For life’s bumps, bruises and injuries

Last fall, I was running around trying to get the house ready for a short trip. I was attempting to quickly follow my stepdaughter out the car, so I could instruct her on how to load things appropriately. I say attempting because on the way out the door, I missed the step and landed sideways on my ankle. It snapped…I heard the snap. I instantly because nauseated and thought, “Holy cow; this is a bad deal.” One extra benefit of being a chiropractor is that I had some kinesio tape at home. I immediately taped my ankle and low and behold, I didn’t even have a bruise. I was immediately able to walk and within a week, I could run again. It was amazing. As a general rule, I do want to clarify that if you hear that kind of pop coming from your ankle, it is best to see your favorite chiropractor, primary care physician, physical therapist or orthopedist just to make sure you are fine. Afterward, check out this cool stuff called K-tape.

The popularity of kinseio tape began to soar in the summer Olympics. Athletes were covered in the tape with designs that looked like spider webs and in colors that are far cooler than what I carry. So, what is the big fuss on this stuff? Why do people like it so much?

There are many reasons that K-tape is wonderful for improving health. The most important to me is that it is not restrictive. Athletic tape of the traditional variety is very restricting. It does the work of the muscle. Picture NFL players taped on the outside of their shoes all through the ankle. The tape is the stability in this situation. The reason we care is our bodies will weaken with prolonged use of restrictive tape. From the perspective of your body, it won’t build a muscle if you don’t use it, and the tape is doing the work of the muscle. Therefore weakening occurs. K-tape is different. It facilitates proper muscle function, so it doesn’t create any weakening of the muscle with use, and it doesn’t create dependency. In fact in the clinical setting of our office, people typically need tape a few times and then they are done.

Physiologically, the tape gently lifts the skin. The lift provides for more appropriate blood flow and helps to reduce inflammation. Once inflammation is reduced, muscle spasms also reduce, which in turn increases the effectiveness of the adjustment. In other words, it helps you feel less pain, stronger and better sooner. A huge win, right?

Can you buy it ‘anywhere’? Probably…you can buy anything on the Internet these days. If you have a concern that is significant, I certainly recommend you couple the K-tape with some great care from your favorite provider. On the other hand, for those small bumps and, yes, even bruises you can manage pretty well on your own. In our house, it’s taken the place of Windex (you remember from My Big Fat Greek Wedding and they guy used Windex to fix everything on your body). We instead use K-tape.

Remember, if you decide to go the K-tape route that it can only go on unbroken skin, so any cuts, pimples, rashes, etc. shouldn’t ever be covered with the tape. It also stays wet after you shower, so you have to let it drip dry. Using a hair dryer on it could burn your skin. Also if you take it off and your skin is red, you must wait for the redness to go away before re-applying. Aside from those cautions, happy taping!