What is Physio Tape?

The popularity of Physio tapes

Physio Tape is a tex based non latex tape with adhesive on one side which is used in physiotherapy to treat many different ailments afflicting the muscles and joints of the body. Tapes such as Physio Tape and Kinesio Tape are popular all over the world owing to their widespread usage by sports persons and athletes. During strenuous sports activities, significant large stress is placed on various joints and muscles of the body. Professionals tape up those muscle and joint areas that sustain the maximum stress. For a runner it would be the ankle area, for a boxer it would be the wrist. The use of these tapes by successful Chinese athletes in the Beijing Olympics has propelled its popularity around the world. Many athletes can be seen at competitive events with Physio or Kinesio tapes.

Using Physio tape to help muscles

Physio Tape are applied by stretching them over the target area. The tape wraps tightly around the muscles and convolutes the skin. This narrows the blood vessels and thus, increases blood circulation in that area. More blood means more nutrients and energy getting circulated in that area. Other than affecting the blood circulation, the pressure exerted by the tape on the muscles numbs the sensory cells of the skin thus reducing any kind of sensation in that area. This allows the athlete to use the muscle for a longer duration as it numbs the feelings of pain and fatigue. These are the two main mechanisms of action of a physio tape when used during a strenuous  activity.

Other benefits of Physio tapes

Physio tapes can also be used before as well as after an activity. Physio tapes, using the same mechanism discussed above, promote healing and rejuvenation of fatigued and injured muscles when wrapped for longer durations. Muscles not only control the movements of the body but they also control the lymph and blood flow as well as influence the core temperature of the body. Thus, failure of muscles to perform properly can manifest itself in many different symptoms. Physio tape has been designed that it can be used to support muscles throughout the day and up to three days without removing the tape. Physio tapes have become popular in physiotherapy treatments for muscle and joint ailments such as tennis elbow, bad back, ankle strains, knee pain, etc.

Some common applications

The most common application of physio tapes is to treat tennis elbow and back aches. For tennis elbow, a Y shaped strip is fashioned out of a 2 foot strip of Physio tape. This can be done by cutting the tape through the middle up to half of the strip. The intact side is applied on the wrist and moved upwards with very little stretching. One of the arms of the Y tape is used to wrap the forearm all the way up to just below the elbow while stretching it to 20% of its capacity. Twenty percent capacity would correspond to medium stretching. The other end of the Y strip is wrapped over the forearm as well in the opposite direction with 40% stretching and finished just on the elbow. Another strip of about 1foot is used to seal the elbow end. If the taping process is done correctly, then there should be considerably less pain when moving the arm. Not only does it make living through the pain caused by tennis elbow much easier and facilitate a wider range of movements, but also over time can cure tennis elbow. For use with back aches, a strip of 1 foot tape is applied in a straight line all the way from just below the arm pit to the start of the hip at both sides of the body.  To provide further support, another strip of tape can be used to wrap around the waist tight enough to allow normal breathing and to suppress the pain from back strain.

Physiotherapy applications

In physiotherapy, ailments are cured by treating muscle structures and joints of the body. The use of Physic tape when coupled with medication serve as a potent cure for a lot of ailments that otherwise cannot be cured through medicine alone. Problems such as frozen shoulders and tennis elbow generally do not show up in x-rays and other medical tests. Hence, as there is no underlying cause that can be detected for these ailments, their treatment can never be guaranteed by medical professionals. This medical treatment gap can often be filled or reduced very inexpensively with physiotherapy and Physio tapes. It has become common to find Physio or other sports related tapes and wraps at nearly every sporting event. The performance of an athlete depends on how fast a sprain or spasm is cured. The intensity of their activity puts tremendous pressure on their muscles which require immediate relief. Physio tapes are used by sports physiotherapists exactly for this purpose.

Summary

All in all, Physio tapes today are an indispensable part of sports and activities. Physiotherapy has accepted this tape as a standard tool for treating many muscular and joint ailments. Physio tapes are available over the counter and on the Internet and can be purchased without a prescription. Vitality Medical has an assortment of Physio tapes and other sport tapes and compression wrappings you can select and purchase online. You do not have to be a professional athlete to benefit from Physio Tape. It is useful for prevention as well as healing purposes. It is used before, during and after sport events. The cost of Physio Tape is under $10.00 a roll, which makes them a great alternative to other such tapes such as Kinesio Tapes. Because of its affordability, many are attracted to this sport tape without having to budget.