Kinesiology Tape - What is it?

Have you seen the brightly coloured tape that lots of athletes are wearing at the Olympics this summer and wondered what it is? It is called Kinesiology tape and comes in a variety of colours – blue, black, pink, beige and also in a variety of designs including a union jack one that has been worn by some of the GB volleyball squad and also by runner Dwain Chambers. Kinesiology tape was founded about 25 years ago by Dr Kenzo Kase and has become increasingly popular with other brands now being introduced including Rock Tape. All different types of kinesiology tape are very similar but vary on the application strategies that are taught on their courses.

What Does It Do and How Does It Work?

Kinesio tape is not restrictive like normal athletic tape, and plays a different role entirely. Kinesio is designed to support muscles and joints without preventing movement. The tape has patterns on the adhesive side (see fig. 1) that can help to lift the skin in different areas to assist with lymph drainage during inflammation and can relieve pressure on nerve endings, decreasing pain.  Also, because the tape is non-restrictive it allows athletes to fully engage in their sport and not focus on painful areas.

Fig. 1. This picture shows the adhesive side of some pink Kinesio tape. The lines wave horizontally along the tape.  

Kinesio UK suggest the tape can be worn for up to 3-5 days but should be applied an hour before exercise or showering.  There is limited research to show the effectiveness of the tape up to 5 days after the application date and in my experience, no matter how well I stick the tape down it usually starts to peel off and fray after the second or third day.

It can be used for injury prevention and relief from muscle tightness to allow freedom of movement during sporting or everyday activities.  Additionally it can be used to assist in the treatment of muscular strains, shoulder pain (see fig.2) and to reduce swelling by using a variety of application techniques.

Fig. 2. This picture shows how the tape can be applied to help treat biceps tendonitis.

In order to apply it effectively, practitioners need to go on a course which is run by the Kinesio Taping Association. Both myself and Alex have been on such courses that allow us apply the tape effectively to gain maximum benefits.

If you would like to know more about kinesiology taping visit www.kinesiotaping.co.uk or comment on this blog and we would be happy to answer any of your questions. Additionally, you can visit our facebook page www.facebook.com/theringwoodclinic and write on our wall!

Sever's Disease - Achilles Heel Pain (Children 8-15 years old)

Sever's disease affects growing adolescents in the 8-15 age category. A child suffering with Sever's will complain of pain around the back / base of the heel bone (called the calcaneus).

The basics 

Put simply the Achilles tendon, at it's attachment to the heel, becomes inflamed. This can occur for a few reasons however normally the primary issue is that the growth plates in children at this age are yet to full develop and are therefore more susceptible to 'overuse' type injuries. In a growing child weight bearing activity will generally aggravate the injury. This occurs because there is too much force being placed on the tendon attachment during weight bearing activity.

Risk factors

Sever's disease is a very similar issue, in nature, to Osgood Schlatters (OSD) and is effected by many of the same risk factors, e.g. increased activity, leg length discrepancies, recent growth spurts, poor bio-mechanics in sporting activities, tight calf musculature or being over weight / obese.

|| Osgood Schlatters occurs at the knee ||

|| Severs Disease occurs at the Achilles heel ||

Treatment / Management

The good news is that most children will 'grow out' of this injury within 2 week - 6 months. It is important it's managed carefully in the mean time though. If managed incorrectly there is the possibility of a calcification (permanent bony deposit) developing at the base of heel.

Generally decreased activity will be required. This is usually on a the basis of pain free activity, meaning that pain free activity is fine, painful activity is not. 

As with OSD the same treatment options are applicable for Sever's Disease: 

Treatment for Sever's will involve:

1. Rest (or relative rest) - by 'relative rest' I mean that ALL activity must be pain free. If an activity causes pain then rest must be enforced. 
2. Soft tissue techniques (massage) to free up the tight muscular tissue. 
3. Bio-mechanical screening - to make sure no unnecessary force is being generated at the foot, ankle or heel. 
4. Light stretching - only when appropriate. 
5. Ice / cold treatment - to help manage the inflammation. 

Two things you must not allow your child to do if they have Sever's disease:

1. Train / play through pain. 
2. Stretch heavily if it causes pain.

25 Random Facts about Sara...

Sara is a graduate of University of Hertfordshire and a member of the Society of Sports Therapists.

