Whether you’re training for your first 5km, recovering from an injury, or dealing with nagging aches and pains from an old injury, there are many ways that athletic taping can benefit to getting back to your activities whatever they may be.

Athletic taping is a technique used by health care professionals to support, stabilize, and activate muscles and soft tissue during activity. Other types of taping such as rigid tape may act to compress soft tissue, deactivate, or restrict movement. Taping techniques allow individuals to stay active and promote recovery from an acute sprain or overuse injury (i.e. tendinopathy) without risking further injury.

Taping can also be used for postural and proprioceptive feedback. This may help to improve poor posture in the office and during sport. The tape should be applied by trained professionals who have the experience and knowledge with human anatomy to optimize effectiveness and prevent injury/discomfort.

Once applied the tape can be worn for up to 48 hours without the adhesive losing effectiveness. The duration of the taping will depend on how the tape is applied and where it is applied. For instance, if we are taping around the shoulder for a tennis player – this area is highly mobile and will likely require to be retaped sooner than tape applied to the lower back.

Athletic Taping has a wide range of applications and is routinely used to treat and manage common injuries. Here is a list of some of the more common conditions managed with taping:

There are many ways taping can help you. Speak to a specialist at Vaughan Physiotherapy clinic to see if the pain or discomfort you’re experiencing and see if athletic taping may benefit you. Some people have allergic reactions or skin irritations to certain tape materials (such as latex) and may not be suitable for everyone.

Have a look at our educational video on Athletic Taping for Knee Pain