How Kinesiology Tape Works

You’ve undoubtedly seen brightly colored kinesiology tape on athletes, but how is it used in physical therapy and how can it help you? Kinesiology taping involves placing strips of this special tape on areas of the body to help improve mobility and support the joints, muscles, and tendons. The tape is light and flexible, non-restrictive, allows normal movement, improves lymph transport, and increases circulation. At New Heights Physical Therapy, we want to help our patients better understand how kinesiology tape can play a crucial role in their physical therapy routines.

What Kinesiology Tape Does

While there are several theories about precisely how kinesiology tape works, it is generally believed to create balance in the neural circuitry in muscles, tendons, joints, and skin. In effect, this can work to reduce pain, decrease swelling, and improve muscle performance and function.

Kinesiology tape serves several functions that have made it so popular in the past decade:

• Offers structural or muscle support
• Corrects postural problems
• Increases blood flow and lymphatic drainage

When applied directly, kinesiology tape can achieve the above effects as it lifts the skin to create a small space between the muscle and dermis layers. Even within that very small space, pressure is taken off any swelling or injured muscles, allowing for smoother movement.

Using Kinesiology Tape in Physical Therapy

People use this special tape for a variety of reasons. When you meet with your physical therapist, they will assess your current situation to decide on the best use of the kinesiology tape. They can also show you how to properly apply the tape yourself. It is especially helpful in accordance with our sports medicine and dance medicine treatments.

Common uses of kinesiology tape include:

• Inhibition and pain management. This tape can help decrease pain and muscle spasms that may occur after injury.
• Facilitation. Using this tape helps improve muscular firing and contraction patterns, which is often helpful in improving athletic performance.
• Swelling management. As mentioned before, kinesiology tape helps with swelling by decreasing pressure between the skin and underlying tissues.
• Scar tissue management. If you’ve developed scar tissue after surgery or trauma, this tape can be used to gently pull on scar tissue to provide a low-intensity stretch that may help properly align collagen cells.

Could You Benefit from Using Kinesiology Tape?

When you visit your physical therapist at New Heights Physical Therapy, we’d be happy to discuss how kinesiology tape may be beneficial to your physical therapy routine. Not only can we provide you with vital information on how it works, we can also show you the various ways to apply it that will best serve your unique situation. Give us a call today to set up your next appointment!