SPORTTAPE Blog

We hope you are enjoying the games as much as we are. In fact we're thinking of changing our office hours whilst the Olympics is on because it's simply too addictive! 

You can't fail to have noticed the amount of kinesiology tape on display. It's been worn on everyone from "Sir" Bradley Wiggins to Katrin Holtwick of Germany (wearing a SpiderTech Lymphatic below). If you're interested here are a few more on Pinterest.

Kinesiology tape has featured in pretty much every major tabloid from all corners of the globe including the Daily Mail and the New York Times. All of which have addressed the same topics; firstly that kinesiology tape has been widely adopted by some of the worlds greatest athletes and secondly the lack of research behind the product. 

To be honest, neither came as a surprise to us. We know that the worlds best athletes use kinesiology tape because we've been applying it to them for several years and secondly we're fully aware of the lack of research and the reasons behind some people skepticism. 

Because, if the truth be told, we were one of those people when we were originally introduced to kinesiology tape a few years ago. However, that quickly changed when we started to see the clinical effectiveness of kinesiology tape and we are fully committed to discovering more about its qualities. To discover more please click here.

So many of you will be asking what's it all about? 

Well, one of the key unique properties of the tape is that it is able to stretch to varying degrees over muscles. You will see a lot of athletes wearing different styles of tape over various muscles. This can help achieve the following factors in relation to optimising function and performance: 

• Decreased pain 
• Increased sensory awareness (proprioception) 
• More time before the onset of muscle aches 

Want to know what an application is for? Let us know. 

If you spot an particular athlete and your wondering what the application is for just let us know. We're only too happy to explain the theory behind a particular application. 

For example on Rachel Laybourne (below) you can see a basic shoulder application with the official Team GB Kinesiology Tape! This is a common style of technique that is often used in offloading a rotator cuff strain and therefore aiding with shoulder stability and optimising range of motion. Both essential assets for a volleyball athlete.

Our latest post comes courtesy of Tom Astley. A physiotherapist with an eye for detail and a passion for sport, he's a very welcomed addition to our blog-sphere. 

So the European Championships 2012 are coming to a close- the showcase of europe’s elite footballers. Despite the theatrics of some footballers, injuries do commonly occur within the sport. Technically, football is a non-contact sport but rarely is this seen even at the highest levels. The contact within the sport and the pace at which it is played these days results in injuries. 

Following the completion of European Championships 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, UEFA compiled a dossier on the injuries sustained within the tournament. The EURO’s provided thrilling competitive football from 16 countries consisting of 368 players. 

• Forty-nine players (13%) suffered 56 injuries during the tournament. 
• A total of 46 of the injuries occurred during matches (82%) and 10 during training (18%). 
• The incidence of injury was approximately 16 times higher during match play.
• There are about 10-15 injuries/1,000 hours at amateur level and significantly above 25 injuries/1,000 hours at top professional level.

The injury risk during EURO tournaments, where the competitive nature of almost all matches is especially intense, is higher than the risk during longer- term competitions where especially high levels of intensity are not usually sustained.

Injury patterns

The majority of injuries (86%) were to the lower extremities, the most frequent locations being the ankle (n=11, 20%), lower leg (n=10, 18%), thigh (n=8, 14%), knee (n=8, 14%), hip/groin (n=8, 14%) and head/face (n=5, 9%). 

The physical demands of football do lead to injuries, and some are more serious than others. Cartilage tears are ten to a penny amongst footballers, from the premiership to Sunday league. Despite this, some sports people continue regardless whilst others seek intervention.

Despite all this, the Euro 2012 Finals have almost passed without serious injury. The most significant missing players were noted before the tournament began, with David Villa, Frank lampard and Carlos Puyol all missing out. During the past 3 weeks, injuries have largely been a thigh strain for Portugal striker Helder Postiga  sustained in the quarter-final win over the Czech Republic and Germany ‘s Bastian Schweinsteiger battling a chronic ankle ligament problem. Whilst plenty of players have been seen wearing kinesiology tape for rehabilitative and preventative reasons.

Lets hope for a clean final this weekend. The only injuries the Spanish are likely to incur is RSI from passing the ball so much. 

We’ve had loads of enquiries this week asking about the blue tape that footballers have been wearing at the Euro’s…  The blue tape is indeed kinesiology tape! 

Almost every team appears to be using kinesiology tape to help support their players through the tournament and blue is definitely the colour of choice!  Kinesiology tape which is available in a variety of colours including the very popular SPORTTAPE yellow, can be used to support a variety of niggles, muscle strains and potential injury worries, perfect for footballers.

Kinesiology tape is a thin, stretchy tape particularly effective for relieving muscular pain and spasms. Once applied, most applications can be worn up to 5 days, providing 24/7 support the entire time it’s worn. Watch this space as later this week we will bring you a special feature on taping for common football injuries.

In the meantime, many thanks to those of you who have  sent in your UEFA Euro 2012 spots, please keep them coming.  As always if you have any questions or need any advice please don’t hesitate to get in touch.