Kinesio Tape: Good, Bad, or Dangerous?

Something that has become incredibly popular over the last few years is the use of Kinesio tape.  Look on TV during any sporting event and you will probably see an athlete look like the picture above.  With so many athletes using this tape, and so many clinics now offering this type of procedure, I wanted to find out more about it.  Is it good? Is it bad? Or is it downright dangerous?

If you look at any one of the hundreds of websites now with their brand of tape you will find claims that the tape will keep you pain free, and give you more support during the most grueling workouts.  Looking at several different websites I found that application of the tape is to treat and prevent injury.  Also found was that the more tape and applications applied the better.

When speaking to some people, that I know, that either use it in practice, or use it in their daily activity, I heard mostly great things.  They reported seeing great results and benefits from it.  When asked how it worked, I heard,”It improves circulation and lymphatic flow.  It reduces friction and takes tension off of certain muscles.”  Its hard to argue with that.  Patients report reduction in pain and the ability to perform better in their daily lives. This all sounds great. So how does it work?

The theory and application is really quite simple.

Pain alters movement and muscle stimulation. Pain = tape here. The application of tape to the painful area stimulates mechanoreceptors (a sensory receptor that responds to pressure) in the skin. Perception of pain is reduced via sensory gating which basically means that it allows the brain to override “unnecessary” pain signals.  By blocking these messages of pain to the brain, muscle activation and performance are improved.

While all of this sounds good, digging a little deeper you see that it is not quite as great as it sounds.

If you remember the summer 2012 Olympics, you may remember hearing about American sprinter Manteo Mitchell fracturing his fibula halfway through his 400m race.  The interesting thing about this was that he did this while wearing kinesio tape on the ankle and leg that was fractured!  Looking behind the research and publications on kinesio tape, I found this.  Six studies which reviewed the effectiveness of kinesio tape found insufficient evidence to support the use of kinesiotape following musculoskeletal injury.  Also found through this review was that it offered no long term benefit to the patients.

When you block messages and pain signals to the brain, essentially it is no different than taking a pain pill. It tells your body that you can perform movement that it was previously telling you to stop doing.  You continue to take the pill (wear the tape) and override and overload your the injured area.  Eventually your body will reach a breaking point resulting in an injury significantly worse than what it was to begin with.  Take for example the case of the sprinter mentioned.  His body was clearly sending pain signals to him, hence the reason for the application of the tape.  The tape allowed more load to be placed on the injured ankle.  The load placed on an ankle with limited capacity then broke his ankle.  This is the risk that is took when the pain response is shut off.

Now, I understand it was the Olympics and personally as an athlete myself, there is no way that I am not going to run that race, if the tape allows me to do so. But for most of the weekend warriors out there we need to realize what we are doing.  I am sure that prior to you applying the tape other methods of pain relief were tried.  Unfortunately, if no relief was found, the provider either failed to recognize all of the possible underlying pathologies, or the patient had underlying hormonal or nutrient deficiencies.

If the proper order of operations is followed by removing the dysfunction (cause of pain) and the area strengthened (if weak following treatment) what additional help could the tape possibly provide?  The only instance the tape could be of benefit would be in the presence of a problem that can not be reduced by any means.  Then the patient needs to be aware and accept the risk of allowing normalized loads in a weakened structure with limited capacity.

Now while I know that for some the tape has benefited them, and some will continue to wear it.  This is what you should know. The pain that you have has a reason behind it. Dysfunction.  The pain needs to be properly diagnosed and treated first. Pain and dysfunction is eliminated through proper treatment.  In the presence of irreducible dysfunction, the amount of stress and load applied to the body should be managed to reduce further injury.  Kinesio tape may be applied to these individuals, but with the knowledge and acceptance of risk it accompanies.

I do hope that you have found this article to be beneficial.  If you are currently using this method to treat your pain, or previous treatment for your injury failed, we would be happy to help.  If you have any questions, or would like more information about the application of kinesio tape or our clinic, feel free to call our office at 319-423-0925 or visit our website.  Thanks for reading.