Although a lot of athletes apply kinesiology tape on their bodies during and after their performances, many people do not understand what kinesiology taping is all about. Some athletes don’t grasp the need for wearing it too. You may also wonder if the tape really works or not.
What is a Kinesiology Sports Tape?
A kinesiology sports tape is more than a medical bandage. It is designed with cotton fabric to ensure an athlete has a complete range of motion. K-tape is quite thin and light weighted.
The good thing is that using Kinesio tape has a lot of benefits. The tape’s fabric allows your skin to get enough air. It also has an elasticity similar to that of the muscles and skin.
In fact, it has been useful for many athletes as it has helped some get back into sports. As an athlete, it can help you get better through physical therapy and go to competitions regardless of the pain.
Here are some of the ways using the tape boosts your athletic performance:
Kinesiology Sports Tapes Help You Maintain A Healthy and Active Body
As an athlete, you need to give your body proper care to prevent injury and severe aches. If you do not properly take care of yourself, you will not be able to reach your best ability in sports.
You should have a kinesiology tape as it helps boost your athletic performance. Schooley says, ‘A lot of runners use it every time they run a marathon, and they place the tape along the flute as a way of waking up the muscle and reminding it to keep working.’
Kinesiology Tape Helps Your Body Recover Faster
Weakness is not called “Achilles heel” for nothing. The large, overused tendon that starts behind the heel experiences too much pressure. This happens when you carry out many activities, making it susceptible to sustaining injuries.
Achilles tendonitis is a condition that allows multiple ways of treating it. It responds well to treatment by simultaneously putting on kinesiology tape and using the RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation) method.
Kinesiology taping is also very good for preventing or treating musculoskeletal injuries, and for healing neurological and neuromuscular ailments. Presently, kinesiology taping is usually applied with many other therapy options to give the most effective result to athletes.
Excess lymphatic fluid develops in the injured part when there is trauma because of a wound or wear-and-tear caused by overuse. What usually follows is swelling, pressure, inflammation, and inconvenience. If you use the tape properly, it can raise skin layers, which makes lymphatic fluid flow smoothly. Why is this important? The lymphatic fluid contains beneficial white blood cells running to all body parts. It also supports taking away cellular bacteria and waste products.
As an athlete, you are prone to having acute hamstring strains. An acute hamstring strain is a well-known injury. The pain goes from dull to sharp. The causes of hamstring strains are microscopic tears within the muscle. In chronic conditions, the cause of hamstring strains can be an absolute rupture. Using kinesiology tape is an excellent way to manage this situation, as it helps you recover fast. Reaching out to a physical therapist to help put your tape on is a good idea. This is just to make sure it is well placed.
Kinesiology Tape Helps you Retrain Your Muscles
For instance, you can use kinesiology taping to get your posture back in shape. As an athlete, the tape assists your muscles that no longer work or have stopped working at a certain level. It can be your neck and head posture. Patients diagnosed with stroke also use it, and it helps how they walk. Doctors assume this may happen due to the weird sensation of tape on your skin, increasing your awareness of your posture or movement.
Kinesiology Tape Helps Vulnerable Areas in Your Body
Research on athletes has proven that using kinesiology tape on fatigued muscles greatly helps their performance. You can apply the tape to give additional support to the joints or muscles that need it. A person with the patellofemoral syndrome can also get support using a kinesiology tape. It allows you to move well, which is unlike the athletic tapes. In short, many types of research prove it can improve mobility and endurance.
Kinesiology Tape Helps Athletes Reduce Pain and Decompress
Decompression of skin has a lot of benefits. First and foremost, it ensures pressure gets reduced. There are many receptors within the skin and tissues beneath, including the ones that cause pain.
The pain receptor that travels from the skin to the brain is changed by reducing the pressure in the layers of the skin. The decompression makes fluids beneath the skin, such as blood and lymphatic fluids, flow more smoothly. This is great and essential for your healing.
Athletes Apply Kinesiology Taping to Change Sensory Signal
The light lift of the skin can modify the signal that reaches the brain. This includes pain receptors. This effect can greatly support reducing the tight feeling within the muscles. It also reduces the pain from affected areas around the muscles. More so, many athletes use the tape to feel protected. Using the kinesiology tape on an affected part can make them believe in their recovery process.
Many physical therapists and athletes say that kinesiology tape can also give a higher level of performance. The tape gives help and pressure that is useful in enhancing contractions of the muscles—the athlete experiences more strength with this.
In short, As an athlete, if you are in an uncomfortable condition, feeling pain or stiff muscle, kinesiology tape is your best choice. The tape takes care of many wounds, including tennis elbow, lower back pain, carpal tunnel, and shoulder pain. It is simple to wear and lightweight.
However, as effective as kinesiology tape is for athletes’ performance, you must speak with your physical therapist before applying it if you have been diagnosed with some conditions.
When to Speak With Your Doctor Before Applying Kinesiology Tape
-
If you are allergic to adhesives, you should not use kinesiology tape
Individuals with allergies to any kinesiology tape are not encouraged to use the tape. It is also worth noting that using kinesiology tape for too long can lead to rashes, regardless of how healthy you are.
If you have applied kinesiology tape on any affected body part for a prolonged time and continue showing signs of these conditions, reach out to your doctor. To avoid irritation, it is essential to properly prepare your skin before applying kinesiology tape.
-
You should not use kinesiology tape if you have open wounds and cuts
The tape is not designed to be used on a site that is freshly injured and uncovered. This is because using kinesiology tape on a cut or wound can worsen it. It can also make infection develop when particles get stuck in the tape.
-
If you have an infected area, you should not put kinesiology tape on that spot
This is because of how the tape affects the flow of blood. If you apply it to an area that has been infected, you will make the infection spread.
-
If you are treating cancer, you should not use kinesiology tape
Kinesiology tape is not recommended to be used on active cancer. This is because the site cannot recover. Using kinesiology tape can worsen the condition and affect blood flow.
-
If you have been diagnosed with blood clots or deep vein thrombosis
You should not apply kinesiology tape on the site. This is because it can worsen your condition.
The advantages of using kinesiology tapes on athletes’ performance are many – it helps them recover, supports their joints and muscles, and enhances fluid and blood flow. However, as an athlete, if you are skeptical about it being the best choice for you as an athlete, you should reach out to your physical therapist or doctor about it. If you have also been diagnosed with any of the mentioned conditions, you should not hesitate to speak with a medical practitioner.
If you want to purchase kinesiology tapes, you should use Hampton Adams because we offer the best. You will get value for your money. Our kinesiology tape is comfortable, light weighted, affordable, and of top-notch quality. It is definitely worth a try.
