THE OLYMPICS....

[Guest Prosoft Admin]

LIVE or TAPED?

 

101 USES FOR TAPE!

 

 

Were you watching the Olympics like I was?  How could you not?  It was awesome coverage wasn't it? 6:00 am, 3:30 pm, 1:00 am...there seemed to be at least one channel showing something almost the entire day. From basketball to track and field, water polo, tennis, volleyball, diving, gymnastics and more. 

 

 

Did you notice how many Olympians had colored tape on? 

 

 

Black, hot pink, fluorescent blue,  lots of cool colors wrapping like artwork across the athletes' muscles and joints. 

 

 

SO WHAT WAS ALL THAT TAPE FOR ANYWAYS?

 

It's called kinesiotaping.  One of the most popular brands out is RockTape®. For athletes like the Olympians who are trying to function at the highest level, using it to optimize performance, RockTape has a method called PowerTaping. 

 

 

RockTape is unique among the brands of kinesiotape in that it

 

 

 

stretches to 180% of its original length

 

 

allowing for maximum "snap-back" or spring- like effect. For PowerTaping applications like an Olympian, it can mean an improved feel of muscle power. 

 

 

For injury applications in Physical Therapy, it means better pull on the skin. And RockTape's unique design and adhesive allow it to last up to 3-5 days on the skin.

 

 

SO HOW DOES ROCKTAPE WORK?

 

Two of the key reasons that RockTape is thought to help both injury recovery and athletic performance are neuromuscular/proprioceptive stimulus and improved blood and lymphatic flow.

 

 

 

The tug from the tape seems to stimulate the nerve receptors in the skin which  improves the body's awareness of those muscles and movements, leading to increased control of movement and muscle performance. 

 

 

At the skin level itself, the pull or traction effect creates a sort of "liftoff" that seems to decompress the tissue layers just below the skin, improving blood flow and lymph drainage (i.e. helping clear out the waste products, swelling, inflammation). 

 

 

ROCKTAPE IS NOW AVAILABLE

 

AT PEAK PERFORMANCE PT!

 

 

We've used RockTape on athletes and non-athletes alike to help reduce swelling, ease pain, and improve performance. While RockTape isn't for everyone, the Physical Therapists at Peak Performance PT may choose to use one of the taping methods to assist you in your recovery.  Feel free to ask us about RockTape next time you're in the office!

 

 

 

 

You can learn more about RockTape on their website at http://www.rocktape.com.