Sara has experience working a season at Brumbies RFC (Super 15 rugby team) and with competitors at the Virgin London Marathon.

Sara's full profile is up on the main website's 'about us' page.

Below is a less formal introduction - Sara has written a similar blog post to this one that I wrote in early 2011, 25 random facts about me.

So with out further ado here are the 25 random facts that Sara wanted to share with us...

1) I have a younger sister called Helen and a younger brother called David 

2) My degree in Sports Therapy was 4 years instead of 3 because I did a placement year in my 3rd year in Australia with the Brumbies

3) For my education - I went to a private primary school in Eastleigh; Bournemouth School for Girls for secondary school and sixth form and went to the University of Hertfordshire to get my degree

4) My favourite subject at school was PE and my least favourite were English and Science. Ironically, my best subject in pub quizzes is now the science round!

5) I have completed Bronze, Silver and the majority of my Gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards

6) I have been horse riding from the age of 4

7) I have two horses called Jaffa and Nutmeg

8) I have visited, on holiday, places including the East and West coasts of the USA, Canada, Mauritius, Zante, Corfu, Menorca, Portugal, France, Malta, Ireland and Australia, however I have never been to Scotland

9) I used to have a bad phobia of snakes, however I forced myself to watch TV programs such as 'Venom Hunter' before going to Australia as I thought I would be coming across snakes regularly...however I didn't see a single one! It did make me less scared of snakes.. but I still don't like them very much

10) I was born with little toes that crossed over the top of my 4th toes and didn't have this rectified by surgery until I was 18

11) I was born in Poole Hospital and have lived in the same house with my parents for my whole life (except for when I'm at uni)

12) I love the countryside and when I'm in London can't wait to get back home again!

13) My favourite film is Love Actually, although I can only watch it at Christmas time!

14) I joined the kayaking club at uni and enjoy paddling on white water/rivers (however I don't have a boat so can't paddle very easily currently!)

15) I own a yellow mini which is called 'Custard'

16) I love to bake cakes and other sweet treats in my spare time - some are more successful than others!

17) If I had a super power I would be able to fly because I hate sitting in traffic jams (especially on hot days!)

18) I met my boyfriend Matt at the kayaking club at uni and we have been together ever since

19) I like playing netball and have played in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere!

20) My favourite sport to watch is rugby

21) My favourite colour is pink but I love all pastel colours!

22) Christmas is my favourite time of the year

23) I am still really close to my friends from secondary school even though we all went to different universities across England and Wales

24) I love talking about injuries to other therapists or to members of the public - I find it really interesting and could talk for hours

25) My favourite ride at Thorpe Park is 'Saw' and at Alton Towers is 'Air'!

If you would like to book in with Sara please either call 01425 480030 or use our online booking system. 

Online Booking - Now Available

You can now book your appointments online...

The system is very simple to use.

Just go to the main website www.TheRingwoodClinic.co.uk  and click the book online tab which is in the right hand column of the website.

IMPORTANT

1) Enter your current email as this will be used to send you an immediate confirmation of your appointment

2) If you have a mobile number enter that too - this allows the system to send you an automatic text reminder the day before your appointment.

3) If the appointment slot that you need is not available call in on 01425 480030 as occasionally there may be additional time slots available that are not displayed.

Finally watch the video below showing you how it works:

N/b The video has no sound

3 things you must never do to an ACUTE injury

This post will be short and sweet but please take 30 seconds to read it.

Avoiding the three things below will save you much time in recovery.

1. Never put HEAT on an acute injury

If you have just had an acute injury the area will immediately go into an inflammatory response.

If the area around the injury is hot, red, swollen or painful you must avoid putting heat on it.

Heat will only increase the inflammatory response along with any bleeding or bruising in the area. Avoid heat at this stage! Including hot baths.

2. Never MASSAGE an acute injury

This is for exactly the same reasons as I set out above.

Massage on an acute injury will only increase blood flow which in turn will increase the inflammatory response. Avoid massage on a 'new' injury!

3. Never try to 'RUN OFF ' an acute injury

This rule really falls into the common sense category. If you've just sprained an ankle, twisted a knee or pulled a hamstring you must stop exercising if it's causing you pain.

