Kinesio Taping in Christiansted
Athletes, both professional and recreational, have used many methods to treat sore or injured muscles, from pain pills and topical creams to massage therapy and acupuncture. Treatments have improved over time as scientists have learned more about how muscles work. While traditional treatments restricted movement to injured muscles, today we know that keeping muscles moving and improving circulation reduce pain and speed healing. That's the science that inspired the father of kinesiology taping, Japanese chiropractor Dr. Kenzo Kase, to develop a muscle treatment in 1979 that he named the Kinesio Taping Method. This taping method gently lifts the layer of skin and attached tissue covering a muscle so that blood and other body fluids can move more freely in and around that muscle.
Kinesiology tape is applied on top of an injured or strained area to stabilize it, but care is always taken to ensure that a muscle or tendon is never encircled with a ring of tape. As you move, the tape, skin and connective tissue (or fascia) over the muscle or tendon also move, pulling slightly away from the muscle and creating space for lymphatic fluid to flow around and cleanse the inflamed tissue.
- Supporting the muscle-- Proper taping improves the muscle's ability to contract even when it's weakened, reduces a feeling of pain and fatigue, and protects the muscle from cramping, over-extension and over-contraction.
- Removing congestion to the flow of body fluids-- Kinesiology tape improves blood and lymphatic circulation and reduces inflammation and excess chemical buildup in the tissue.
- Activating the endogenous analgesic system-- "Endogenous" refers to something that is self-originating, and calling something "analgesic" means that it can relieve pain in a conscious person. So, this requirement means that the tape must facilitate the body's own healing mechanisms, a central focus in chiropractic medicine.
- Correcting joint problems-- The goal is improving range of motion and adjusting misalignments that result from tightened muscles.
To ensure a full range of motion for the wearer, Kinesio Tape is very thin and made with a porous cotton fabric. The fabric lets the skin breathe and has an elasticity comparable to that of the skin and muscles. The sticky side of the tape uses a water-repellant, medical-grade acrylic adhesive that further supports the muscles and connective tissues. In addition, the tape can stay put for three to four days even through sweating and showering, and Kinesio makes a waterproof tape for use on hands and feet.
Reference
- http://www.allegromedical.com/pain-management-c6489/kinesio-tape-p190836.html.
