Barbara WintroubDid you watch the Olympics recently? No matter what sport you’ve seen, whether it’s diving, running, tennis or volleyball, you must have noticed black, blue or flesh colored tape adorning the bodies of many athletes. According to Wikipedia, the tape was first patented in 1965. For many years orthopedists, chiropractors, acupuncturists and other medical practitioners in Japan were the main users — until 2008, when the tape company sent 50,000 rolls to the Beijing Olympics, and the rest is history. The tape is used to relax overused muscles, in rehab to facilitate underused muscles and the elastic properties are utilized in a mechanical fashion to limit or encourage specific motion at the joint. There is much new scientific research out there showing significant benefits.
I have seen and felt, first hand, the effects of kinesiology tape on myself and a room filled with students. During the three levels of certification I took over the years, I saw swelling reduced, sore throats and headaches disappear, muscles activated and a student pass out from a neurological taping. I have worn tape for tennis elbow, sore neck and shoulder, pulled calf muscles, tight IT Band, sore throat and several other aches and pains. The tape has worked for me and other athletes I know. Anything you can do for yourself that is topical — not ingested or surgical — is worth a try. Find a sports store in your area to purchase your tape and a physical therapist to apply it. Or Google Kinesiology Tape and watch a medical professional tape your kind of injury, then try it yourself. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Don’t replace stretching or icing with tape. You still need an all-around program to get or keep yourself healthy. All the Olympic athletes are consistently in treatment to take care of their issues. Pickleball tournament season is coming quickly and you want to be ready and 100% healthy.