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Depending on sports injury, you may need continued treatment until the problem totally resolves or ongoing if the problem becomes chronic. This sometimes involves physical therapy, chiropractic care or alternative treatments. There are various treatment regimens for chronic injuries. These include: Spinal manipulation: Adjusting or moving certain joints and muscles by a trained professional can help in pain reduction. Stabilisation exercises followed be Strengthening exercises: making the areas around an injury stronger can sometimes help ease stress off of the injury. Kinesio Taping: Providing support to the injured muscle to allow it to heal and reduce pressure whilst you get on with your life.
Those bright coloured tapes you saw our athletes wearing to support their muscle were probably Kinesio tape. But it isn’t anything new, it was invented by a Japanese chiropractor Dr Kenzo Kase in the 1970s. It comes in bright blue, pink, beige and black and you don’t have to be an athlete to use it. Injuries sustained by repetitive strains respond very well to Kinesio tape. It is also used to help aid healing in scar tissue and to reduce bruising and improve lymphatic drainage. Please call us to enquire about a consultation just for Kinesio tape. See below image of a shoulder taped up suitable for a sporting injury or just to improve poor posture.
If you have questions about how Greenacres Health can help with your sports injuries, we'd love to hear from you.
This tape is a type of thin, elastic cotton tape that can stretch up to 140% of its original length. Thus, if the tape is applied to a patient on a stretch greater than its normal length, it will “recoil”(spring back) after being applied and create a pulling force on the skin or muscle that it is being applied to. When treating weak muscles the tape is applied with the affected muscle in a stretched position, taping from the origin (closest to the body) of the muscle to the insertion point. Once applied, it is rubbed to activate the adhesive by heat. It is a latex free material with acrylic adhesive. The cotton fibres allow for evaporation and quicker drying leading to longer wear time, up to 4 days. It is shower proof but not bath proof. Dependent on how the tape is applied, the direction of pull, the shape, and the location, all play a role in its function. There are several theoretical benefits claimed for the tape. One of those is correcting the alignment of weak muscles as well as facilitating joint motion as a result of the tape’s recoiling qualities. Additionally, the tape is claimed to lift the skin, increasing the space below it, and increasing blood flow and circulation of lymphatic fluids (swelling) aiding drainage and reducing bruising more quickly.
This increase in the interstitial space is said to lead to less pressure on the body’s nociceptors, which detect pain, and to stimulate mechanoreceptors, to improve overall joint proprioception (the body’s awareness of function in space) and improve pain.
