Kinesio Taping
Kinesio taping physiotherapy technique is a form of therapeutic and rehabilitative taping used for treatment of muscular disorders, as well as the management of lymphoedema and chronic swelling. Kinesio taping assist in increasing the fluid flow through an injured area, better control over muscle contractions, reduce pain, and ultimately encourage faster healing.
The benefits of kinesio taping:
• stimulates muscles to work harder, compared to rigid tape which holds joints in place
• decreases swelling in swollen joints
• decrease pain in strained or overused muscles
• help to correct joint biomechanics
How does it work?
This tape allows the wearer to move through their full range of movement and can either strongly assist, resist, facilitate, inhibit or offload tissue through its movement. Kinesio tape can act in such a way to mimic the action of an injured muscle or tendon, resulting in decreased workload and improved biomechanical efficiency of the muscle and tendon unit, as well as improving the units tolerance to fatigue. Reducing this workload and increasing fatigue resistance can result in less pain, better healing, improved endurance and overall performance.
A physiotherapist will use different taping techniques and strategies as well as different tapes to achieve the desired result. The exact application of any tape or taping technique will vary depending on the clinical reasoning process, which is why appropriate assessment is necessary prior to any taping procedure.