RockTape: You Seriously Need To Try This Stuff
If you have even dabbled in the competitive sports world, you’ve likely seen someone with funny tape on their back, knees, or shoulders. If you are like me, you’ve probably wondered what it actually does.
As a CrossFit athlete, I live in a world that LOVES their name brand stuff. So when I learned that RockTape was offering Kinesiology Taping classes, naturally I NEEDED to take the class.
You guys, this funny tape that you see on people, is magical!
I couldn’t believe how many benefits something so simple can offer, but I’ve experienced firsthand and through friends how RockTape can help repair injuries, reduce fatigue, and reduce pain.
I am VERY excited to be offering RockTape applications to my clients, and here are just a few ways that you can benefit from this new service.
1. Biomechanical Lifting Effect
Fancy words, huh!?! Let me simplify it.
When RockTape is applied to the skin, it helps lift and separate skin, fascia, and muscle tissues. This is helpful for a couple reasons.
The separation of these tissues allows for better blood flow to the area. This means an increased amount of nutrients and oxygen to the area, along with an increased rate at which lymph and waste is drawn out of the area. All of this can mean increased rates in healing.
Adhesions are basically places in the body where fascia tissue has stuck to each other. Fascia tissue surrounds muscle and helps muscles glide past each other. So when adhesions occur, muscles aren’t moving at full capacity. RockTape can help separate adhesions so muscles can move how they are supposed to!
2. Pain Relief
What? Slapping some tape on my skin is going to fix my pain? Yes! Yes it can!
When the tape is applied to the skin, your brain recognizes that something is touching you through sensory nerves. The brain becomes more focused on those sensory nerves firing, and it forgets about the nerves that are sending pain signals from that area.
The idea is that if your arm hurts and I punch you in the face, you forget about your arm! Kinda, not really, but you get the idea!
This is particularly helpful in chronic pain patients who may be avoiding certain movements because of the pain.
This can also be helpful in terms of nerve impingement. RockTape can physically lift tissue off the impinged nerves and relieve some discomfort.
3. Correcting Movement Patterns
With chronic pain and old injuries, it’s common to move a part of your body in an unnatural way to avoid pain or simply because it doesn’t want to move that way. Over time, muscle memory sets in, and that movement becomes fixed. RockTape helps to recreate your natural movement patterns.
Tape is applied to complement a movement, so it creates resistance if that movement isn’t happening correctly. It’s basically a gentle tug on your muscles to encourage them to move correctly.
Do you slouch? Of course you do! RockTape can be applied to your back to remind you to sit up straight and physically hold your neck and shoulders in a better position.
Soooo When Should I Have It Done?
Before, during, or after a competition.
The tape will help fatigued muscles recover more quickly and lessen your chance of injury.
After an injury.
When it comes to recent injuries, massage can sometimes do more harm than good, but applying RockTape can help reduce swelling, manage pain, and speed up the recovery process.
After a massage.
Add RockTape after your massage to extend the effects of the bodywork.
Before a road trip (or insert activity that requires lots of standing or sitting).
Long car rides destroy my knees because my quads get so tight (yes, tight quads can cause knee pain…. I sense another blog post heading your way!). Applying RockTape to my quads and knees help reduce muscle fatigue so my quads don’t tighten up as quickly.
It’s also a physical reminder to stretch and move around when I can!
I know I’m going to tape my fiancé’s feet and calves before his next conference he attends so his feet don’t hurt. Also, my neck before my next plane ride because those seats are a joke!
Wrapping It Up
There really isn’t much physical injury or discomfort that RockTape can’t help with, but here were the highlights. Be sure to ask about RockTape at our next appointment to see if it is a service that could benefit you.