Kinesiology tape, it’s sort of becoming a trendy thing.  If you haven’t heard about it, you’ve probably seen it, especially on athletes walking around campus, at the gym…It’s a colorful, tape that is often on the limbs and around the joints.  The patterns they create with the tape seems like nothing more than a bored physical therapist trying out some new duct tape designs- body art for the injured athlete! Kinesiology tape has a lot of stretch which is different from most tapes.  This is especially helpful when the joint doesn’t need to be completely immobilized.  The oddity of taping isn’t because someone is bored, there really is a rhyme and reason to it all.  The tape is meant to go around the borders of the injured area to add support without hampering motion. Here are some other advantages to Kinesiology tape:

• Minimizes compensation on nearby joints and muscles
• Improves muscle contractions which speeds up recovery
• Corrects the posture of the muscle
• Allows muscles to relax
• Encourages circulation

While it seems that anyone could use Kinesiology tape, there really is an art and technique to its application and should be done by someone knowledgeable and experienced.  It is not for every injury so it’s always best to make the therapeutic decisions with your doctor, physical therapist or rehabilitation specialist.   (image:kinesiology tapeinfo.com)