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.
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!
KT Tape is definitely worth a try for hikers with joint pain!
Hi Rhonda! I’m not a medical doctor, but I can assure you that it is widely believed that KT tape can definitely help with rotator cuff issues. Here’s a good website showing how to apply it to your shoulder. Good luck and happy trails!
Can this tape help with rotator cuff issues?
You where suppose to use baby oil to remove the KT tape. This helps deactivate the KT tape. Also had you left it on for longer than 2 days, it would have fallen off on its own with in a week.
I will definitely let him know about those suggestions, thanks! As for the black tape lasting longer, really wish that I knew! My PT and I had several discussions about it, she had no idea why either, but had talkes to many patients as well as coworkers that had experienced the same thing. I sometimes find it on sale and get whatever colors I can get on sale, the black seems to seel out the fastest and I never find it on sale. I have always wondered if maybe the dark color heats up more and that helps to activate the adhesive better and keep it activated. I am sitting here in the middle of an Ohio winter and I can tell you that temperature is HUGE when it comes to KT Tape lasting. During the summer, tape lasts quite a long time, during the winter, same tape, same body part, same body and it lasts half (or less) as long! On my feet, which get cold VERY easily (when I am not careful I can sometimes flare my plantar fasciatis) even perfectly applied tape that was warmed up at application can peel right off my cold feet within a few steps the following morning. A few degrees of temperature difference could make a big difference in the adhesive. But, that is nothing more than my own hypothesis. Love the site, I am dreaming of when spring finally decides to show up in the midwest and I can put this info into practice! 🙂
Vic this is fabulous! Thank you so much for sharing. That is good to know that the black tape tends to last longer. If you figure out why, please let me know! I’m really curious about that. Also, for your son’s shin splints, I like Traumeel – it’s a homeopathic ointment that works wonders for me. I got shin splits from getting too ambitious doing some trail running and Traumeel really helped. It is sold at natural food type stores (Whole Foods, Sprouts, etc). Another one I like is Hyland’s Muscle Therapy Gel. Both really do a good job of fixing up my aches and pains. There’s more about them in this article: Post-Hike Recovery Tips. Happy trails, and thanks for the comments!
My son is a runner, he runs both cross country in the fall and track in the spring. Unfortunately, he also tends to suffer from shin splints (probably due to the fact that he does not continue his training in the off season, but that is a whole different issue). I have a bad shoulder that I am trying to postphone reconstructive surgery for as long as possible, as well as I tend to get tennis elbow if I am not careful. I can not recommend appropriately applied K-T tape high enough! The website has additional videos on how to apply K-T tape properly. I prepare the skin thoroughly by first washing with plain soap (nothing with lotion, fragrance, or moisturizer in it) and if there is much hair at all on the location go ahead and shave it-this helps to keep the tape adhered and it makes removal more comfortable. Just before application of the tape, I also rub the area with rubbing alcohol to remove any oil or old tape residue that might still be on the skin (my son wears tape from April through June and then August through October, only removing it to give his skin a short break and replace the tape). I don’t need it for quite so long, generally only a week or two will get me fixed right up. I have found that the black tape seems to last longer than any of the other colors, I am not sure why this is but my physical therapist also agrees with this. It does come in beige, and that can be a bit less obtrusive for fair complexions wearing the tape on elbows and such. You want to follow the directions on how to apply the tape, applying it properly is the KEY to it working like it is designed and supporting the underlying muscles and structures. There are basically 3 ways to apply it, and which one to use depends on the application reason: first is to apply the tape with no stretch, you simply remove the backing and apply the tape to the skin without stretching it at all; second is to applya moderate stretch to the tape asyou apply it, basically you stretch it halfway to its maximum stretch; third is to pull the maximum stretch. Another key is to make sure that you provide ends that the tape is not stretched at all, this allows the adhesive to stick firmly to the skin without any tension on it-if you fail to do this the tape will start rolling off the second you apply it and it will never adhere, you have to do this for both ends of the tape, I have to pay attention to remember to not stretch the second end of the tape-to help with this I leave the end with the paper backing on it when I remove the backing to apply it to the skin, just leave a few inches and tear the paper backing so that it stays on the tape, remove it only when you are ready to adhere the end to the skin after the middle part has been applied. yes, it does take some practice. Lastly, you will need to use some of the removed paper backing to rub the applied tape (put the way side toward the tape) to help warm the tape up and activate the adhesive, it also helps you to make sure that the tape is perfectly applied with absolutely NO wrinkles or folds. I find that the tape stays on anywhere from 2 to 5 days before it needs replaced when applied with these directions.