If you keep running on a painful joint or muscle then you will be creating additional trauma to the muscle fibers or joint surfaces.

To add to this, these type of injuries can feel less severe while the muscles are still warm it's only when you stop and cool down when the joint or muscle begins to 'stiffen up'. This is the point when you realise the full extent of your injury.

STOP if you are in pain to avoid causing more damage.

Physiotherapy Software (Preview Video)

Alongside working as a Sports Therapist at the clinic I run two other companies Physio Images and Rehab Software Pro.

Below is a video that I recently had produced for Rehab Software Pro.

The software allows Physiotherapists and Sports Therapists to produce rehabilitation handouts for their clients.

If you are interested in seeing how the software works then hit 'play' on the video below (video length 2.20).

Client Email (back, neck & shoulder pain)

Below is an email exchange with a client on his back pain.

At the time he was unable to to come and see me at the clinic, but the advice I've given him is likely to be of use to some individuals that suffer from 'posture based' back pain.

Initial client email

Hey Alex,

Long time.

Just wanted to ask a question about back pain.

I've had back pain for last couple years and it seems like I've been doing everything right.

What should I do next? What type of person should I look to visit in Southampton?

Thanks...

Additional details

I then asked him for a few additional details so I could give him better interim advice. We exchanged a couple emails. Alongside other things he informed me of the following details:

• No acute incident caused his pain, his discomfort has built in over time.
• He's had lots of Sports Massage / Chiropractic adjustment on his back and neck.
• He's in his early 20's.
• He's a writer / Blogger so spends ALOT of time at the computer.
• The main advice he's had from the Physio / Chiro has been to improve his posture and strength his back.
• He is seeing a personal trainer twice a week and has been working on the strength in his back.

My email response

Hi *********,

No worries.

On the face of it, it does sound largely that you have been doing all the right things - which I understand will be frustrating!

From what you have described is sounds alot like you have some postural issues through the spine / upper trunk. Which is likely to be causing the pain. Obviously I'm making a few assumptions here.

The symptoms you have described all for into the category of poor work (or other) posture. A good clue to this is that after improving your desk set up things have improved, if only slightly.

The type of issue you have described falls very much into 'upper cross syndrome' (Google it!). Again I'm sure you know this is the issue already.

In basic terms you need to STRENGTHEN up your weak / lengthened back muscles (which you're doing) and STRETCH your chest / biceps / anterior deltiod muscles (which you may also be doing).

The problem I find with this sort of issue is that many people, on the face of it, are doing the right things to improve the problem. However they are doing nowhere near enough volume of the rehab exercises to improve the problem.

Bear in mind if you are spending 8 hours+ per day with poor postureworking, then only doing 3x one hour in the gym per week and 10 mins stretching per day is not going to make enough of a difference.

If you want to fix this you will need to really put some time into it.

These are some of the things I would recommend:

1) In the gym, for the short term, minimise pressing movements (e.g. Over head press, bench press etc). Maximise Pulling movements (E.g. Bent over rows, seated rows etc). Focus on retracting the scapula with the pulling movements, as if you're trying to trap a pen between them. This will help address the imbalance between chest / back muscle groups

2) Do face pulls every time you're in the gym: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQS-tXL1CLg

3) Do YTWLs every time you're in the gym: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj3NdjH1NSk / http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjIHVuV673k

4) Foam roll the back every day (10-15mins min) - looking to create extension in the thoracic spine / stretch the chest + shoulders. See pdf attached.

5) Stretch your chest / deltoids as often as possible. Long 30sec holds needed! See pdf attached.

6) Be truly aware of your posture while at your desk - you've got to work at breaking poor posture. This will take a bit of time.

Try these for 4 weeks and really work hard at them. Show the exercises to your trainer so he can go over them with you to make sure you do them with good form.

If you work really hard at these for 4 weeks and it doesn't make any change you can come down and see me and we can go through a proper consultation to get to the bottom of it.

I hope this helps.

Let me know if you want anything clarified.

Catch up soon.

Summary

The type of problem discussed here is something I see over and over again if you suffer from this type of problem have a detailed read over the post as some of the tips and exercises are likely to help you!

As always email me directly if you need any further advice.