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Taping
Kinesiology Tape / Sports Tape
Sports Tape

Although perhaps not as popular as Kinesiology Tape, the rigid properties of sports tape provides a multitude of uses. These include:

  • Mechanical support - for example offloading hypersensitive areas of tissue / fascia to help with the healing process.
  • Instability - To allow improved joint control
  • Proprioception - Injury to a joint is said to affect the body's ability to identify where it is in space. By having tape around the ankle it is suggested that this feedback mechanism is improved and will help with overall joint control.
Tape is seldom used independently and is commonly used as an adjunct to other treatments (i.e sports massage, physiotherapy, gentle exercise and movement etc). Due to the tape's properties it provides the stability within the early stages of rehabilitation to help facilitate you back to your activities sooner.

A recent study by Halim-Kertanegara et al (2017) highlighted that those participants who reported chronic ankle instability and had their ankle taped versus a placebo reported increased self-efficacy and confidence with no adverse affects to performance.

Kinesiology Tape

This form of taping was devised in the 1970's by Dr. Kenzo Kase who felt that, whilst the traditional zinc oxide tape provided stability to the muscles and joints, range of motion was limited and eventually created the Kinesio Taping technique. This tape is reported to be able to stretch 120%-180% of its original size and is said to provide the support of the sports tape but allowing the flexibility for joint range of movement.

Kase et al (1996, 2003) and Murray and Husk (2001) claimed that K-Tape had five main benefits:

  • Normalisation of muscular function
  • Increased vascular and lymphatic flow
  • Reduction of pain
  • Relief of muscle tension to correct joint misalignment
  • Increased proprioception
It also claimed that Kinesiology Tape can also facilitate muscle activation and muscle inhibition.

The evidence of the use of K-Tape within the literature remains mixed, with studies typically enrolling low numbers of participants and a high risk of bias. A recent study by de Freitas et al (2018) highlighted that the application of K-Tape to the quadriceps muscle did not increase the maximum voluntary contraction during knee extension. 

A study by Craighead et al (2017) highlights that K-Tape demonstrated a modest increase in skin blood flow.

Another study by Lee and Lee (2017) highlighted that the application of K-Tape on people with chronic ankle instability resulted in immediate improvements in postural stability without a reduction in range of motion.

Further high quality evidence is clearly needed to identify whether there is a benefit to kinesiology tape. However, at my clinic I will use kinesiology tape as an adjunct to other therapies I provide. 

However, Brukner et al (2017), a leading expert in clinical sports medicine, emphasises the importance of wearing a prophylactic support such as tape or a brace to help support the injured tissues / joint when undertaking a gradual return to sport programme.
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