The short answer is: If you have a young athlete focused on injury prevention, rehabilitation after an injury, or pain management, kinesio tape may be able to help. But it’s not a cure all – it needs to be used alongside other therapies.
To understand how kinesio tape can help athletes, let’s dive into the basics: what it is, how it works, benefits and downsides:
What is Kinesio Tape?
Kinesio tape, also called KT tape and kinesiology tape, is a stretchy, therapeutic fitness tape. It has been around since the 1970s and can stretch between 100-180% its length.
How does it work?
Different from athletic tape, kinesio tape is flexible and lightweight, moving with the body rather than restricting it. Designed to lift the skin, KT tape may increase blood flow and reduce muscle soreness and pain. At the same time, it supports muscles, tendons and ligaments when placed properly.
This is why it’s important to work with a physician, athletic trainer, or physical therapist. They will know how to use varying levels of tension and stretch along the tendons and joints to reach the desired results.
How can KT tape help my athlete?
There are four main ways we might use KT tape to help teens:
1. Support for weakened muscles and tendons
Kinesio tape may provide extra support for weakened muscles and tendons. For instance, many soccer players have a muscular imbalance in their legs, due to the strain of running and kicking. Their posterior chain, including hamstrings, are often weaker than the rest of their legs. Placing KT tape on their hamstrings could improve proprioception (unconscious awareness of one’s body position) and optimize muscle recruitment for better control during movement.
2. Rehabilitation after an injury
Swelling and bruising are common side effects after an injury. KT tape may be placed strategically to reduce swelling by lifting the skin, draining lymphatic fluid and improving blood flow.
3. Pain management
The lift and support of KT tape may provide some temporary pain relief for sore joints.
4. Bracing
KT tape can be useful for athletes who participate in sports where the environment or gear limits them from wearing a brace. This could include sports like swimming, diving, gymnastics, martial arts, field hockey, etc.
What are the potential side effects of using KT tape?
While KT tape is generally considered a safe therapy, it can potentially cause the following side effects:
- Redness, swelling, irritation, and change of skin color where it’s applied.
- Pressure and tightness of the skin.
- Difficulty removing from the skin.
- Damage or infection to skin if applied over a wound.
Are there any downsides to using KT tape?
Most of the benefits we have seen in patients have been anecdotal. There have not been scientific studies on the long-term effectiveness of kinesio tape. Further, we have not seen significant improvements in athletic performance, nor has it significantly sped up recovery time. It can also be expensive.
The Bottom Line:
Kinesio tape has a place in the athlete’s toolbox, but it should not be the only tool, especially when faced with an acute injury or chronic pain. A medical professional should guide the use of KT tape, along with a comprehensive treatment or recovery plan.
Ready to schedule an appointment?
The Sport Medicine Department at Cincinnati Children’s focuses on the root cause of acute injuries and chronic joint pains, and prescribes multifaceted pain management plans, rehabilitative measures, injury prevention tools, and return to sport plans.