Kinesio Tape Comes of Age

by Greg Thompson

Few who watched the 2008 Beijing Olympics will forget the Gold Medal beach volleyball performance of Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor. The black Kinesio tape atop Walsh’s 6-foot, 3-inch frame, in stark contrast to her white bathing suit, also sparked a good deal of speculation.

Internet message boards made wild guesses. Was it a political statement or a sponsor’s logo? Perhaps a memorial to a deceased relative? Countless therapists knew the answer, but viewers were mystified. According to several reports, Walsh’s therapists used the tape to stabilize the superstar’s surgically repaired shoulder and boost blood circulation.

Steven Huber, PT, CKTI, estimates that about 200 athletes used Kinesio tape during the Olympics, and the kinesiotaping.com Web site reports that a donation of Kinesio® Tex Tape Gold™ for the 2008 games contributed to a “groundswell of support by Olympians from around the world” and a lot of free publicity. “In many sports, Kinesio tape is actually covered by the athlete’s clothes,” says Huber, also an orthotist and owner of Huber Associates, a private physical therapy practice in Auburn, Me. “At one point with the beach volleyball, Misty had tape on her leg, and Kerri had it on her shoulder. Their opponents also had the tape on, so there were four different players with four different colors of the same product on.”

Rob Brandon, MPT, ATC, CKTI, works with Kinesio tape on both upper and lower extremities.

With that kind of worldwide exposure, it is no surprise that patients began to inquire about the baffling tape patterns. Will therapists be at a disadvantage if they don’t learn the techniques, and will the therapy continue to gain in stature? “I think that kinesio taping is already hugely accepted,” says Huber, one of just two certified Kinesio tape instructors (CKTI) in the entire Northeast region encompassing six states. “I really believe that people who do not know how to do the technique in the next 5 years will be well behind the eight ball.”

With just 50 CKTIs in the United States, getting that training may take some patience. However, Huber and his colleagues believe that seeking out instruction from properly trained individuals is crucial if you want the best results. The highest-profile credentialing organization is the Albuquerque, NM-based Kinesio Taping Association (KTA), which receives the full blessing of the technique’s founder, Kenzo Kase, DC, a Japan-based chiropractor who invented Kinesio Tex Tape tape in the early 1970s.

Huber teaches a KTA-endorsed standardized method, which is broken down into three sections. KT1 is an introductory class to learn the basics of how to tape muscles, while KT2 focuses on corrective techniques that involve stretching the tape to varying amounts and applying it in different directions. Finally, KT3 is the advanced application. All courses must be a minimum of 8 full hours each, and some KT3 courses can be as much as 12 hours.

All courses feature hands-on applications so practitioners learn how to cut, stretch, and place the tape. Huber starts with the basic principle of positioning the tape from the origin of the muscle to the insertion point (proximal to distal). Students learn that the tape can be used to inhibit pain, facilitate or inhibit a muscle, and re-educate muscles in lower and upper extremities. “You can use it for circulatory or lymphatic flow to change swelling and alter tissue turgor,” Huber explains. “You can use it for scar management, to change fascia, and to redirect fascial curves. It is a mechanical application that has a physiological response. When you put this 2-inch-wide strip of cotton material that has an acrylic backing in the shape of a fingerprint, you are causing microconvolutions in the epidermis, and you are unloading the sensory receptors under the skin and changing the lymphatic flow.”

EVIDENCE AND ANECDOTES

Ultimately, results are what continue to fuel the relatively young phenomenon of Kinesio taping. In one of many examples, a young lady recently came to Huber’s practice suffering from shin splints, a condition she had been experiencing for the past 3 years. “I had her run, and she had the pain as usual,” Huber says. “I taped her, had her run again, and the pain was gone. I taught her the home program because she was headed off to college. She has a chronic problem, and I don’t profess that the tape got rid of it with one application. But now she can learn the program, how to use the tape over a certain period of time, and she can call me and follow up that way.”

Another 19-year sciatica sufferer received tape once per week in Huber’s office for about 6 weeks, and he has essentially been pain-free for the last year and a half. Nerve pain, rib fractures, and even chest tube drain holes can be treated with Kinesio tape.

Rob Brandon, MPT, ATC, CKTI, a therapist at Napa Valley Physical Therapy Center, Napa, Calif, completed a formal study with three different patellofemoral patients of all different ages (91, 56, and 12), with positive results. “We decreased pain and increased their ability to perform different functional tasks,” says Brandon, one of seven CKTIs in five western states. “It really shows how the Kinesio taping method can be used across all ages and throughout the rehabilitation process.”

