Kinesiology Tape (5cm x 5m)

PharmaCare Kinesiology Tape can help to provide support to muscles and joints without limiting the range of motion. This tape has a wave-pattern adhesive that lifts the skin and is latex-free, breathable and elastic, making it ideal for athletes to use. The tape is designed to move with your skin and muscles as you heal, thus maintaining flexibility of human skin and muscles. PharmaCare Kinesiology Tape may help to lessen pain, reduce inflammation, improve circulation and support and strengthen the affected muscles. Kinesiology Tape is used by athletes all over the world and can be used in over 1,200 recognised applications. The adhesive is hypoallergenic and is generally wearable for 24 to 48 hours.

Kinesiology Tape Terms:

Anchor – the correct terminology for the end of the tape, usually the last two or three inches. It is used as the base with which to apply the tape. The anchor should never be stretched, and should always be applied without tension

Stretch – Usually, you won’t want to extend the tape to its full stretching capability when applying, but most instructions will request at least some degree of stretch. It could be described as little to no stretching, light stretching or moderate stretching. You could also see percentages, such as 50% for stretching to half of the tapes full stretch, 25% for between none and half, and 75% between half and full stretch, and so on.

Flex – If you’re asked to flex a limb or joint, it simply means to extend the muscle or bend the joint. ‘Dorsiflex’ refers to the opposite, for example, with an ankle, it would mean bending it backwards.

Uses:

PharmaCare Kinesiology Tape may help to lessen pain, reduce inflammation, and improve circulation. Generally, Kinesiology Tape may help to reduce pain as a result of wear and tear or smaller injuries and can help to reduce inflammation in injured limbs and other areas of the body. The tape can also help to support weaker limbs and can therefore help to reduce the risk of injury or re-injury to a weaker area of the body, while allowing for flexible movement.

Application:

Applying the PharmaCare Kinesiology Tape can be tricky to get the hang of at first, and taping those hard to reach areas such as your back or shoulder might require some assistance, but generally, application is pretty simple when you get used to it

• Please seek medical advice if you have any skin irritations and stop using the product
• Before you do anything, make sure your skin is clean, dry and free of any oils, lotions and creams – this will enable the tape to stick more securely and ensure that you don’t have the ends peeling off
• Don’t apply Kinesiology Tape to damaged or broken skin, and if your skin is particularly sensitive, try testing out a small section for a period of 24 hours to check that you don’t suffer any ill-effects before applying a full taping job. Make sure that you give the tape one hour after applying if you plan on swimming while wearing
• It is not always necessary to stretch the tape while applying, but you will generally need to stretch the area of the body which you’re applying it to, unless it is a joint, in which case you should bend it rather than extend it
• A good practice after cutting the tape to whichever shape you want is to round off the tape by cutting off the corners
• Once you’ve done that, peel away the backing of the tape to around two or three inches down the piece you cut to make an anchor point
• Apply this anchor to the skin first, avoiding any contact with previously placed strips, while also making sure not to stretch the anchor point – otherwise it will not stick properly
• Spread the tape over the designated body part, stretching it as much or as little as you are instructed. Once it is stuck down, rub it all over the activate the adhesive and seal a strong bond between the skin and the tape
• Try not to allow the tape to wrinkle, as this could create an unwanted pressure point