Have you suffered from an injury or condition that is affecting your everyday life? Pain can sometimes be so debilitating that it makes daily tasks much more difficult than they used to be. That is why we, ProTailored Physical Therapy, offers treatments like Kinesio Taping to help alleviate pain, promote healing, increase strength and range of motion, and most importantly, get you back to comfortably living your normal life.
What are the benefits of Kinesio taping?
There are many reasons why Kinesio taping may be useful to you in your healing journey. These include, but are not limited to:
Decreasing swelling
Injury, surgery, or even simple overuse of a certain part of your body can also result in swelling. Kinesio taping helps to decrease swelling by limiting the pressure between the skin and the tissues underneath. This allows any buildup of fluid to travel freely and promotes easier movement of the affected area.
Relieving pain
One of the biggest benefits of Kinesio taping is pain relief. By blocking pain receptors, your brain doesn’t receive the painful messages from the affected area any longer, and the muscles relax as a result. This allows for more mobility, quicker healing, and a more comfortable treatment process overall.
Stabilizing joints
Some conditions may make it difficult for joints to stay in place. Kinesio taping can help stabilize and provide support for these joints, while still allowing them to move around their intended range of motion.
Managing scar tissue
This is an especially common treatment after an injury, surgery, or another type of trauma has occurred. Healing from a trauma can cause a thick band of scar tissue to form over the affected area, which can inhibit signals of movement. Kinesio taping can provide a much-needed stretch to the scar tissue, making the signals of movement easier to communicate, and thus increasing your mobility.
How exactly does Kinesio Tape work?
Kinesio taping works by doing a few important things for your body. It helps in resetting the circuitry in the affected part of your body by correcting any faulty interactions between the skin and muscles, joints, and tendons underneath. This results in improved muscle strength and activity.
Kinesio taping also works by blocking any pain receptors being sent to your brain. If those painful messages aren’t being received, the muscles in the affected area will loosen up and the likelihood for spasms will significantly decrease. Pain constricts an affected area, but if the pain is taken away, there suddenly becomes more freedom for blood flow and movement.
What will I get out of Kinesio taping?
Our Fort Wayne, IN physical therapists will implement a variety of exercises and modalities into their treatment plans, based on your specific needs. Kinesio taping is among these modalities, used to improve your mobility and provide support to your muscles, joints, and tendons.
Our physical therapist will perform Kinesio taping by placing the strips of tape on the affected area of your body, as well as any other places that you may be experiencing pain or stiffness. If you think you could benefit from Kinesio taping, request an appointment at ProTailored Physical Therapy today!
Common Questions Regarding Kinesiotape
What is K-Tape used for?
It can be used for knee pain, shoulder pain, hip pain, foot/ankle pain, elbow pain, hand pain, wrist pain and back pain.
How long will the K-Tape stick to my skin?
K-Tape will typically stay in place for 3-4 days depending on application. To prolong the duration that the tape is on the skin, apply the tape to freshly cleaned skin (remove any oils or debris with an alcohol swab) and avoid water/showers for 1 hr.
Does the K-Tape hurt to remove?
No, K-Tape should not cause pain during removal. While known for its ability to remain on the skin for long durations of time – the tape does not pull excessively during removal.
Will K-Tape stick if applied over a hairy area?
If you believe you would benefit from K-Tape over an area that is hairy (such as the back or chest) we advise you to shave the area to best allow the tape to adhere to the tissue. Application over a hairy area will decrease the K-Tapes effectiveness and longevity.
Will my K-Tape come off in the shower or pool?
K-Tape will not come off in the shower unless it is scrubbed or peeled off. Be sure, though, to wait 1 hour after application before submerging the tape in water. This one-hour period of time allows the tape to effectively stick to the skin.
Do different colors of tape have different levels of stretch?
No, all K-Tape will provide the same level of stretch. However, various brands may produce slight variations of stretch intensity.
Find relief with Kinesio Taping!
Kinesio taping has helped many of our patients get back to comfortably living their daily lives, without any lingering pain or stiffness. At ProTailored Physical Therapy, our therapists will provide the very best Kinesio treatments to assist you in reaching that same outcome.
At your initial appointment, our Fort Wayne, IN physical therapist will perform a thorough evaluation, which will determine if Kinesio taping will be an effective option for your treatment plan. If so, our physical therapist will explain how it will benefit your journey toward recovery and the step-by-step process that you will go through to get there.
We are dedicated to helping you reach your peak physical performance, and we would love to meet with you and create a plan to make that happen. Request an appointment with one of our Fort Wayne, IN physical therapists today, and get started on your path toward recovery!
Visit our four clinic locations in North Fort Wayne, Northwest Fort Wayne, Southwest Fort Wayne, and Central Fort Wayne today!