Prior to earning his instructor credentials, Brandon had success treating patients in the clinic, with pain reduction literally happening in just minutes in some cases. As owner of Rob Brandon Seminars (www.robbrandonseminars.com), he has now shared his knowledge using a KTA-approved curriculum. One question Brandon gets at his seminars: Does Kinesio tape replace compression garments? The answer is that while Kinesio tape does help to control inflammation and pain, compression garments are different in their application and results.

Brandon believes Kinesio tape can be used in conjunction with many different modalities, including compression hosiery in some cases, and he views this as a strength of the tape and its applications. Harkening back to the founder’s belief, Brandon sees Kinesio tape as a way to have his “hands go with the patient” as they leave the clinic, with the benefit of making real changes within a treatment session.

Having taught throughout the United States, Hong Kong, and Japan, Brandon says people are open to the method, but the biggest challenge is helping therapists relearn how to use tape. “Rigid athletic tapes are used to stabilize an area,” Brandon says. “And you use quite a bit of tension as you wrap the tape on. The Kinesio tape takes more subtlety. It is an elastic tape, so it takes more skill to lay the tape on with the right amount of tension. That is the biggest challenge with teaching people, although within a weekend therapists definitely get the idea of how to put it on properly.”

Brandon acknowledges that therapists rely on literature and research, and he says the KTA is slowly but surely building its evidence. Next year’s international symposium in Rome is expected to reveal the latest research and bolster anecdotal claims. Huber agrees that the literature is “pretty basic” right now, but he too believes the annual conferences, and next year’s international symposium, will go a long way toward helping therapists understand the physiology. “We can see that Kinesio taping works, but you have to understand the rationale and the physiology of it,” Huber says. “If the patients understand, they are also more compliant.”

Huber and Brandon view Kinesio tape as yet another excellent device in the therapist’s tool kit, and one that can easily be used in harmony with more familiar modalities that heal upper and lower extremities. “One of the most important things for any physical therapist or occupational therapist to know is that Kinesio taping is an adjunct to existing techniques,” Huber assures. “It enhances what we do and reinforces what we do clinically, and helps us to get results better and faster.”

One misconception is that Kinesio tape works only while it is on, and “that is absolutely false,” Huber stresses. Instead, he says the purpose of having the tape on is to change what is beneath the tape and what is in the surrounding area. “You are changing fluids and changing input to the sensory receivers,” Huber says. “So the tape is working while it is on, but the goal should always be to use the tape to do a procedure, accomplish something, and then not use it.”

Beyond the highly visible realms of Olympic competition, Huber believes Kinesio tape can ultimately gain a foothold beyond the athletic arena and even treat headaches. In fact, his conversations with therapists at the Midwest Headache Center already reveal that clinicians are using the tape to treat headaches in a way that is noninvasive and subtle. “My focus is neuro, so when I think about central nervous system learning, I think about consistency of input and repetition,” Huber says. “What better way than to apply a product that is going to give us specific sensory input for 3 to 5 days. That consistent input is repetitive, and it helps the central nervous system.”

Dr. Steven Shoshany is a Certified Kinesio Taping Practioner or CKTP visit www.drshoshany.com

 learn  more about Kinesio taping in NYC

Are you running in the NYC Marathon this Sunday?

If so you should learn more about Kinesio tape

Kinesio tex tape is Kinesiology Tape. K-Active Tape, KTtape  and SpiderTechtape are brand names of different kinds of kinesiology tape-- each offering different application benefits. Also dubbed ‘tattoo tape’.

Prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics, elite and pro athletes as well as some physical therapists and ATCs (athletic trainers) were religious in their use of Kinesio Tape  in relieving pain and promoting the healing process of injured and surgically-repaired muscles. Lance Armstrong has written about the tape and soccer superstar David Beckham has endorsed the K-Active brand of this tape.

Two Kinesiology Tape Brands in the U.S. and Europe. Kinesio is the original kinesiology tape brand marketing in the U.S. and K-Active is the European brand name. There is also Rock Tape, SpiderTech Tape and KT Tape.

Until Kerri Walsh applied the tape to her previously injured shoulder in the beach volleyball tournament at the 2008 Olympics, this athletic tape was relatively unknown. Thanks to the marketing genius of donating over 200,000 rolls of it to the Olympic athletes, this tape was thrust into the spotlight.

This is the basic principle behind
Kinesiology tape, the magic tape.

