A new form of athletic taping was developed and introduced by Japanese chiropractor Kenzo Kase in the 1970’s, which he dubbed Kinesio taping. Since then, this brightly colored tape (boring beige, bold black, brilliant blue and “we swear it’s red” but is actually pink) has been adorned by athletes at the highest level, weekend warriors abound as well as everyday Joe’s and Jane’s for a whole host of things.
The basic idea behind the technique and the tape itself was to design a form of therapy that worked with the body (through stimulation or inhibition of muscles via neurological feedback, increasing lymphatic flow and decreasing pain by taking pressure off of underlying mechanoreceptors), not against it as with traditional taping methods. Over the years, the tape has been modified to the present day product which is a thin, elastic cotton fabric with a wavy acrylic adhesive backing that was designed to mimic human skin and allow for breathability as well as allowing moisture to escape.
The elastic property of the tape is what gives it versatility in a wide-variety of clinical scenarios, which makes it a great go-to therapy for everyday aches and pains as well as more serious strains and sprains. Depending on the goals of treatment, the physician who is applying the tape can decide to use minimal tension in order to lift the skin off of the underlying tissues to increase drainage and decrease pain; Use moderate tension to activate muscles that are not firing correctly, or inactivate muscles that are overacting; Apply maximum tension to support the ligaments, or any variety of the above to achieve multiple therapeutic effects.
Keeping all of this in mind it is easy to see that this stuff is great for people on the go, and offers clinicians an option to give therapy that can be comfortably worn by a person 24 hours a day for up to four days!
Personally I have had a lot of success both treating people with this tape as well as using it myself for running-related knee and ankle pain, as well as occupation-related shoulder pain which has consistently given me relief as well as allowed me to continue doing the things I enjoy. So needless to say, minus the “not only am I the president, but I’m also a member,” endorsement; I would highly recommend that if you are looking for a chiropractor in Denver who uses this technique in his practice that you call us and give K-tape a try for your neuromusculoskeletal needs.
Be well!