Kinesiology taping is that bright tape you see on the olympic beach volleyball players or on all the athletes in a CrossFit competition. It is becoming an increasingly popular tool in the sports world, but it can be beneficial in everyone, not just pro athletes. Kinesiology tape is a stretchy tape that does not limit motion the way white athletic tape does. There are many different thoughts on why kinesiology tape is effective. It is one of those things you have to try to really understand, but here are a few of the mechanisms that are believed to be why it is so effective:

• The elasticity of the tape lifts the skin: Because of the stretch that can be placed on the tape, it creates a slight lifting of the skin, which improves the movement of lymphatic fluid (swelling) to be drained out of irritated tissues. This helps with post-injury bruising and edema.
• Skin sensory receptors: There are almost an infinite number of sensory receptors in the skin. When we place the elastic tape on the skin, the skin sensory receptors send signals to the brain and spinal cord that then reflexively cause the muscles underneath to relax.
• Flexible support: Placing kinesiology tape on top of an over-stressed area, an achilles tendon for example, can help to disperse the tensile forces over a wider area in order to decrease the amount of tension on the stressed area, thus increasing flexibility.

Here at Pro Spine and Sport, we proudly use RockTape!