Customer Reviews

KT TAPE Original Cotton Elastic Kinesiology Theraeputic Tape - 20 Pre-Cut 10" Strips

5 star:		(60)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I first learned about kinesiology therapeutic taping during a flare up of elbow tendinitis. I'm an avid climber, am prone to repetitive stress injuries and tendinitis, and am not good at "resting," so worked with my physical therapist on a plan that would allow me to recover my elbow while not taking an extended break from climbing. Part of that plan included weekly applications, in the PT office, of kinesiology therapeutic tape. The tape stayed on a couple of days, provided pain relief, and allowed me to gently keep working my arms without aggravating my tendinitis. Unfortunately, though, the tape wasn't commercially available to consumers, so after that round of PT, I went back to traditional athletic taping when I had to for my wrists and knees.

Enter KT Tape. I first tried it for my knees a few months ago -- I don't like to wear a brace, or to use McConnell taping because they affect the natural movement of the knee, when really what I need is just a tiny bit of support to keep my knee tracking properly. KT Tape is described as providing "muscle pain relief, increased mobility, and enhanced recovery," rather than "support," but I find that when I KT Tape my knees according to the directions included with the tape, my knees are less sore at the end of a workout (running, biking, hiking, etc.) and my recovery is much faster. Without KT Tape, I have to rest my knees between impact workout days to recover; when I'm using KT Tape, I can do workouts on back to back days, and even 2 a day.

I haven't tried it for other injuries, but I'm currently rehabbing a case of bicep tendinitis and am looking forward to giving it a try for that. I also heard from a friend that kinesiology therapeutic tape (in general) has helped her avoid shoulder surgery so far; and, have heard a lot of chatter about its use for Plantar Fasciitis (though that's one malady I'm lucky to not struggle with, knock on wood)!

And, quick hits: I love that I don't have to carry scissors with this tape, since it's precut. The adhesive is effective; I've had it on up to four days in a backcountry hiking setting, which exceeded my expectations by about three days. I have yet to do an "adhesive test" in less strenuous settings, but I believe the manufacturer's claim that it would stick for up to 4 or 5 days. I am looking forward to picking some up in the beige color, which will hopefully be a bit more subtle in between workouts than the bright pink of my first box (which garnered questions from almost everybody who sees it). The videos on the website are easy to follow and don't require a PT degree. And, the product is affordable, and doesn't require a trip to the physical therapist.

I have a lot of experience with KT TAPE. I am a trainer at a GYM and I have introduced many of my clients to KT TAPE. All of them have had great success with the tape helping them manage pain, recover from injuries faster and trainer harder. What they have not all had success with is getting the tape to stay on for days at a time without a little help.

This is what I have found. The tape sticks well if you apply it well before you exercise (at least an hour) you press hard and rub it to create some friction and you apply it to clean skin.
It will not stick if you are sweaty or sweating or if you start sweating right after you apply the tape. This means that you should apply it after a shower or after you clean the area with soap and water and when you are in a cool dry place. Do not try and apply this outside on a hot humid day just before you start exercising. I guarantee that it will come right off.
KT TAPE will also not stick if you have any lotions, moisturizers, sunscreen etc. My experience is that it sticks great to clean skin and even clean hairy skin (sometimes too well) but any oils just kill the adhesive before it can bond with the skin.

The other thing that I have seen with clients that use the tape is that they stretch it too much especially the ends. If the ends are under tension and then you stretch or flex the muscle the tape can pop off. This is probably a good thing because a lot of rigid tapes that we used to use would cause blisters because they were with too much tension.
Another trick is to make sure the ends of the tape go down on skin rather than on tape. The tape sticks much better to skin than it does to itself. The other thing that I have noticed is that the body part that you are taping makes a big different. It seems to stay on a lot longer on neck, backs and shoulders and come off a lot sooner on feet and ankles. This could be because our feet take a lot more abuse than our necks or backs or it could be that our feet are a lot oilier or that the tape is more likely to catch on carpet or bed linens when worn on the feet and so it starts peeling sooner. Whatever the reasons I would expect it to stay on feet for 1-3 days and on other body parts 5-7. Maybe even longer if you are careful.
For some reason the adhesive gets much stronger after about an hour on the skin. When I have taken it off during the first hour it comes right off but after an hour it is really on their good and can actually be painful to remove, Especially if you have hairy legs like me.

