What is K Tape and does it work?

What is Kinesio tape (K tape) and Does it actually work? Let’s get down to it.

KT Tape is a specialized, stretchy cotton and synthetic athletic tape designed to support muscles and joints without restricting movement.

From the AI overview: Kinesiology (or KT) tape works by stretching and pulling the skin to create small spaces between the skin and the underlying tissues. Because its elasticity mimics human skin, it provides continuous mechanical support without completely restricting your range of motion.

Or From K tape’s website: KT Tape lifts the skin, temporarily increases local blood flow, and reduces muscle soreness.

I’m not scientist but I don’t think the folks at KT Tape fully understand what their product is doing.

Does KT Tape actually work?

I scrolled through a number of youtube reviews and the consensus from the smart kids (PT’s and lab rats) is that there has not been a minimal of high quality studies to support the use of KT tape.

BUT…

Why are so many people using KT Tape? Why waste your money ($20-25 bucks a roll) on something with no proven efficacy?

Because it works! Personally I LOVE KT tape. If it ain’t working then I’m out of my mojo mind. This week I strained my calf whilst out on a run (side note growing old sucks). I tried: icing (effective); my revo red light cupping device (no improvement); foam rolling (made it worse); yoga (effective) before finally giving the KT tape a try. The result: my pain was gone instantly.

From limping to zero pain. Instantly.

This isn’t the first time I’ve witnessed KT Tape miraculously heal an injury. I wrote before about KT Tape instantly curing a client’s recurring plantar fascia issue. He and I tried stretching, nerve gliding, rolling, sleeping in a boot yada yada yada… He even went to the Doctor. Nothing worked.

And then… Hail Mary pass: KT Tape. He put it on and instantly the pain was gone.

He had this issue for MONTHS. Gone in seconds. Not gradual improvement, Gone.

I put my KT Tape on one strip at a time folks, and once that tape is on I make miracles happen.

What do I think is going on?

There’s a concept in Z Health called Sensory before motor. Z Health founder Eric Cobb surmises ‘you might also want to look at sensory rehabilitation… You have two different pathways by which information from the periphery makes it way into your spinal chord and into your brain… it is possible to have a deficit of one type of sensory information that can cause movement issues and pain.’

So if your body is not properly receiving and relaying sensory information it may use pain in order to draw your attention to the subject. Things like light brushing or vibration (or KT tape lifting the skin) can drastically improve your pain and movement issues.

I tried normatec boots and lymphatic massage to relieve my pain (both improve blood flow) and neither were effective. So I’m going with sensational improvement.

Question: Is this why the cho pat strap works for knee pain?

One more note

I’m not a lab rat or a PT, and I’m definitely not a scientist. I am capable of observation though; and in my 20+ year career I’ve noticed that some bodies love tactile (touch) therapy, whilst some people HATE it.

So if you love things like foam rolling, massage, or cupping I think that KT Tape may be a possible solution for you.

But if you don’t like tactile stimulus then you can give KT Tape a HARD PASS.

In Addition…

Just because you love touch therapy (i.e. massage) it doesn’t mean KT Tape will work for you every time. Inspired by my client’s plantar fascia recovery miracle I tried a weeks long KT Tape protocol on my own plantar fasciitis to no avail. I did not improve.

But sure enough, as I sit here, I have a 100% reduction in pain and discomfort in my calf bc of KT Tape.

The VERDICT:

Ladies and Gentlemen, in the immortal words of newscasting legend Brian Fantana “60% of the time it works every time.”