Kinesio Tape

What is it?
Kinesio tape is an elastic adhesive therapeutic tape that is
used for treating a variety of orthopedic and sports related
injuries. It is can be used on a variety of patients such as
athletes, orthopedic patients, children, the geriatric
population and more. It was originally developed by Dr.
Kenzo Kase in the 1970s.
Kinesio tape is:
 Hypoallergenic
 100% latex free
 100% made from a cotton fiber strip
 100% medical grade adhesive
 Water-resistant
 Durable and can last multiple days

Benefits of Kinesio tape:

 Re-education of the neuromuscular system
 Decrease inflammation
 Prevent injury
 Facilitate lymphatic drainage
 Facilitate specific muscle movement
 Inhibit specific muscle movement

How it works:
 Kinesio tape lifts skin away from muscles, creating
space between the skin and subcutaneous tissues.
This allows the lymphatics vessels to open and
drain the fluid, thus decreasing swelling. This
reduces pressure on the nerves and blood vessels,
which increases blood flow and prevents pain.
 Lightly stretching tape from muscle insertion to
origin can inhibit muscle movement (line of pull of
tape= distal to proximal at 15-25% tension)
 Lightly to moderately stretching tape from muscle
origin to insertion facilitates muscle movement
(line of pull of tape= proximal to distal at 15-15%
tension)