2012: KT Tape REVIEW

KT Tape For 5k Runners and Duathlon?

Kinesiology Tape, Zince Tape, Sellotape! Lots of tapes. This one looks at Kinesiology Tape.

Kinesology is the study of human movement. The tape for this is often used by physiotherapists for rehabilitation of sports injuries – strains, tears and so on. It can be used to provide support to an injured area to reduce further strain and aid recovery.

When you see sports stars with funny coloured strips on ALL parts of their bodies then this is most probably Kinesiology tape.

So, because the stars use it you can say it does probably work. Because my physio uses it I would say it works too! Although the Wikipedia link from the very first part of this review says otherwise!

I have/had a soleus/calf injury. Probably a minor tear. But the pain was too great for me to run AT ALL. When the pain receded and I ran again BANG came back the injury.

An intense sports massage later with some KT Tape and a night’s rest and I was back running lightly the next day.

The tape DEFINITELY gave me a greater feeling of confidence and protection. You can feel the support. Or you could argue that it was the massage that did the job.

I was so impressed I bought some! Applying it yourself is NOT straightforward for many parts of the body. You can almost always do it on your own but some parts of the body and/or with one hand will make application difficult. So you might need some help. Application is made more difficult because at one end of the tape it is applied with no stretching, in the middle there is stretching and at the other end it is not stretched so ensuring a pull from the middle section.

As well as relying on stretching the tape, a good deal of precision is required when placing the tape in quite specific positions. Sports Professionals know this and apparently there are even qualification in ‘taping up’, there you go. However you and I might no know the correct place for application. Luckily many of the manufacturers have web based videos showing how to do and and where to do it but even then it is not as straightforward as you might imagine.

Definitely an advanced DIY job.

So whilst this is all well and good I have to say that the KT brand of tape that I tested myself does not stick very well. It lasts for 2-3 days which I suppose is fine but the one from my physio still sticks strong after 10 days – although after that duration it stretchy properties may well have been significantly reduced.

Sorted!