If you’ve watched the Olympics, a marathon or any sports competition, you’ve likely seen it: an elite athlete’s shoulder, knee or other body part sporting KT tape.
Since 2008, our kinesiology tape has been providing effective pain relief and support for the muscles, tendons, and ligaments of active people of all types - from Olympic-level athletes to weekend warriors and anyone else who loves to move.
Kinesiology tape has long been used as recovery product in the sports medicine industry. How did it move out to the masses and become more mainstream?
Largely, because of KT™ working with medical experts, professional athletes and everyday active people to bring kinesiology tape beyond the clinic and make it available to consumers across the country.
KT Tape is a premium elastic sports tape that offers lightweight support through its long-lasting adhesive and durable fabric. The pre-cut tape is customizable and comfortable to wear for days at a time, through showers and sweat.
BRINGING KINESIOLOGY TAPE BEYOND THE CLINIC
"Before KT's founding, kinesiology tape was a clinical product that required users to go to a clinician and have the tape applied. KT was the brand that brought the benefit of kinesiology tape out of the clinical shadows to the masses with education and instructions for DIY application," explains Jeremy Newns, Director of Product Development & Research at KT Tape.
Before KT made it more visible and accessible, kinesiology tape had been used for decades. Christopher Harper, PT, DPT, OCS, is a doctor of physical therapy and a board-certified orthopedic specialist. He's also on the KT Medical Advisory Board and shared insights for this article.
The kinesiology taping concept has been around since the 1970s and attracted more attention in the 1980s. By the 1990s, physical therapists in the United States began embracing the method, which continued gaining traction into the 2000s.
2008 was a pivotal year, when kinesiology tape took its then-biggest stage: the Summer Olympic Games. Athletes sported kinesiology tape across various competitions.
“Since that time, such products have been more visible in training and events across the sporting world,” said physical therapist Christopher Harper.
FOR THE EVERYDAY AND THE ELITE
If anything from little niggles to extreme soreness crops up to hold you back from running in the morning, biking on the weekend, staying centered with yoga or reaching your daily steps goal, KT is for you.
Those aches and pains in your joints or that post-workout muscle soreness are things KT is the perfect tool for. It can be worn during and after workouts to provide flexible support to tendons, joints and muscles, enabling you to fully enjoy your adventures and help with the recovery process, reducing that pain and soreness.
Currently, KT has a base family of four tape products with several of those having line extensions offering added features and benefits. As the leader in kinesiology tape, KT understands the needs of the consumer and that those needs are not served by one or two products.Each KT Tape type is developed differently to address differences in skin types, activities, performance needs, duration needs, amongst other things that differ per user. You can find the perfect KT Tape for your needs using these 5 Tips for Choosing the Right KT Tape.
Pain, soreness or injury in muscles, tendons or ligaments can be distracting and limiting. KT Tape is designed to provide drug-free pain relief and flexible support.
KT Tape increases stability, decreases discomfort and lifts the skin to temporarily increase local blood flow and reduce muscle soreness post-workout.
