Kinesio tape

In the case of professional athletes, you can often see the colorful stripes stuck to the skin. However, anyone who suffers from muscle tension and pain in the back, shoulder, knee or other areas of the body can also benefit from the Kinesio tapes benefit.

What is the kinesio tape?

The word "tape" comes from English. This is what an adhesive tape is called. "Taping" means that elastic adhesive strips are stuck to painful areas on the body. Taping alone brings rapid pain relief in many cases.

In the treatment with the kinesio tapes, apart from the often colored adhesive strips, no additional active ingredients play a role in the success of the treatment. The tapes of the kinesio tapes consist of a pure cotton fabric, which gets its elasticity from the acrylic coating. The conventional rigid taping is usually only used to calm down and stabilize painful and particularly stressed joints.

Shapes, types & types

Kinesio taping is a further development of taping. The skin-friendly kinesio tapes can also be stuck on the skin wherever muscles and tendons cause problems and swelling and inflammation have occurred. Freedom of movement is in no way restricted by the glued-on strips.

Kinesio taping has been around for more than 30 years. The chiropractor, Dr. Kenzo Kase developed this type of treatment in order to be able to relieve pain effectively without the use of medicinal substances. The Japanese initially treated sumo wrestlers who came to see him. In the meantime, kinesio taping has proven itself as an alternative therapy, especially for orthopedic diseases. The worldwide spread of the method is supported by the media presence of athletes who wear brightly colored plasters on their bodies.

Structure & functionality

The effectiveness of the kinesio tapes has not yet been adequately researched scientifically. Still it works. Even orthodox doctors are increasingly using kinesio tapes to supplement their usual treatment. The numerous applications speak for themselves. However, it is important that the kinesio tapes are correctly applied to the skin so that they can develop their optimal effect.

The patients who are treated with kinesio tapes report not only pain relief but also a strengthening of the glued muscle cords. The therapists who offer kinesio taping also observe a stimulation of the metabolism in the skin and muscles. This removes inflammatory substances more quickly and the symptoms regress more quickly. The use of the tapes activates the nerve tracts lying in and under the skin. With the colorful kinesio tapes, muscle groups can be brought into tension or relaxation in a very targeted manner, thus achieving therapeutic success.

The big difference between kinesio taping and conventional fixed and rigid taping, which is used to stabilize joints, is the great elasticity of the colorful plaster strips. The therapeutic effect of the kinesio tapes can only develop in movement. This is the only way to influence the tissue structures under the skin, promote blood circulation and activate nerve activity. The adhesive strips also stimulate the lymph flow due to the patient's freedom of movement. As a result, swelling and inflammation recede faster after injuries.

Another special feature of kinesio taping are the different colors of the adhesive strips. They come in skin color and in red, blue, green and a few other hues. Therapists trained in kinesio taping sometimes choose the color of the plaster strip to suit the patient's complaints. In Asian folk medicine, warming or cooling effects are not only ascribed to certain foods. Colors can also have therapeutic benefits. Red is assigned to the element fire, which warms and activates the metabolic processes in the skin and muscles. Blue, on the other hand, is said to have a cooling and anti-inflammatory effect and to provide relief after acute accidental injuries. However, not all users of kinesio taping support the theory that the color of the adhesive tape plays a role in the treatment. Only skin-colored strips can also be stuck on. Sometimes the patient can choose a color that suits him best.

However, it is important that the kinesio tapes are never stuck on open injuries.

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Medical & health benefits

Kinesio taping can help improve orthopedic problems in particular. Whether in professional and amateur sports or after an everyday mishap in which someone sprained a joint, for example - kinesiotaping can be used when joints, ligaments, tendons and muscles are painful.

Problems with the Achilles heel, the ankle, on the shoulder, in the neck, knee problems, back pain, from the cervical vertebrae down to the lumbar spine, are some of the tried and tested areas of application. The tapes also bring relief in the case of carpal tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow or pain in the thumb saddle joint.

In sport, gluing is sometimes done before problems arise. The plaster strips are intended to prevent injuries or overloading of tissue structures and joints during training and competitions. That's why completely healthy athletes start with visible taping.

It is also interesting that in addition to orthopedics, other areas of medicine are now also using kinesio taping. The alternative therapy can help with menstrual pain and migraines as well as with sinusitis. Even with muscle cramps and bruises, the adhesive strips ensure faster recovery.