We have all been there, whether you are in the middle of training for a race, or haven't been active for a while, overused muscles or underprepared muscles are just waiting to be strained. Proper care must be taken before and after exercise to make sure that you are able to keep training at the level you want. Kinesiology tape is a great option for alleviating some potential strain on your muscles and joints. KT tape is a way for muscles to pass their load on to a piece of tape to help alleviate their stress and allow them to heal. Here are the top 8 injuries to use KT tape for.

1. Quad Strain

Quad strain can be a culmination of overuse, dehydration, and impact. So really any sport or activity that involves running can put you at high risk for quad strain if you don't take the time to analyze the load on your muscles and if KT tape should be used as well as icing post-workout.

Top 8 Injuries To Use KT Tape For - Quad Strain

2. Hamstring Strain

Hamstring strain can be caused by stopping abruptly as well as sprinting. So many sports that fall into the category for quad strain are also relevant for a hamstring strain. Similarly, you want to evaluate your range of motion with light stretches to see if you have any hotspots on the back of your leg and if it is necessary to tape up before exercise.

Top 8 Injuries To Use KT Tape For - Hamstring Strain

3. Ankle Stability

Now it is most likely that you have, at one point in your life, sprained your ankle. Depending on if you properly rehabbed that ankle, it likely is more prone now than it was before to roll again. If you often suffer with slightly tweaking your ankle, then it is best practice to tape it up before activities with high likelihood of a twist. Trail running, soccer, basketball, etc. However, you still want to try to build up strength in that ankle so you don't become fully dependent on taping. Taping will help prevent further injury, but might cause your ankle to become reliant on support from the tape. So use caution when taping all the time.

Top 8 Injuries To Use KT Tape For - Ankle Stability

4. The Knee

For the knee, we will focus on the back of the knee. The knee is a pretty complex joint, but with proper care and recovery, it shouldn't give you any trouble. Taping the back of the knee can help with a multitude of issues you might be facing, baker’s cyst, bursitis, hamstring tightness, over extension, etc. If you are experiencing pain behind the knee, you likely are dealing with one of those issues. It is critical that if you are taping before for knee pain that you also ice after exercise helping to reduce the swelling in your knee that contributes to the pain.

Top 8 Injuries To Use KT Tape For - The Knee

5. Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis can be caused by poor ankle mobility, bad fitting shoes, or just simple overuse. Most people don't spend much time stretching their feet, but some simple stretches can keep these issues from getting to the point of being painful. KT tape is a great solution if you have reached the point of some inflammation of the plantar fascia. KT tape before the activity paired with icing after the activity can severely help reduce any pain or discomfort you might be experiencing. Here is a quick write up to check out on using ice massage and the cryosphere for plantar fasciitis.

Top 8 Injuries To Use KT Tape For - Plantar Fasciitis

6. Achilles

Achilles tendonitis can be caused by overuse or some form of trauma to the Achilles tendon. A proper warmup and some light stretching helps to prevent an Achilles injury, but if you reach the point of Achilles pain and resting isn't an option, KT tape can help to alleviate the strain and to help facilitate some blood flow to the area. Post-exercise icing, once again, is very important to help alleviate pain and inflammation.

Top 8 Injuries To Use KT Tape For - Achilles Pain

7. Tennis Elbow

By no means do you need to be a tennis player to have issues with tennis elbow. You can start having some issues in your elbow from something as simple as pull-ups. If you do have some tenderness in your elbow that radiates down toward your forearm, you most likely have some tendonitis in your elbow. It is best to use KT tape before strenuous activity that requires the use of your elbow.

How to fix Tennis Elbow Using KT tape and Ice Massage

8. Shin Splints

There are two areas that you can get shin splints, anterior and posterior. It is important to understand what you might be experiencing and to tape accordingly. R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression, elevate) is also recommended for shin splints post-exercise to help alleviate pain and inflammation. If you don't have shin splints, but want to make sure you are doing everything you can to avoid them, check out this previous blog on some simple tips to help avoid shin splints.

Top 8 Injuries To Use KT Tape For - Shin Splints

 

 

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