You must have noticed some athletes in the Olympics have tapes stuck on their bodies. You might have wondered why do they use tapes on their bodies. Taping is a relatively new phenomenon in athletics, and it has gained popularity in recent years. Dr. Kenzo Kase introduced taping in 1979, and since then, taping has gone through advancements to better aid different issues faced by the athletes. Let us directly look at the benefits of using athletic taping.
The athletic tape supports the muscles where they are applied, thus providing physical assistance and tactile feedback to your muscles. Taping helps to maintain a stable position of bones and muscles during athletic activity. It helps to prevent the muscles from overuse and other injuries. When the tape is attached to the skin, it supports the muscles or bones and keeps them at a particular position.
The adhesive technology on these tapes is far different from other tapes. For the tapes to work effectively, it is crucial that the tape stays at one place. Therefore, the adhesive technology on these tapes ensures that they stay in one place firmly on the body for days. The adhesive also lifts the skin underneath for better breathability. Therefore, many sports specialists suggest athlete taping due to its adhesive technology.
Along with supporting the muscles, athletic taping also helps you to take the stress and relieve the pain of injured tissue. Taping is designed to encourage lymphatic flow for the muscles to recover faster. The general goal of taping is to restrict the motion of an injured joint, compress soft tissues to reduce swelling, secure dressing and protect the joint. Many sports specialists suggest athletic taping to limit your movement at a specific limit, and your muscles can recover faster by taking off extra tension. The tape can be easily applied to ease pain symptoms, along the nerve tract of irritated or inflamed tissue to shorten the inflamed region and reduce pain.
The ways we use our muscles might sometimes not be correct. Every movement made by the athlete paves the way to win any competition. For instance, a poor posture while sleeping can lead to chronic pain. Similarly, for the athlete, there are specific postures that they need to correct in certain ways. Taping their body in a certain way can restrain their movement in ways that are safer and more natural.
Athletic taping can also be used as a preventative measure for injuries. Sports injuries can take place anytime during practice or a game. Every athlete knows the effect of being injured during or before the competition. It not only affects the performance but also the years of hard work. With popularity, many athletes have realized the benefits of using tape while training.
It is clear that athletic taping has a lot of benefits that helps an athlete to tackle a variety of issues. But before you use the taping therapy, visit a physio clinic or your sports specialists to guide you with the right technique to use tapes.