KT Tape - comes in a lot of cool colors; they all work the same!
Recently I had the chance to test out a product used by Olympians… KT Tape, officially known as Kinesiology Therapeutic Tape! KT Tape is elastic athletic tape that professional athletes and Olympians use to help solve joint pain and muscle pain issues.
Despite all my stretching, hiking training, pilates, and yoga, I still end up with some pain after hiking or other activities. Sometimes I even get “tennis elbow” joint pain after using my mouse on my computer too long!
So what is a hiker or athlete to do? I gave KT tape a try and followed the easy to follow photo instruction booklet included with the roll of tape… the KT athletic tape is perforated into strips. Each strip can be split into a “Y” shape or kept whole. For tennis elbow, the instructions said to anchor 2 Y strips at various parts of the arm (shown in the instruction diagram), so I did this and kept it on for 2 days.
KT Tape - demonstrating 2 Y strips for tennis elbow pain relief
What Was It Like to Wear KT Tape?
I sure felt like a hardcore athlete wearing it around! KT tape comes in a variety of colors, and as seen in the photo above mine was a striking blue color. The tape felt like a giant bandaid combined with compression socks on my arm. It provided subtle pressure throughout the day, and my tennis elbow condition felt noticeably better at the end of the day. After the 2nd day of wear (yes it is waterproof), the joint pain in my elbow improved almost completely. Pretty amazing for a couple of pieces of tape to be able to do that!
Pros and Cons
- Pros: KT Tape is easy to use and wear, is much cheaper than physical therapy
- Cons: Taking it off was a bit painful. It definitely felt like a giant bandaid!
Definitely worth a try for hikers with joint pain!
