Kinesiology taping produces a variety of positive outcomes including; reducing tension and spasm, reducing pain and promoting a healing environment.
Qualifications
Stuart qualified from one of these training programmes in May 2015 and regularly uses Rocktape during his treatments or as a standalone treatment. Some conditions which may benefit from using Rocktape include: Pain relief for shoulder and low back pain, plantar fasciitis, knee and ankle strains, swelling around joints, tennis elbow and many others.
How does Kinesiology tape work?
(This is an excellent article on kinesiology taping written by http://rocktape.net/ and I can take no credit for most of its content.)
It remains a difficult question to answer in a scientific and rigorous manner, as the exact mechanisms underpinning the profound clinical effects remain uncertain. With brevity we can report that tape produces a variety of positive outcomes, including; normalising muscle tone (reducing tension and spasm), reducing pain and promoting a healing environment, supporting damaged tissue and improving blood flow and lymphatic drainage.
Symptom reduction taping
Symptom reduction taping is often the first taping application following an injury. The chief aim of these techniques is to reduce pain and, as a consequence, improve movement and function. Proprioception (the awareness of your body in its environment) should also be improved.
Oedema control taping
Oedema control techniques can be used following acute swelling, or for more chronic swollen areas. Preliminary research has reported kinesiology tape to be a favourable alternative to regular compression strapping.
Posture control taping
Posture control taping is used to enhance the effectiveness of our postural correction treatment, providing a lasting cutaneous sensory cue to corrective movement patterns ie. If we are trying to address sitting posture, taping can serve as a reminder when you are slouching and cue you to sit up straight. This can aid in monitoring your own posture when working or assist when performing repetitive tasks which require similar and prolonged use of the same muscle groups.
Powertaping™
‘Taping movement, not muscles’
Powertaping™, unique to Rocktape, is an exciting taping application with potential performance enhancing benefits. The tape is applied along the fascial lines (anatomy trains) or functional lines of the body to improve proprioceptive feedback and either control or prevent injuries. The application techniques can be a little challenging, but the outcomes are a unique look and a profound feel for the athlete. Research continues into the effects of Powertaping™ applications, but the initial evidence suggests significant benefits.
Why we use ROCKTAPE?
You could use any brand of Kinesiology tape. There are essentially two types of tape: cheap tape and good tape. Cheap tape on often peels and frays much faster than high quality.
Rocktape can stretch up to 180% of its original length, which is considerably more than many other brands. This feature, combined with the highest quality hypoallergenic adhesive, simply means that Rocktape remains in place for longer than other brands. This is one of the key reasons we choose to use Rocktape. Rocktape was born out of a desire to improve an existing product and runs many education programmes to improve techniques and uses for taping.