I got quite a bad injury in Feb/March time and I couldn’t walk without severe pain for about 6 weeks or so. I finally paid a trip to an awesome sports physio, who immediately told me I had damaged the muscle which was putting pressure on the sciatic nerve thus causing the unbearable pain. During our first session he taped up my calf with kinesiology tape, and in the space of the hour consultation I was able to walk pain free, it was like night and day compared to how I had limped in.
Since then I’ve been absolutely sold on kinesiology tape and I use it whenever I feel a niggle. I’ve been taping my calf/knee lately following instructional videos online and it’s definitely made a big difference. It helps to ease the pressure/swelling on any injury and helps with circulation to the area as well. Loxley Sports kindly sent me some pink and black tape which I’ve been racing through, with my current rate of injury problems!
For those of you not familiar, kinesiology tape is an elastic tape used for muscle, ligament and tendon support and pain relief. It can be used in varying applications all over the body to help with pain. It’s like an external support, and it helps me to continue on with activity without being bulky or restrictive like other tapes/braces.
It’s not irritating or itchy, in fact it’s like a second skin, I never really notice it’s on my leg at all. The Loxley kinesiology tape isn’t precut so you can cut strips to the length you need. It’s sweat and waterproof and I get about 4-5 days out of it before it starts to peel away.
There’s not a massive amount of evidence behind kinesiology tape, but I’ve experienced the benefits first hand so I know it works. Whether it works on a physical level or has a placebo effect I’m not sure, but I’m not going to argue with something that is incredibly effective.
You can get kinesiology tape at Loxley Sports at the reasonable price of just £4.95 a roll, it also comes in four different colours. They also sell strength training equipment including TRX trainers, which look awesome!
Disclaimer: I was sent the kinesiology tape for review, all opinions are my own.