Which sports tape?

rosie383

My dh has been struggling with a football-induced calf strain for a while now and has been advised to try kinesiology strapping.
Having a look on ebay and Amazon, there are quite a few manufacturers around. Prices can vary quite widely and I'm not sure if it is false economy to go for a cheaper one.
Has anyone tried the stuff? Any recommendations please?

jenniewb

If your asking what tape, I'd go to a professional running shop to get advice as the type you'll need will vary on the level of your injury and how you use the muscles normally day to day and when exercising. The fact your asking here makes me think that you have not gotten enough understanding to make the right choice and could end up wasting your money.

If you do have the time (and the money) try to book in with a physio and ask them to help you get the taping technique right because when done properly it does work really well. I was lucky enough to see a private physio when I had multiple leg/calf/ankle/foot injuries (the NHS physio was all booked up) and it was the best referral I've ever had for the injury (had three NHS referrals prior to that which actually made the injuries worse). The physio I saw applied proper taping to the area which I was dubious about as I'd tried taping myself in the past with no luck, but what she did was so amazing it actually sped up my recovery by about 50% of the estimated time. She didn't apply the K-tape your mentioning but I have seen the K-tape and actually think it looks a lot harder to get right.

Either way it is your choice though but do check out your colour choice with a running shop and bare in mind that with some brands, the colour has no bearings on how well it works- the colours all work the same way. I think only the original brand has variations per colour.

Fire_Fox

What tape did your physiotherapist recommend? Really they should show you how to correctly apply it.

scotsbob

Find your nearest league football club and get the name of the physio. I bet he/she also has their own private clinic.
The going rate in my area for this is £35 a half hour, which is all you would need.

rosie383

Thanks Scotsbob, that's a great idea.

teaandcakeordeath

My private physio (through work) used kinesio tape on me when I re-injured my lower back- tbh it didn't do anything for me other than make me look like a tool! I think the theory behind it is that it lifts the nerves off the painful area so lessens the pain you feel.

When he was taping me up he had all manner of glorious (!) colours. I asked him if they were different tensions (like a theraband) and he said no. Apparently it's just related to colour therapy (the Japanese inventor is apparently into it in a big way and it was the 'official' K-tape he used on me)- what benefit neon blue and pink tape was doing for my lower back when I certainly didn't have the flexibility to see it is another story all together.