Product Review: Kinesiology Tape

Kinesiology Tape Worn by Brick CrossFit's Competition Team (2011 CrossFit Games)
(photo credit source: www.crossfitintrepid.com)

Kinesiology Tape is the often brightly-colored tape you see stretched on athlete's shoulders, knees, back, etc.  What follows is summary information about the product, its claims and uses, and how it may be something that could work for your needs.

So what is Kinesiology Tape?

"KT Tape [brand name] is a revolutionary sports medicine solution for treating and preventing common sports injuries such as ITBS, shin splints, plantar fasciitis, knee pain, and more.  Ultra-light, elastic, an strong, KT Tape is highly effective at providing pain relief, stability & support, and faster recovery for injured or sore muscles and joints- without sacrificing comfort or freedom of movement." -source: www.kttape.com



How is Kinesiology Tape used?

"KT Tape is applied along muscles, ligaments, and tendons (soft tissue) to provide a lightweight, strong, external support that helps to prevent injury and speed recovery.  KT Tape works differently for different injuries.  KT Tape can lift and support the knee cap, holding it in place for Runner's Knee.  KT Tape can support sagging muscle along the arch of the foot, relieving the connective tissues for Plantar Faciitis.  And KT Tape can lift the stress off of shin splints to allow plain release and give the body a better opportunity to recover.  Depending on how it is applied, KT Tappe supports, enables, or restricts soft tissue function and distributes loads away from inflamed or damaged muscles and tendons, thereby protecting tissues from further injury.

By applying KT Tape over affected tissue, athletes experience an external support which helps to prevent further injury and allows the body's damaged tissue to rest and heal naturally despite continued activity.  KT Tape also reduces inflammation and increases circulation which prevents muscle cramping and lactic buildup." -source: www.kttape.com

How can Kinesiology Tape help me?  Is it good for CrossFit?

I recently started using Kinesiology Tape after I began experiencing my first strain/injury with CrossFit.  After working on handstand walks, snatches, and pullups all month, I found my anterior deltoid (front shoulder cap) wasn't healing right and had a constant 'pinch' in the muscle.  After my first round of acupuncture - a whole other blog post I need to write - my acupuncturist wrapped both shoulders in Kinesiology Tape and sent me home for the night.  Man did that tape feel good on my shoulder.  It felt like my shoulder was supported in a sling but tightly bandaged for support.  I found it prevented me from over-using my shoulder and provided a mild to medium amount of comfort and physical pain relief.  I ended up leaving the tape on for almost 3 days and as soon as I took off the tape, my shoulder was aching within 10 minutes!

Now I realize the tape's effect may just be in my mind.  Maybe it just felt good to just think my shoulder was supported.  Maybe the pain after I took off the tape off came from increased blood flow to a previously-restricted region.  Who knows.  But after almost 10 applications, I love the tape and use it to both prevent/support injury and provide a minimal amount of pain relief post-workout or post-injuury.

Is it just a placebo effect?  Is this tape just a sham?

Okay, but does it really work or is this yet another product the CrossFit community has bandwagoned?  In an effort to provide fair, balanced information, the link below takes you to a CrossFit affiliate blog that outlines one author's opinion about Kinesiology Tape being just a sham (reported effects are merely placebo effects).  Link below:

http://www.crossfitintrepid.com/2011/10/24/placebo-and-celebrity-part-4/#comments

Final product review-

There are many types of Kinesiology Tape on the market (KT Tape, Rocktape, etc.), but I've only used one type found at my local CVS (drug store).  Do I think the claims made my Kinesiology Tape manufacturers are 100% legit?  Unsure.  There doesn't seem to be a lot of science to back their claims of increased recovery and support or reduced pain, but I say sometimes this doesn't matter.  With a relatively inexpensive price tag (under $10/roll, depending) and a variety of uses (shin splints, Runner's knee, shoulders, etc.), there doesn't seem to be much downside to giving a roll a try.  Another thought I had was this: even if it is a placebo effect when using Kinesiology Tape, who cares?  I had tons of pain with my recent shoulder flare-up and the tape greatly helped ease the pain and comforted me throughout the day and into the night's workout.  In conclusion: I recommend trying Kinesiology Tape to see if it works for your needs.

Update:  After drafting this post I'm now an exclusive user of Rocktape brand KT tape as I find it has an amazing adhesive that really sticks well to my skin (and survives 2-3 days' worth of showers and workouts).