Kinesiotaping
Kinesiotape is a specific type of tape that has a number of uses, the most prominent of which are to normalize muscle firing in the event of an injury, to reduce and prevent muscle spasm, as an active stabilizer of a joint, and to promote lymphatic drainage.
Kinesiotape has become widely popular in the last decade. With the advent of televised olympic sports, it is common to see kinesiotape on athletes in every sport, before, during and after their competitions.
Kinesiotape works on the basis of "proprioception"- a name given to the phenomenon of how the brain knows where the body is in space, without input from other senses. Each of your joints and muscles has many nerve endings that are constantly firing and providing feedback to the brain. The brain in turn, distills this input into a sensory system that allows the body to know where it is at any given moment.
Unfortunately, this system can be falliable. If you have ever walked down stairs expecting another stair at the bottom and discovered you were wrong, you will have observed a failure of this proprioceptive input- sometimes with disastrous or painful results.
Alternatively, this system can be injured. A muscle tear or a bad joint sprain can stop the system from functioning properly, and lead to a reinjury of the joint or muscle, and perpetuate a sprain.
Often, the reason why this system fails is because the muscles are firing incorrectly- they and the joints, THINK they are in a position that, in reality, they are not. This is one reason why it is very easy to resprain an ankle with a simple movement, after it has been previously sprained and insufficiently rehabilitated.
Kinesiotape utilizes this principle of proprioception to encourage the correct mucles to fire and relax, depending on how the tape is applied. With the proper muscle firing, the likelihood of reinjury is low.
Kinesiotape also effectively provides joint stability without restricting motion, making it an excellent option for athletes that are still able to participate in their sports but are currrently rehabilitating an injury. this reduces the liklihood of the injury progressing, and encourages proper muscle firing while training.
An additional use of kinesiotape is to encourage lymphatic drainage. Oftentimes, the bodies response to injury is to shut down the lymphatic sytem in order to mediate scar tissue formation, however, it is commonly known that reducing inflammation after an injury or surgery will speed up healing: Too much inflamation will encourage the body to lay down an excess amount of scar tissue. this scar tissue, though a necessary response to injury, will also create areas of more fibrous, less elastic tissue over time- which will in itself predispose the area to reinjury.
The lymphatic system is a thin net of vessels that lies just below the surface of the skin. It works through a pump mechanism when you move. By applying the kinesiotape in a specific manner, we can encourage the "pump" system to remain on, and to work harder at removing the inflammation or fluid away from the affected area, and into the blood stream.
This lymphatic drainage application is most obvious with a large bruise. pictured below is a patient who tore his hamstring, resulting in a significant hematoma along his posterior leg.
We applied kinesiotape, and left it on for three days.
This last picture is how the bruise looked after the removal of the kinesiotape, 4 days later. the bruise below the tape is visibly lessened.
Excellent applications for Kinesiotape:
- Rotator cuff tears
- Acromioclavicular sprains
- extensor/ flexor tendonitis
- Upper trapezious myospasm
- knee inflammation
- Large bruises
- shin splints
- achilles tendonitis
- plantar fasciitis
- Large muscle tears
- Iliotibial band syndrome
Dr. Guthrie specializes in treating sports injuries.
She has over a decade of experience treating all calibre of athletes, from the weekend warrior, to the ultramarathoner and professional dancer. If you are wondering if she might be able to effectively treat your injury, please do not hesitate to call or text her at (403) 244-6444.
Please note, Dr. Guthrie has quite a busy schedule. If you reach voice mail, please leave a message and she will get back to you at her earliest available opportunity, typically within two hours.
Dr. Guthrie is certified in:
Active release technique: Spine, Upper, Lower, Nerve entrapments, Since 2002
Graston technique Since 2004
Kinesiotaping Since 2005
Dr Guthrie's Office hours are as follows:
Monday and Wednesday: 1-6pm
Tuesday, Thursday and friday: 8-12:30
Dr. Guthrie can be reached at (403) 244-6444 via phone or text, from 8-6 daily. (appointments can be booked outside the above office hours, as she has her phone with her. If you are unable to get her directly, please leave a message and she will return your phone call as soon as she is able.)
Current Office Address:
Dr. Guthrie's practice is located at:
Suite 406, 320- 23rd Avenue SW
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Clinic Hours
Clinic hours are staggered for your convenience.
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