Products: Rock Tape and Kinesio Tape

Kinesio Tape

Active people, in addition to those recovering from injury, need a safe way to keep moving so that the strength of the body may be maintained and allow the body to heal itself. For these reasons, products like Rock Tape and Kinesio Tape may be just what the chiropractic doctor ordered. Kinesio Taping as a practice has been around for more than a quarter of a century. It is designed to help the body to heal itself, while providing stability and support for continued movement and exercise. Kinesio Tape also assists the patient in maintaining range of motion.

Kinesio Tape vs Old Taping Methods

Dr. Kenzo Kase, a licensed chiropractor and acupuncturist, developed the tape to have a “texture and elasticity very close to living human skin”. Past methods of taping sports injuries with rigid tape have limitations. This makes these older methods less effective and desirable with the presently available alternatives. Dr. Kase came up with the idea of the Kinesio Taping Method by realizing that the source of the complaint in arthritic patients (with joint distortion) was not due to the joint or bone, but with the muscle. In stabilizing the joint, he saw an effectiveness in taping “around the muscle to achieve joint correction”. Traditional rigid tapes immobilized the joint. Dr. Kase’s tape is more elastic, and it stays on the skin. It is breathable and “lifts the skin microscopically”. The Kinesio Tape is designed to reduce pain, prevent injury, optimize performance, and promote healing and circulation.¹

When to Use and Not Use Kinesio Tape?

Practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine who regularly utilize Kinesio Tape can be certified. And there is now even a Kinesio Taping Association International.² There are some conditions where tape should not be employed for treating a patient. So those who wish to seek tape as a part of treatment should keep these exceptions in mind. Those who have kidney problems, renal insufficiencies, active cancer, infection, deep vein thrombosis, and congestive heart failure should seriously consult an expert before being taped. Other than in these types of conditions, patients should not have any complications when trying tape. Patients from a wide variety of backgrounds and conditions could benefit from taping, from athletes to those in a spa environment, lymph drainage, pregnancy, pediatric, neuropathy, or even animal physical therapy.³

Rock Tape

Rock Tape is a special version of kinesiology tape that is used to help improve athletic performance and treat injuries. It has now been highly recommended for a variety of conditions. These include ACL and rotator cuff issues, pulls in the groin/hamstring, shin splints, lower back pain, tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis, tendonitis, and even pregnancy.

For athletes, Rock Tape is designed to help them maintain proper form and improve blood flow, thereby decreasing fatigue. There is a “bias into the weave of the fabric so it stretches in one direction”. This helps Rock Tape to lift the skin away from the soft tissue. This lifting assists healing and recovery by allowing the circulation of blood to increase into the injured area. Rock Tape is cotton and nylon, with an acrylic adhesive, and it is not made with any latex. This is good news for those active patients who also have the very common allergy to latex.⁴

Taping Certification and Courses

Rock Tape practitioners can become certified with a Fascial Movement Taping (FMT) Certification. There are two levels of certification. Certified professionals learn about the “concept of muscles acting as a chain”, and the “body’s integrations of movement via multi-muscle contractions” to connect to the brain and body together. Complementary and Alternative Medicine is based on the idea of mind/body healing, where both aspects of the patient may be influenced in order to affect and treat the other. When one half of the balance is upset, the other is often also affected, which is why treatment that focuses on both halves is more effective. When the brain is connected to the “uninterrupted fascial web”, rehabilitation and performance can be enhanced via skin stimulation.⁵

There are even courses for those who are Crossfit athletes: Power Taping for Crossfit (PTC). Crossfit is a very difficult and taxing style of working out that often leads to injury. So it is important for athletes who practice this type of exercise to know how to increase their chances of injury prevention and faster, more effective recovery.⁶

Use on Animals

Rock Tape also works on animals, and it is not uncommon to see horses used in sporting events themselves sporting the colorful tape. It is a treatment method that works on horses, dogs, and cats. One case reports that a dog who could not properly feel his own hind legs due to degenerative myelopathy was given a new awareness of his legs when the tape was applied. Despite the animals’ fur, Rock Tape has a product that is specifically designed to stay on the tricky surface, with at least one reported case of a dog wearing the tape for three days straight.⁷ Rock Tape’s methodology meshes well with the chiropractic philosophies of the body and mind working holistically, ergonomic support, and the body’s innate ability to heal itself.