuries. All these conditions benefit from the extra support provided by using a variety of taping patterns and procedures and can support the muscles and joints while still allowing some motion to occur.
Scar tissue management:
Kinesio Taping for post-surgical scar procedures is a proven method in wound healing and is effective in the management of scar tissue.
The differences in Kinesio Tape and standard Athletic tape:
The main criteria when using Kinesio Tape is to know exactly the injury or area for treatment and to know exactly what is required, applied correctly Kinesio Tape can bring amazing results.
Like a lot of things in life there is a lot of mis-information and “bar room” advice, non more so than in taping. Applied incorrectly, bad taping can in fact do more harm than good, cause an injury to get worse and prolong healing and recovery.
Sports Taping for injury
Applied correctly, recovery time can potentially be halved
When an injury occurs one of the first thing that happens is localized swelling, the bodies way of guarding or protecting by limiting movement. In an any injury the key element is to get professional help quickly, this can reduce pain levels and decrease the amount of time to clear the injury.
Kinesio Taping is a key element in treatment and recovery, as an example: Tests on a sprained ankle treated with Kinesio Tape, removed the bruising in days rather than weeks and reduced recovery time by nearly 50%.
This form of taping is an advanced technique and is obvious by it’s fan shaped tapes rather then the solid blocks of tape, the four pictures above demonstrate some “lymphedema” Kinesio Taping that I have applied to patients.
When Kinesio Tape is applied to an inflamed or swollen area of the body, muscle or joint, the lifting motion of the tape lifts the skin and creates a space between the top layer of skin and the underlying tissues. This will increase circulation by reducing local pressure and improving blood flow. This space creates a pressure gradient between this area and the surrounding fascia that allows fluids to move into the lymphatic vessels and be eliminated from the body by lymphatic drainage, reducing the inflammatory nature of the injury and improving the rehabilitation of the patient and assisting the healing process.
Inhibition and pain management:
Helping reduce pain and muscle spasm that may occur after an injury such as shoulder pain caused by instability in Rotator Cuff issues.
Swelling management:
If you have suffered an injury or have had surgery that results in increased swelling, kinesio Tape may help to decrease the swelling by decreasing pressure between the skin and underlying tissues.
Correct taping is an art, when applied correctly the results are amazing. Applied incorrectly and further damage can be done.
For help, advice and to book an appointment, call me now on 07803 255643