What is K-Tape/Kenesio Tape and How Do Chiropractors use it?

The use of Kinesio® Tape or as some say “K-tape”, has become an adjunct to other forms of treatment. It helps reduce inflammation, increase circulation, reduce pain, improve mobility, enhance recovery, and prevent future injuries. It can be used to support chiropractic adjustments and exercises long after the in-office treatment.

WHAT IS KINESIOLOGY TAPE?

Kinesio Tape, K-tape – taping method for chiropractic work. Elastic therapeutic tape that has become popular in use for rehabilitation and healing with a design to move with the body, not limiting your movement. K-tape is breathable and depending on the brand, comes in a variety of colors and different options for skin sensitivity and form of activity.

WHERE DID IT START?

K-tape has been around since the 1970’s and was created in Japan by a chiropractor by the name of Dr. Kenzo Kase. Dr. Kase is the founder of Kinesio® Taping Method and designed his tape to facilitate healing and as a positive adjunct to his treatments for when patients left his clinic.

As the use of this tape became more popular in the community, Dr. Kase refined his methods and eventually start teaching how to apply the tape and why it works. Since then, several brands of K-tape have surfaced. Some of the more popular brands that people may be familiar with are Kinesio Tape, KT Tape, and RockTape. These brands differ in adhesive patterns, price, and ability to stretch.

HOW DID IT BECOME POPULAR?

Supportive taping has been popular for a long time now, but the style of K-tape has only recently been discovered by the public. Kinesio® Tape made its first appearance in sports by the late 1980’s and steadily gained popularity within the sports realm. It wasn’t until 2008 during the Beijing Olympics that public attention was brought to the tape. On this world stage, the tape was made most famous by beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh Jennings as her and Misty May-Treanor won gold with the tape applied to Walsh’s shoulder during the majority of games. Since then, the tape has been used by more medical professionals and now sold in stores for people to use on their own. Today it is still a popular tool used to support athletes and from time-to-time, you will see professional athletes subtly wearing it during their games. Unknown to most, taping has even become applicable for the use in animals (i.e. Equine and canines).

BUT WHAT IS IT DOING?

Pain relief: Pain alleviation is achieved by the tapes ability to act on receptors found in the skin. This effect alters the signal to the brain and results in modulation of pain sensation.

Decreased inflammation: Facilitation of lymphatic drainage occurs due to the adhesive design creating a convoluted pattern, resulting in microscopic separation of the skin and fascia. This decompression forms space for improved clearance of inflammatory waste.

Muscular awareness: Similarly, to pain relief, application of tape provides a different feedback from local receptors in the skin, which in turn, increases awareness of possible hypotonic or neurologically weakened muscles. Basically, you feel the tape, so now you are aware of the tissue surrounding it.

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Get pain relief, improve posture, strength, flexibility and body performance....

The Thompson Drop Table technique relieves pain by restoring the nerve function.

The patient may report improved sleep cycles, reduced stress, and an increase in body function. The procedure provides improved posture, strength, flexibility, and body performance.

The Thompson Technique includes a system of analysis that checks leg length to determine where in the spine misalignments exist. After adjusting, we’ll re-check the legs to confirm the lengths are now equal—which shows alignment has been restored. The table is segmented, with individual areas that drop when the thrust is administered. Because the segments give way, gravity assists the adjustments, which requires less energy to move the spinal segment. The result is a gentler manual adjustment.

The table reduces the force necessary to move the bones, it’s a safe alternative for patients who don’t tolerate traditional manual adjustments well. In addition, the table can be set to provide effective adjustments for patients of all ages. Even patients with osteoporosis can enjoy the benefits of chiropractic adjustments through this technique, which doesn’t apply as much force to the bones as other manual techniques.