"No More Nagging Knee Pain... Thanks, KT Tape!"

Guest writer Andre Zollars, avid cyclist and president of Prairie Winds in Montana, recounts her initial skepticism but ultimate conversion to the powers of KT Tape: Running has always been my passion, but last summer I rediscovered cycling. Given a hand-me-down time trial bike, I started riding with a group of guys in town. We started out doing 15-to-20 miles rides, but eventually built up to 30+ and a century ride over a weekend. I was hooked and before the end of summer, ordered a new top-of-the-line road bike for myself. Montana winters are long, and I’ve spent it all on a kinetic trainer, hovering between 80 and 100 miles a week.  Recently, I was rewarded for my hard work with the arrival of my new Fuji Supreme 1.0 road bike. To say it’s beautiful would be an understatement. The sleek tapered carbon silver, white and burnt orange frame reminds me of the classic Porsche 911. It is graceful, sleek, and built to tear up the pavement. I’m dying to get out on the road with it. My goal this summer is to ride at least one century, and possibly as many as three. But, that will depend on how my body holds up. I’ve tweaked my diet, adjusting it to suit my workout and that’s all gone well. The only thing that I am worried about holding me back is nagging knee pain. I don’t know how many years ago, but at least five, I discovered I could no longer run on pavement. After years of running, my knees were begging me to stop. So, I became solely a trail runner. They still act up on occasion, but are usually OK with some ibuprofen and icing. Now, after upping my mileage to 80+ a week on the trainer, my right knee is beginning to complain again. The pain is migrating from the inside to the front to the outside of the knee, making it impossible to diagnose. After years of icing and ibuprofen, I decided to pursue preventative measures. After some research, I settled on KT Tape. I’d seen the pro beach volleyball players using it and it seemed to be growing in popularity. I liked that it was easy to use, inexpensive, and didn’t go inside my body. A purist, I rarely take medications unless it’s an absolute must. I reviewed the KT Tape directions online and settled on the application for general knee pain. I figured I’d try that first and go from there. Applying the tape was easy, following the online tutorial. I did have to wash my legs first to ensure the tape would stick to my skin. Afterwards, I hopped on the bike without any real expectations. I set my goal for an hour on the bike and figured I’d see how it went. It became clear after my first hard effort ten minutes into the ride that my knee was supported and would be able to take much more than without the tape. I didn’t want to push it too hard, but it was encouraging so I amped up the workout, doing three minute intervals at 70-75% of MHR alternating with two minute intervals at 85-90% of MHR.  As I progressed halfway into my workout, I was feeling confident in the support the KT Tape was giving my knee, but less so about its ability to hold throughout the workout. Inside, on a trainer, you sweat quite heavily and I was sure the tape would give before I did. It didn’t seem to be affected by the sweat, however, and held throughout the duration of my 60 minute, 20 mile ride. The KT Tape packaging said that it would hold for up to five days, but I had found that hard to believe on a cyclist. The leg motion I felt sure would not only knock it loose, but also prove too much for it to support. I was wrong on both counts. When I was done, I had no knee pain and the tape was still securely on my leg. Instead, I found myself immediately online looking for how to apply KT Tape to correct neck and shoulder pain – the result of working on a computer all day.  Thanks KT Tape for giving me a simple, cost-effective solution to nagging knee pain from cycling. I look forward to using you in other applications and getting the same awesome results!