Following these guidelines has made all the difference for my clients that have had problems getting the tape to stick but I also talked to a Chiropractor friend of mine and he tapes up a lot of athletes that wear the tape beneath hockey pads, and shin guards and other equipment and he uses a hair dryer to heat the tape up to get it to stick better in extreme situations.
I talked another Physical therapist that tapes a lot of people that do water sports and he uses hair spray. Just find some extra strength hair spray, spray it on the area and wait for a few second so that it is kind of tacky and then apply the tape. He says this works great.

If you don't have the luxury of waiting around for an hour you could try the hair dryer or hair spray method.
I have also had people say that the tape sticks too well and that it hurts to remove. I recommend taking it off in the shower, a little mineral oil or conditioner will take it right off. Also if you leave it on for the full 5-7 days your top layer of skin that is stuck to the tape is ready to come off anyway.
I love the tape, I love how my clients can keep training through injures and I love the online resources that show you have to apply the tape.

I am a physical therapist and I came upon this product about 6 months ago by accident. I tried it on myself, then a few of my patients. It worked with over 95% efficacy.
I also use it when I hike the 14,000 feet mountains here in Colorado as a point of prevention to knee and foot pain. More importantly it has changed the lives if my patients from 14-83. I use it on 60% of my patients as a tool to treat and to a point diagnose.

Chronic Lateral patellar dislocation
Chondromalacia (jumpers knee)
Shoulder pain
Neck and back pain from strains to herniated disks
Acute knee injuries
Chronic knee injuries and pain
And so very much more.

I recently had a patient who had plantar fasciitis on his feet 7 years in duration. I taped him with teh PF 2 technique ([...])and by the time he stood his pain was gone from a 7/10 to 0/10 pain.


So here is how good I think KT TAPE is......

Patient comes in one week ago today. Day prior he was training, stumbles on a trail. Knees goes anteromedial then anterolateral then finally straight to ground smacking his patellar tendon and anterior tib. Pain 10/10 at occurance. Comes in next day 7/10 pain. On crutches wea...ring patellar brace. He can stand on it. He can't actively extend his left knee and flexion is 85 degrees and spikes pain. Negative McMurry etc etc etc. So I asked if he'd be willing to try it. He did and above is what I used. He could actively extend to zero. AROM to 125 roughly and could stand from sitting zero pain. He walked out zero pain with crutches in one hand, brace in the other.

He came back today to be retaped. He said it ached without the tape and his gait somewhat antalgic but no crutches and nit brace. Pain 3/10. Taped him again. Pain zero. He actually started hopping around the clinic lol.

You guys have an amazing product that has made a believer of me and my patients, fellow clinicians and just a few folks who ask me about it in passing.

Exceptional work KT TAPE!!!!!!!!!!!


Athlete
Police officer
Geriatrics
Chronic pain
Acute pain
Even used it on my own mother with amazing results.

The simplicity is that it is made for Joe Public who can go to the store, purchase it, review the directions and place it themselves.

This product has changed the lives of not only myself but also my patients.

I'm a long time use of Kinesio tape, so I thought I'd try the KT-tape since not having to cut the strips would be an advantage.
KT Tape Pros:
* Strips cut in a good length
* Rounded corners good

Cons:
* The "Y-strip" idea is pretty much worthless. It's very hard to apply a single, long strip without having the strip split in the middle.
* At the split edge of the tape, the 'middle' edges (the edge created when splitting the tape lengthwise) are not rounded, so they catch on things and refuse to stay down
* Adhesive seems weaker than 'regular' Kinesio tape.

