Is Kinesio Taping Right For Me?
Have you suffered from an injury or condition that is affecting your everyday life? Pain can sometimes be so debilitating that it makes daily tasks much more difficult than they used to be. Fortunately, the treatments provided within Cornerstone Physical Therapy have been proven to help alleviate pain, promote healing, increase strength and range of motion, and most importantly, get our patients back to comfortably living their normal lives.
Our physical therapists will implement a variety of exercises and modalities into their treatment plans, based on your specific needs. Kinesio taping is among these modalities, used to improve your mobility and provide support to your muscles, joints, and tendons. Our physical therapist will perform Kinesio taping by placing the strips of tape on the affected area of your body, as well as any other places where you may be experiencing pain or stiffness.
What does Kinesio taping do?
At your initial appointment, your physical therapist will perform a thorough evaluation, which will determine if Kinesio taping will be an effective option for your treatment plan. If so, your physical therapist will explain how it will benefit your journey toward recovery and the step-by-step process that you will go through to get there.
Kinesio taping works by doing a few important things for your body. It helps in resetting the circuitry in the affected part of your body by correcting any faulty interactions between the skin and the muscles, joints, and tendons underneath. This results in improved muscle strength and activity.
Kinesio taping also works by blocking any pain receptors being sent to your brain. If those painful messages aren’t being received, the muscles in the affected area will loosen up and the likelihood for spasms will significantly decrease. Pain constricts an affected area, but if the pain is taken away, there suddenly becomes more freedom for blood flow and movement.
How will I benefit from Kinesio taping?
There are many reasons why Kinesio taping may be used, but it is successful in providing some of the same results across the board. These include, but are not limited to:
- Managing scar tissue. This is an especially common treatment after an injury, surgery, or another type of trauma has occurred. Healing from trauma can cause a thick band of scar tissue to form over the affected area, which can inhibit signals of movement. Kinesio taping can provide a much-needed stretch to the scar tissue, making the signals of movement easier to communicate, and thus increasing your mobility.
- Decreasing swelling. Injury, surgery, or even simple overuse of a certain part of your body can also result in swelling. Kinesio taping helps to decrease swelling by limiting the pressure between the skin and the tissues underneath. This allows any buildup of fluid to travel freely and promotes easier movement of the affected area.
- Stabilizing joints. Some conditions may make it difficult for joints to stay in place. Kinesio taping can help stabilize and provide support for these joints, while still allowing them to move around their intended range of motion.
- Relieving pain. One of the biggest benefits of Kinesio taping is pain relief. By blocking pain receptors, your brain doesn’t receive the painful messages from the affected area any longer, and the muscles relax as a result. This allows for more mobility, quicker healing, and a more comfortable treatment process overall.
Kinesio taping has helped many of our patients get back to comfortably living their daily lives, without any lingering pain or stiffness. At (our practice), our therapists will provide the very best Kinesio treatments to assist you in reaching that same goal. We are dedicated to helping you reach your peak physical performance, and we would love to meet with you and create a plan to make that happen. Schedule a consultation with one of our physical therapists today, and get started on your path toward recovery!