Tape measure
Is new rehabilitative bandage breakthrough or Olympic hype?
The Post and Courier
Monday, September 1, 2008
What is Kinesio?: Kinesio tape, developed by Japanese chiropractor Kenzo Kase more than 25 years ago, was on prominent display on some Olympic athletes, such as beach volleyball gold medalist Kerri Walsh. Kinesio claims to 'alleviate pain and facilitate lymphatic drainage by microscopically lifting the skin.' Sports medicine experts have mixed opinions.
The Beijing Olympics are long gone, but the buzz about an oddly arranged athletic tape on marquee Olympians may last for months to come. Some of those athletes got plenty of face, er, body time in prime time, such as gold-medal-winning beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh of the United States, members of Spain's silver-medal-winning basketball team, disqualified bronze-medal-winning American sprinter Wallace Spearmon and Jamaican hurdler Bridgitte Foster-Hylton. Taping injured athletes has been around for years, but this looked like a new approach and breed of tape. The Web buzzed with speculation, and much of the commentary took information straight from the maker's Web site as the undisputed truth. Kinesio, developed by Japanese chiropractor Kenzo Kase more than 25 years ago, touts itself as the emerging "rehabilitative taping method within the U.S. and international medical communities" and an "absolute must-have skill for the committed musculoskeletal practitioner." The Kinesio site goes on to say: "(Conventional athletic) tape and Kinesio Taping are fundamentally different. Kinesio Taping is based on a different philosophy that aims to give free range of motion in order to allow the body's muscular system to heal itself bio-mechanically. ... (It) alleviates pain and facilitates lymphatic drainage by microscopically lifting the skin. The taped portion forms convolutions in the skin, thus increasing interstitial space. The result is that pressure and irritation are taken off the neural and sensory receptors, alleviating pain." Does it sound like a breakthrough for athletes and weekend warriors of every ilk? After all, if it's good for Walsh, Spearmon and the Spanish Olympic basketball team, it must work. Or is it a bunch of hype, assisted by a clever marketing scheme thanks to Olympic athletes? (Kinesio USA donated 50,000 rolls of the tape to 58 countries for use at the Olympic Games. Since that exposure, Web traffic has jumped from 600 to 345,000 views daily.) Local sports medicine experts had mixed reviews, largely because of a lack of definitive studies. "It is difficult to definitively say whether this technique is a marketing gimmick or real breakthrough," says Dr. David Geier Jr., director of MUSC Sports Medicine. "There is very little research on this method, and the available studies do not show much benefit outside of the time just after application. It has no real downside, though, so if an athlete tries it and feels that he or she can perform better, then it might be worthwhile." Dr. Joe Calandra, a team doctor for the South Carolina Stingrays, Charleston RiverDogs and Charleston Battery, says Kinesio is similar to Elastoplast taping, which he has been using for more than 30 years. He thinks some high-level athletes using Kinesio may be "brainwashed" to its effectiveness. Through their use of it, Calandra says, "Others want in the 'me-too' effect, (and) now, all the weekend wannabes will be buying it." Calandra points to a study, published in the June 2008 Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, on the short-term efficacy of Kinesio Tape on 42 college students with shoulder pain. The conclusion was that it "may be of some assistance to clinicians in improving pain-free, active range of motion immediately after tape application for patients with shoulder pain" but that using it "for decreasing pain intensity or disability for young patients with suspected shoulder tendonitis or impingement is not supported." In contrast, Dr. Wes Dudgeon, assistant professor of health, exercise and sport science at The Citadel, says that a number of scholarly articles in peer-reviewed journals have documented the effectiveness of Kinesio Taping in many rehabilitative applications, not just athletic, and that should be considered when making a final judgment. "Also, never forget about the 'placebo effect,' just believing that something is going to heal you, or make you perform better, sometimes is enough to be effective," says Dudgeon. He adds that because of Kinesio's elastic and waterproof nature, it can be left on between three and five days, whereas traditional white athletic tape loses its effectiveness after saturation. Mark Rutledge, physical therapist at Rehabilitation Centers of Charleston, says he thinks Kinesio has some merit. While there's a lack of literature supporting its effectiveness, it may be another proverbial "tool in the tool box" of treatments. "Traditional athletic tape is constructed in a fashion that limits motion and attempts to help stabilize a joint. Kinesio tape is designed in a fashion that the tape itself is flexible and allows movement at a joint," says Rutledge. While he thinks it may have some use now and in the future, Kinesio won't work on every problem he encounters. "I've been a physical therapist for 18 years and have found that there isn't just one 'magic pill' out there. It is looking like it (Kinesio) may have a role in rehab and return to activity. I'm sure that role will be developed more and more over time. For now, if we try it and a patient feels it is helpful, we certainly will utilize it to assist someone in their return to sport or recovery from injury." Dr. Timothy Scheett, an assistant professor of physical education and health at the College of Charleston, says he's heard mixed reactions, too. "I've had a few athletic trainers tell me that it is nothing more than hype, whereas others have told me that it works well," says Scheett. "I am a bit leery to take the opinion of someone that has never used it before, and since it was developed by a chiropractor, it automatically gets a bit of a bad rap by some in the medical community." Scheett adds that he sees Kinesio as another research opportunity for one of his students.
Reach David Quick at 937-5516 or dquick@postandcourier.com.
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