Kinesiology, or Human Kinetics, is the science of human movement. It focuses on how the body moves and functions. The practice of Kinesiology involves applying principals of movement to facilitate rehabilitation, prevention and management to maintain, rehabilitate and enhance movement, performance, and function in the areas of sport, activity and labor.

How kinesio tape works

Kinesio Taping alleviates pain and facilitates lymphatic drainage by microscopically lifting the skin.

The taped portion forms convolutions in the skin, thus increasing interstitial space. The result is that pressure and irritation are taken off the neural and sensory receptors, alleviating pain. Pressure is gradually taken off the lymphatic system, allowing it to channel more freely. 

It’s not glamorous looking and it basically looks like an ordinary roll of tape. For purposes of sports med, this tape helps in ligament injuries, muscle conditioning, fascia repositioning and even carpal tunnel syndrome.

This flexible tape with the elasticity of skin is supposed to be applied to the skin in patterns that mimic the muscles. It is designed to support and guide injured muscles and joints for faster rehabilitation without limiting an athlete’s range of motion.

The Kinesio Tape is 100-percent cotton and modeled on the thickness and elasticity of real skin. The flexible tape is applied to the skin in specific patterns with your muscles, and it doesn’t stick until you warm in with your hands in the application process. So you can lay it down in patterns and not have to unstick it to move it since it doesn’t fuse to the skin until you rub it to warm and activate the glue

Dr. Steven Shoshany is  NYC Chiropractor and a Certified Kinesio taping practioner.

Visit www.drshoshany.com

New York Chiropractic Yankees

 planetc1.com-news by Michael Dorausch, DC

The New York Yankees and chiropractic have been in the news the past few weeks thanks to major-league baseball player Johnny Damon. In most recent news, the New York Times reported earlier this week that the Yankees would be hiring a team chiropractor, apparently on the advice of Johnny Damon. There were several articles circulating in the news about Johnny Damon and the chiropractic care he has been receiving in Orlando, Florida. According to Damon, his chiropractor is amazing. The New York Yankees center field ballplayer hopes his chiropractic care will translate into better results on the field, not only for himself, but for his team. This wouldn't be the first time the New York Yankees have utilized the team chiropractor. Back in May of 1934, a magazine from the National Chiropractic Association featured a front-page photo of New York Yankees team chiropractor (Dr. Painter) working with a ballplayer, with Babe Ruth watching on. I don't know if there's any truth of this, but I once heard that at the time, the New York Yankees asked the New York Daily News to keep quiet about the Yankees having a team chiropractor, which was from the 1920s to the 1930s. Apparently, they wanted to maintain a competitive edge by keeping the chiropractic care a secret. Perhaps coincidentally, the Yankees recorded their best season ever (1927 - World Champions) and won four World Championships (1923, 1927-1928, 1932) during the time of Dr. Erie Painter, chiropractor. According to various news reports, Johnny Damon has not spent a single day on baseball's disabled list during his lengthy playing career. Planet Chiropractic would like to recognize and congratulate Johnny Damon, the New York Yankees management, and the entire Yankees organization, for their continued support and utilization of chiropractic care in the field of professional athletics. You can visit the official Johnny Damon web site at johnnydamon.net to view his bio, long list of awards and records, as well as some very impressive statistics.

www.drshoshany.com

DRX 9000 NYC?, Herniated disc NYCL5 herniated disc C4-C5 disc herniation

By now if you live or work in Manhattan NYC you probally have seen the ads in the local NYC papers or watched comercials on local tv about the DRX 9000 spinal decompression system.

There are several offices that utulize this table, We have been utulizing the DRX 9000 system longer then any other NYC practice. In fact we are the only NYC office that holds a Patent on our properiety protocols.

When this treatment is used in conjuction with a effective core strengthening protocol  the results are outstanding.

To many patients once they find out they have a herniated disc often try Physical therapy for months sometimes with little to no results ( not anything against Physical therapy we have several in our office)

Surgery for a herniated disc should be the last resort but often times patients try Physical therapy and pain management and still have pain. If spinal decompression is not an option what else is there to do?

Spinal decompression for herniated disc.

If you are interested in learning more about Spinal decompression on the DRX 9000 can resolve not only your pain but solve your herniated disc problem once and for all call us for a Consult.

www.drshoshany.com

The Modern Medical Technology "Secret" of Top Athletes Like Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods… that’s Finally Available to You! 

    Cold Laser Therapy is a magnificent, safe and painless treatment technology that has been used worldwide for several decades. 