If you need to tape your body using the Kinesio method, buy a roll of 'regular' (uncut, not split down the middle) Kinesio Gold tape or Rock Tape. Yes, you'll have to cut pieces using scissors, but the Kinesio Gold and Rock Tape are much better products than KT-Tape.

I received a sample of the KT tape at the Walt Disney World 2010 marathon weekend. After running the 5K, I had horrible heel pain from aggravated plantar fasciitis. So, I figured I'd try the sample of the KT tape I'd been given in my race materials. Imagine my surprise when these two pieces of flimsy material managed to give me hours of relief from my pain!! The tape is very easy to apply and there are several videos regarding how to apply it on their website. The only thing you have to be careful about is making sure that the ends don't fold and stick to each other because then they won't stick correctly to your skin. I'm looking forward to buying a roll of the KT Tape and feeling relief regularly!

I first discovered this stuff at a race expo where they had sports med guys doing injury consultations. I went over, told them about the horrible shin splints I was having, and they immediately busted out KT tape, and did both legs. I thought it looked funky, but I was willing to try ANYTHING to get through my 26.2. Well, the next day I ran the race, completely pain free, and even set a PR. I have never looked back. I still use this for occasional aches and pains, but lately have been battling plantar fascitis, that was also causing ankle and shin pain on the same foot. I remembered my tape, followed the instructions on how to apply it, and now I can continue to run completely pain free. It only hurts when I take the tape off! I love this and plan on using it for every run for the next 5 weeks as I prepare for another marathon. I don't know what it is about this stuff that works, but it does. It is amazing!

When I was diagnosed with peroneal tendonitis in June 2010 my PT suggested running with an Ace bandage or compression wrap. I tried, and both were terribly uncomfortable and hindered movement. I knew folks who used KT Tape so I gave it a shot and have never gone back to any other tape or bandage. At the time the website didn't have directions for taping peroneal tendonitis, I emailed and received a document back the same day with step-by-step instructions. Thanks to KT Tape I continued to train all summer and completed a marathon (with tape on my ankle and a cranky IT band) and am on my way to my second. Without the support of KT Tape, and the added effect of minimizing swelling and faster recovery, I wouldn't be running. I only have to apply tape once or twice a week, it stays on for days even during hot summer workouts and plenty of showers (I've also taped for shin splints and that stayed on almost two weeks). I swear by this stuff, and so do plenty other members of my marathon training group.

My only issues with the KT Tape are that it is kind of pricey and that if you don't put it on in exactly the correct way, it can start to peel off. So be sure that you get all of the oils off of your skin in every place that the tape is supposed to be applied beforehand. It took me a while to learn how to apply it correctly, but when it's applied correctly, it really does work. I have used it for shin splints, sprained ankles and hamstring issues. I also gave some to my friend who had tendinitis in her foot for her half-marathon and she said it definitely helped!

Not only does the tape seem to stabilize everything without limiting your range of motion, but it also helps a great deal in alleviating the pain--even better than drugs like Advil. If I could, I would give the tape 4.5 stars, but that's not an option. Bottom line: follow the directions and look at the video instructions on the KT Tape website to make sure you put it on correctly, and you will most likely get good results!

6 weeks before my first marathon I had ITBS flare! OH NO! I wasn't going to miss my first 26.2! PT set me up with KT Tape, saved me! I was able to get back to running and ran with it every time. It is easy to apply! I have also used post marathon for runners knee and so much more! KT Tape keeps me out on the roads doing what I love!!!

I absolutely love KT tape and I don't run without it. The uses are amazing and results just seem to get better and better. I've used it to help with carpal tunnel at work, I ran a 5k with it supporting a stress fracture in my foot, I used it to rehab a sprained ankle in just under a week, and I still use it to help eliminate shin splints.

I strongly reccomend this to runners of all levels, but especially the beginners who could use some help to keep going when the normal pain of running becomes a discouragement.