RSU Expert: Is It Safe to Apply Tape at Home?

Kinesiology taping gained global recognition at the 2008 Olympic Games. This therapeutic technique appeared in Latvia a year later and since then has increased in popularity. Taping is a therapeutic tool for alleviating pain and reducing discomfort by applying a thin, flexible adhesive tape. Assistant at the Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) Faculty of Rehabilitation and physiotherapist Marita Spuntele-Kondrjakova explains the therapeutic effects of kinesiology taping and self-taping possibilities at home. 

“Taping involves the application of a special flexible tape with the ability to stretch to 60-70% of its original length. As it shrinks, the tape lifts the skin, improves lymphatic drainage and blood circulation and reduces swelling in the targeted area. The tape helps remove waste products from a blockage and normalises muscle tone. There are different taping techniques - the tape can, for example, restore the strength of a weak muscle and relax a tight muscle. There is a form of taping for pain relief that is used in the case of acute pain, after trauma and also if there are trigger points in muscles, the RSU assistant and physiotherapist explains the wide application of taping. 

Therapeutic taping can be used to reduce post-surgery swelling, for example, in the case of breast surgery after gland removal that is causing swelling of the affected hand. There is also a taping technique for posture correction. e.g. postural control for children. 

Because of the different taping techniques, it would be complicated to self-tape at home, unless you have some knowledge of taping. There is a muscle technique for the purpose of working on muscles, a painkilling technique that is targeting trigger points, and a number of other techniques, i.e. the ligament (fascia) lymphatic, corrective and other,” explains Marita Spuntele-Kondrjakova.

Moreover, in order to affix the tape to a hand, you have to use both hands, which means that in this case self-taping will be impossible. “If the tape is used to target a muscle, it must be applied from the muscle origin to its insertion which means that a person with no knowledge of anatomy will not be able to accomplish this. The cause of the problem must be known as well. An individual without medical knowledge will not be able to identify the main cause,“ the physiotherapist is sceptical about self-taping at home. 

A type of tape that can be applied at home is the so-called cross tape that resembles a lattice and is applied by physiotherapists on trigger points and bruises.

"At home you can tape your legs, if a physiotherapist or another specialist has shown you how to prepare and affix the tape. However I would recommend you consult a specialist who will identify the cause and teach you how to tape or will apply the tape himself as this is only one of various physiotherapeutic methods," she recommends.