    Only recently has it made its way into American physicians' offices.

    Its application is simple; the doctor shines the red light over the affected area and/or the nerves.  It can be done through clothing and you don't feel a thing. 

    It's unlike any treatment anyone has ever experienced.  Cold Laser Therapy can:

(1) REDUCE PAIN by stimulating cells to produce their own endorphins, a natural painkiller,

(2) PROMOTE FASTER HEALING by stimulating cells to increase the production of two major healing enzymes by as much as 75%,

(3) REDUCE INFLAMMATION by as much as 75%,

(4) INCREASE BONE REPAIR SPEED

(5) RELAX MUSCLES and muscle spasms,

(6) DECREASE SWELLING by stimulating lymphatic drainage,

(7) ENHANCE THE IMMUNE SYSTEM by increasing the number of "killer" cells by 400-900%, and most importantly,

(8) RE-ENERGIZE CELL MEMBRANES to allow transport of essential nutrients across cell walls (nutrients will not cross an injured or sick cell wall, thus slowing healing) allowing a healthy new cell to grow.

    How it actually works on the other hand, is quite complicated

    It has been said that Albert Einstein originally suggested the LASER around 1920. But, just like most of his brilliant ideas, he was way ahead of his time.  By 1960, governments and researchers were concentrating on military applications of LASER. But a Hungarian surgeon named Dr. Endre Mester suspected that laser light might have a more humane application—the destruction of malignant cancer cells. 

    His news was bad and good. His laser didn’t work for cancer.

    But fortunately he discovered that surgical incisions he made in lab animals healed dramatically FASTER with his laser light. Follow-up experiments on infections, burns and other conditions revealed amazing results—they all healed much faster. 

    And he figured out what went wrong with his cancer experiments. The laser was underpowered. That’s why it didn’t destroy cancer cells. He realized that in the same way sunlight is destructive in high doses, but healing in small doses…laser light was healing at low power. 

    This led to the development of a science he called “laser biostimulation.” Today there is an entire science field devoted to this subject call photobiology—the study of how light effects living things.

    What Exactly Is Cold Laser?

     Only recently have lasers become the “rage” for surgery. But cold laser is totally different from the surgical laser. High power lasers are used to cut through tissue while low-power or “cold” lasers stimulate tissue repair and healing. 

    Scientists figured out that there are different kinds of light. And they create different effects on the cells of our bodies. We all know the light we can SEE—the range of colors of the spectrum of a rainbow. We also know that sunlight produces HEAT. Ultraviolet light is the part of the spectrum that causes tanning or burning of the skin.

   Scientists refer to cold laser light as compressed from a wavelength of the cold, red electromagnetic part of the spectrum. It’s very different from natural light because it’s just ONE color. Plus it travels in a straight line and can be polarized, which means the beam can be aimed at a specific area.  This lets the laser light go through the surface of the skin without heating it! 

    No damage... No side effects.

   Worldwide, cold laser has been reported to successfully treat an incredible number of conditions. Research scientists say it’s because it works at the cellular level. More than 2,500 research reports have been published. And more than 100 double blind positive studies confirm that it works.
   Cold Laser therapy is safe and effective for decreasing pain and healing many conditions. It’s an awesome technology—part of a complete chronic pain treatment program. With the Erchonia Cold Laser, we are even able to precisely diagnose the areas of nerve compression and treat them!

  “How Does Cold Laser Work?”

    I don’t want to get too crazy here attempting to explain cold laser… because it’s based on some "heavy duty" physics and cell biology and physiology.  Everybody wants to know how shining a red light on them could help them.

     Ancient Practice… Modern Technology

    Cold laser is helping many conditions previously untreatable with anything but medication. But light therapy is hardly a new concept. Light has been used for healing for thousands of years, starting with the Chinese, Greeks and Romans who recognized the positive effects of sunlight. 

    The rays of the sun make plant seeds sprout through changes in their genetic materials—DNA and RNA. Remember that the sun’s rays are full spectrum light…meaning that there are many wavelengths.  Yet only ONE specific wavelength or frequency causes the seeds to germinate. 

    Every cell, tissue and organ of your body has a specific frequency that regulates important functions. Things like protein such as protein synthesis, cell division and communication. Quantum physics explains that the matrix of living cells has laser-like RESONANCE FREQUENCY—a unique property that signals various things like growth, injury repair and immune function. 

    Using specific cold laser frequencies and wavelengths can balance the body’s defense and repair mechanisms. This means that disease shows up as chemical imbalances…but the underlying cause is electromagnetic. So applying a specific frequency can restore normal function to cells.

