When U.S. Olympic volleyball team player Kerri Walsh wore an interestingly-shaped, smooth and thin shoulder patch during this past summer’s games, it left many wondering if it was a strange tattoo or some kind of therapy device.
While it seemed new to many observers, kinesiotaping, as it’s called, has been around for decades, developed by a Japanese chiropractor more than 25 years ago who trained in the United States, according to Shannon Pemple, MPT with the Charlevoix Area Hospital Rehabilitation Department.
“Many physical therapists utilize it and attend continuing education courses specializing in taping techniques specific to kinesiotaping,” said Pemble.
She explained that the tape has elasticity and allows for normal joint motion, whereas traditional athletic taping restricts movement. Increased movement encourages blood flow and in turn, expedites healing.
“It also lifts the skin gently, allowing for improved lymph circulation,” Pemble added.
Before kinesiotaping was widely used, rigid athletic taping as well as bracing were utilized to restrict motion and allow the injured site to rest. However, now “Research continues to show that movement allows the musculoskeletal system to heal more quickly and decreases recovery time,” Pemble noted.
 

Injury-site options

Kinesiotherapy is a therapy commonly used at Tim Bondy Physical Therapy locations as well. There, Lorena Newkirk, who holds a master’s in physical therapy as an MSPT, said the range of injuries and discomfort treated by kinesiotaping is extensive, from muscle spasms to muscle cramps, lymphodema, muscle weakness, adhesions, scars, correcting posture, TMJ (jaw) and headaches.
She used an example of a shin splint to describe the process, which includes the patient evaluation, then cutting the tape in certain patterns to cover the injured area, and also positioning the extremity in a specific manner to achieve the best taping results.
Most times, the initial taping will stay in place for three to four days, after which the patient will be re-evaluated.
“Most patients see an immediate benefit to the tape,” Newkirk said. “I get two reactions from patients. Some say ‘I can feel the difference right away, my pain is less, I feel more stable,” and the other patients say, ‘I’m not sure it’s doing anything,’ and then when they take it off, they’re saying ‘Wow, it’s really doing something.’”
With a muscle spasm, she noted, the taping helps decrease the spasm, reapplying as needed until the patient is recovered.
Pemble noted that before a person attempts to apply the tape and self-diagnose, they need to seek medical assistance to rule out potentially serious underlying issues, such as a torn tissue or deep vein thrombosis which would be worsened with kinesiotaping.
For most applications, Pemble said kinesiotaping can create dramatic and astonishing results.
“Patients are always amazed when symptoms reduce drastically in a short amount of time,” Pemble said. “Lance Armstrong describes kinesiotape in his book ‘Every Second Counts’ as ‘something better than any laser, wrap, or electric massager… the next day the pain disappeared. It was gone.’”

Maximizing the benefits

The kinesiotaping technique used by physical therapists is used most successfully in treating ankle sprains, shoulder pain and tendonitis, headaches, low back pain, swelling, muscle strain, and nerve irritation, according to Shannon Pemple, MPT with Charlevoix Area Hospital.

What it’s made from …

Kinesiotape is a cotton, elastic tape that can stretch approximately 140 percent of its original length. It contains no latex and can be worn for up to 3-4 days after application. Once applied, body heat activates the adhesive property. Showering and sweating do not adversely effect the tape, as it is porous.
The thin, comfortable tape is available in three different colors, too — skin tone, bright pink and bright blue.