By Marco Maruggi – Chiropractor
So is Kinesio Tape ‘functional’ or just a ‘fashion trend’.
Firstly what is kinesio tape and where did it come from. Japanese chiropractor Dr Kenzo Kase designed the taping method in 1979. He thought the standard taping methods of the time were too restrictive and may even extend injuries, because they inhibited the flow of inflammatory fluids beneath the skin. A flexible tape that could be applied to injured muscles, he believed, would stimulate circulation through its tug on skin and start clearing out the damage.
Even though it was invented all the way back in 1979 it has only recently become more popular since it appeared on athletes during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The bright colored plaster strips caught everyone’s attention and sparked lots of questions and interest, subsequently becoming one of the fastest growing treatments for sport injuries in the world.
But why did it become so popular? The tape was designed to support injured muscles, increase range of motion, decrease muscle pain, increase blood flow and increase lymphatic drainage. Kinesio taping has also been shown to facilitate muscle effort on the muscles to which the tape is applied and therefore enhance overall performance. All doing this, while also being latex and allergy free, which means the tape mimics the texture and elasticity of living human skin.
With effects like this no wonder why everyone wants to be apart of the action.
Now… the fashion aspect, why all the different colours? Are they different effect or strengths? Well originally there were only four colours of tape, pink, blue, black and beige (skin colour). They were based on colour therapy where pink tape would be used on an injury where heat was needed such as a tight painful muscle, blue tape used for injuries where ice was needed (such as a recent sprained and swollen ligament), the black and beige were neutral and used for anything. These days however the colours are purely ‘fashionable’, all depending what colour outfit you wearing or what sporting teams you support and play for or even just your favorite colour. Therefore during sporting events such as the Olympics the athletes are able to wear the cool bright coloured tape that matches their countries colours.
Talking about Olympics, I hope everyone will be watching the 2016 Rio Olympics, which is on at the moment. The only problem is who will be watching live, or staying up to watch all the main events in the early hours of the morning. It should be a good one or do you think it will be a bit watered down after all the drama with the Russian athletes – for instance the Zika virus in Brazil, all the riots which have taken place and prevented a few top athletes from going to the Olympics or staying in the Olympic village.
Lastly just because I’m pretty excited and we on the topic of this month’s top sport – I want to touch on the brand new season on the English Premier League. What a cracking season it’s going to be. In its 24 year history, the premier league has never been so crammed full of world class managers, from establishing managerial legends such as Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, Jose Mourinho at Manchester United, Antonio Conte at Chelsea and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal to some of the most exciting young coaches in the game such as Maurico Pochettino at Tottenham. All we are wondering is whether Leicester City will perform as they did last season or will the Italian flare on Conte bring Chelsea top again?
With all this exciting sport leading us through the last bit of winter, we will be jammed packed with things to watch, support and talk about, and at least we will have a better understanding of the brightly coloured Kinesio Tape.
