The Art of Kinesio Taping

 

 

   –by Anna Kleckerova

Anna Kleckerova is a very talented athlete–basketball player, volleyball player, soccer player, tennis player, ping pong player, softball player, ice skater, snowboarder, skier, swimmer, runner, etc. But being skilled still makes you vulnerable to accidents. This is especially true in Anna’s case. Lucky for her, Kinesio Taping is a thing! In a few short minutes, she can apply the tapes to give her weak knees support that last her through a whole game.–Senior Blog Editor Treyvn Lucatero

What is kinesio taping? Why is it useful, and how can it help people? Kinesio taping is an athletic method for fixing, improving, and supporting acute or chronic injuries. Elastic tapes of all colors are used for this method. Kinesio tapes help to relieve pain in muscles and bones. It also improves blood flow and the lymphatic circulation. This technique was first discovered in South Korea and Japan. There are various methods of use. For example, many athletes use kinesio taping on their knees.

Knee taping is used to support the knee and reduce stress on it during activity. It can be used for both the treatment and prevention of knee injuries. There are several different methods on how to apply the tape.

A) Full knee support
First, the knee has to be in a position of 90 degrees. Then, we take a half size of the regular length tape and put it down under the kneecap. Next, we take a whole tape and put it right on the quadricep muscle and go all the way down around the kneecap above the first tape. We will then do the same thing on the opposite side of our knee. But we also must not forget to rub our tapes to create a little heat which allows the tape to better adhere to our skin.

B) General knee pain
For this, we have to make a hole in the middle of the tape. It separates it to two parts, but the edges stay together. The tape is placed right above your knee. We take one part of the tape and set it to the outside of our knee and the other one to the inside of the knee. This technique is used when we are not certain where the pain is located.

C) Patella
Taping of a kneecap can be done in different ways. It depends what causes the pain. If your kneecap moves and hits the cartilage, it starts destroying it. It begins with weakening and pain in your knee. Eventually, your knees begin to give way and buckle. In this point, the only thing you can do by yourself is to ice and tape it. The first way to help this buckling is to place a half a regular-sized tape under your knee cap and lift the edges up so your knees look like two smiling faces, thus holding the patella up. This type of pain can be also caused by not enough strength in your quadricep muscle. In this case, you have to take a long piece of tape and place it with the contour of the muscle, around the knee, down. The tape has to be separated to two parts at the end. Otherwise you won’t be able to put it around the knee.

I have never believed that something this non-invasive can help people. I had to try it to discover the magic in it. I have huge problems with my knees, and kinesio taping makes my athletic life easier.

Junior Shasta Stone, Varsity Volleyball player, is a consumer of kinesio-tape products, and she has nothing but good words for their great effects on her athletic life: “KT tape . . . relieved pain in my knees after my surgery. It is easy to use and very effective.”