   It’s critical to use the RIGHT WAVELENGTHS, FREQUENCIES and other settings. What we’re talking about here is…

Pain Relief Through Quantum Physics (Instead of drugs and surgery)

    The Erchonia PL-5000 Cold Laser that I use can be programmed to different frequencies to treat different areas of the body, at the cellular level. 

 Think of it as a calculator... that subtracts pain!

"Fueling the Power Plant"

    All the cells of your body have a miniature “power plant” inside called the mitochondria. That’s where your cell’s energy is produced. It’s called ATP (Adenosine Tri-phosphate). Cold laser light stimulates an increase in ATP production in the mitochondria. This process is similar to how your body uses the sun's energy to manufacture Vitamin D. 

    When your cells have more energy available, they operate more efficiently. Researchers say cold laser improves transportation of nutrients through the cells. It can help increase chemicals known as endorphins. These are your body’s natural, built-in pain relievers. 

    The mitochondria are very sensitive to light. The amazing discovery made by Dr. Mester was that certain frequencies of light could increase the “power plant’s” ability to make MORE energy…speeding up the healing rate of injuries. The blood’s immune response can improve. Oxygen to the cells can increase too. 

    Cold laser light also activates enzymes within cells. This triggers beneficial chemical reactions to activate more enzymes—like a “domino effect.” What’s really fascinating is that only the cells that need the light absorb it.

    What would you say if a noted neuroscientist told you an injured spinal cord could be repaired by shining a light on it?

   The research was conducted by neuroscientist, Juanita Anders at Bethesda, Maryland. Her lab is at the Uniformed Services University, the U.S. military’s medical school.  Over the past seven years, Anders has been studying the healing powers of cold lasers. She has found that in rats, laser therapy can repair severed spinal cords, allowing once-injured animals to walk again—a 300% faster rate of healing. 

   It is unlikely that there is any other type of treatment technology that can produce as many positive effects—yet cause no bad effects. There are drugs which produce positive effects…but at the cost of many negative side effects. 

    To summarize: when cold laser is applied… your body’s natural healing response is stimulated… and… in many cases… it heals faster and better. It’s proven safe and effective for decreasing pain and improving healing. 

    New Technology? Well, not really...

    What seems “new” is often not new at all…just new to us. Consider the scene decades ago, when the ancient art of Acupuncture was brought to the United States. Nearly every other modern country had used Acupuncture. It had been successfully practiced for thousands of years before our medical "experts" would even remotely accept it as a useful medical treatment. 

   In 2002 another “new” technology—the cold laser was introduced to the U.S. It has also been used worldwide for a long time… over 40 years in modern Asian and European countries and Australia… for an incredible number of conditions. I mentioned earlier that more than 2,000 research reports have been published. Plus, more than 100 double blind positive studies confirm that it works.      

    The FDA Finally Gives Market Clearance for Cold Laser in the U.S.A.

     Sadly it took over 40 years for America to catch on to cold laser. That is, if you can call the minuscule number of doctors who’ve bothered to learn about it, “catching on.” 

    Anyway…finally, in 2002 the first patent and market clearance was given for the non-surgical treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome. Double-blind studies were conducted with General Motors and Baylor College of Medicine. They revealed an amazing 75.6% success rate.  Remarkably, the studies showed the cold laser even worked on patients that already had surgery!

    With so many modern medical “cures” causing worse problems than the conditions they were initially intended to treat… one of the most important benefits was… No Documented Side Effects! Not one. Plus there’s no risk of infection and no surgical complications with cold laser. 

    Erchonia Medical made history by becoming the first to receive FDA market clearance for the treatment of chronic pain, proven  through two double blind studies. The Erchonia Lasers are the most advanced lasers on the market, with their sleek revolutionary design, patented line generated beam, and the ability to program independent frequencies in all of their family of lasers. 
                                                
 In my  NYC Physical therapy practice we use the Erchonia Cold Laser...

The same laser used exclusively by Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner, as well as other elite professional athletes, including NFL football teams like the New England Patriots and the New York Jets. 


    The US Olympic Committee enthusiastically endorsed cold laser therapy in January of 2004.     

    I'm proud to have learned the exact protocols from Dr. Jeff Spencer, who has been the team doctor for the United States Postal Service, Tour de France cycling team with Lance Armstrong. 

Cold laser therapy for carpal tunnel in NYC visit www.livingwellnewyork.com