Benefits of Therapeutic Taping
Have you been experiencing pain in certain joints or muscles? Pain can be due to a number of reasons including nerve or muscle pain. Whether you have pain from an overuse injury from repeatedly doing the same motions or have an acute injury causing pain, there can be simple techniques that can help alleviate symptoms.
One technique that a physical therapist or an occupational therapist here at ProTailored Physical Therapy can use as a way to help alleviate pain outside of treatment time is to use therapeutic taping. Therapeutic taping is a stretchy but firm tape that helps with stabilizing a joint, muscle compression, reducing swelling, and increasing blood flow to the area where tape is applied. If you have watched the Olympics in the past few years you may have seen the colorful tape that is applied around the knee, ankle, shoulder, or backs of the competing athletes. This is the same tape that therapists at ProTailored Physical Therapy can use as part of their treatment for aches and pains. The tape is used for support and stability and can be especially beneficial to help rest an existing injury and help prevent a re-injury to already weakened muscles and structures.
There are many brands out there that are on the market and the performance of the tapes are all pretty similar. Depending on the desired effects, companies have come out with slightly different tape to assist in the decrease of swelling, increasing blood flow to an area, and reinforcing weakened structures to allow for healing. Depending on the needs of each patient, the therapists at ProTailored can cater the kind of taping techniques needed to help alleviate pain or swelling. Taping can be used at the end of a session to assist in the effects achieved during a treatment session for however long the tape is applied. The good news is that the tape can stay on the skin for as long as the adhesive holds up. The tape can last from anywhere between two to five days. As long as the adhesive does not irritate the skin the tape can stay on until it naturally falls off. This is a great benefit because patients can also bath normally with the tape still applied to the skin. This helps to retain the benefits of the therapeutic treatment long after the last session with your therapist.
If you’re experiencing acute or chronic pain, ProTailored Physical Therapy can help! Call us at (260) 739-0300 to schedule your consultation and take the first step toward relief.