Easy and Effective Knee Taping Techniques
It is no news that our knees usually suffer damage once in a while. In fact, your knees may take a beating if you take part in denoting workouts and running. Does that sound a bit scary?
Hey! You don’t have to be worried about knee problems. News flash, there is an excellent way to solve this problem, and it’s Knee taping!
What is Knee Taping?
You have most likely seen knee tape while you watched a bicycle race competition or a volleyball game. A knee tape is a therapeutic tape to relieve the knees of pain, give support, reduce inflammation and enhance performance.
Knee Taping for Body Stability
To get a higher level of stability, the two major ways are McConnell taping and rigid taping.
If you want your kneecap to be stable, go for McConnell taping. Even people experiencing patellofemoral syndrome can apply this type of taping. During movement, this method gives support and healthy pressure in a particular area and response to the patella.
The McConnell Method
What you need:
- A roll of 2-inch-wide adhesive gauze. This will offer your skin protection.
- A roll of 1 1/2-inch-wide rigid athletic tape.
- Get seated with your leg a little curved and stretched out before you.
- Cut two pieces of adhesive gauze. Gently apply them to your kneecap to give your skin protection.
- Begin the strip of rigid tape at your kneecap middle and move it over your kneecap close to the inner area of your knee.
- The soft tissue on your inner knee should be pushed to your kneecap.
- Keep the tape to your kneecap’s inner side.
You can purchase your adhesive gauze and rigid athletic tape rolls at Hampton Adams. We offer the best products for your stability and healing.
Rigid taping is the most popular and well-known method. It applies tape that is more firm to keep the joint together. To avoid irritation when using this type of tape, a pre-wrap should be used between the tape and your skin. This taping can support the joint. Rigid taping can also respond to movement while restricting too much motion in the joint.
There are many methods the tape can be shaped for all of these taping types. This depends on the particular knee problem and the kind of workout you undertake. In every situation, you can reach out to a physical therapist to know the effective type for your knee issues.
Knee Taping to Reduce Pain
To ease your pain, there are two major knee taping techniques. They are Kinesio taping and Mulligan taping.
Kinesio taping reduces pain, helps drain soft tissue, and supports tissue movement over your muscles. In Kinesiology Tape, a stretchy adhesive is used. This type of tape raises the skin to enhance the space between the cells and blood vessels.
Mulligan taping requires you to put pressure on the joints that are hurting. It may be you or the person applying it for you that will do that. The purpose of this is to make your joint not hurt badly when moving. When you stop using force on your joint, you should put a rigid tape on it to make it move without pain.
How to Use Knee Taping For Your Knee Support and Stability
Taping your knee is usually carried out to help your knee become stable. It can help reduce your pain. It can also help minimize too much motion when you are involved in any activity. Knee taping should be firm enough to offer assistance to the knee. It should, however, not be too tight to stop circulation.
Kinesiology tape helps by making your muscles and joints stable.
Kinesio Taping Method
This technique uses elastic tape that’s more flexible to help your knee. It also gives room for a healthy amount of motion.
What you’ll need:
- Two pre-cut I strips
- Two pre-cut Y strips
To make the adhesive start working, rub the tape after you apply both strips.
The I Strip
You make an I STRIP by cutting a piece of tape from the roll. I strips are single-piece tape strips. They are majorly applied across particular areas of injury.
The Y strip
You use these strips when you want to apply the exact strip of tape across different parts of your body. It’s simple to make a Y strip. You have to divide an I strip towards the middle, leaving a little tab in a lower area.
How To Use
Stretch Method
Why should you use the tape on stretch? Typically, people use this method for very concentrated areas of pain. It can also be used for correcting posture. This way, you make the best lift on your skin, easing force on the pain receptors.
This method means you don’t stretch the tape. You stretch the muscle instead. Usually, this is applied for activating the muscle or for injuries in the muscle. The tape can not be excessively stretched using this method. This is a good and easy technique.
Hampton Adams Kinesiology Tape for physical therapy sport/athletes is very strong. It is simple to tear off just in case you have worries about how to reel it off. That’s not all. Hampton Adams athletic/Sports tapes do not make your skin retain any stickiness. Isn’t that just wonderful? It sure is. All thanks to the unique formula our sports tapes contain.
As much as our athletic tape is strong, you can tear it simply using your fingers! No, you do not have to buy tape cutters. It’s easy. Just wrap, pinch and tear. Our material is medical grade just for you to have the cleanest and firmest feel.
Our tape is made to increase athletic performance, ease pain in the muscle, and reduce inflammation. It can be used for first aid at home and is the best fit for injuries and healing.
Common Knee Taping Errors
A lot of people make mistakes when taping their knees. You should avoid some mistakes when taping your knee. Below are some tips:
- Do not let your taping be too tight. It can lead to skin rash and excess restricted motion. It can also cause shearing of your skin. Skin shearing can further lead to deep tissue damage. Try as much as possible to avoid your knee taping being too tight.
- Do not put rigid medical tape on your skin without an under wrap. This tape can be really hurtful to reel from the skin if you do not apply a pre-wrap. To avoid unnecessary pain, do not forget to put a wrap underneath.
- Do not tape the back of your knee. This part has too much motion. The result of this is that the tape won’t be effective. More so, it can also make your skin irritable by having moisture.
- Do not yank off the tape that is directly placed on your skin. Do not make the mistake of tugging or pulling it off. You have to remove it with patience.
- Do not apply creams or lotions to your skin before using tape. You may wonder why. This makes it more difficult for the tape not to be slippery.
Other Types of Knee Tapes
Your doctor may suggest another type of knee tape, such as adhesive gauze tape. Should check out Hampton Adams Adhesive Gauze Tape.
When Should You Not Use Kinesiology Tapes?
- Infection: if you are experiencing symptoms of infection, using a kinesiology tape may worsen your condition.
- Cancer: If you are actively treating cancer, you should stay away from kinesiology tape because the tape makes room for more circulation. Do you know that enhancing nutrition and blood flow to a cancerous lesion poses a threat?
- Do not use kinesiology tape if you have suffered a chronic allergic reaction to adhesives. Usually, you can wear kinesiology tape during sports time, but you can also wear it for many days. Doing this will put your skin for a long period directly under adhesives. This can cause severe allergic reactions.
- If you are experiencing uncontrolled diabetes, do not use kinesiology tapes. This is because you stand a risk of suffering peripheral neuropathy. What does this mean? It is a condition in which the sensation in your arms or legs gets altered. If you have diabetes, you may be unaware if the tape is damaging your skin or giving it a reaction.
- If you still have an open injury, do not use kinesiology tapes. Using the tape could lead to a condition where the injury traps bacteria. Avoid kinesiology tape if you also have incisions from surgery that are yet to heal.
Remember, no matter your knee problem, reaching out to a physical therapist is a great first step. Your doctor may advise you on the knee taping that best fits your recovery or stability needs. Our products at Hampton Adams are here to support you all the way!
