Is KT Taping an Art?

For the LA Derby Dolls and the medical professionals who treat them, the answer is a definite YES.  Enjoy this guest blog post from Dr. Richard Fox, Director of Medical Services for the Los Angeles Derby Dolls. My name is Richard Fox, and I am a Doctor of Chiropractic who has been specializing in elite, world class, Olympic and professional athletic injuries for over 20 years. I would like to share that I have been a student of the Healing Arts since 1976, and while there may be many disciplines out there, we are all involved with the Art and Science of Healing.  Taping techniques whether the standard stability taping, tab taping, or KT-Taping are definitely Arts, and as such make us Artists.  As with any art, we learn to adapt the art to the patient.  This means we get the wonderful experience of experimenting and creating.  When I apply taping techniques, I visualize the how the joint and muscles work in a three-dimensional pattern, and address how the cable system (muscles) is effecting the motion of the bones of the joint.  This reveals how I want to apply the tape.  Is the cable an internal rotator, external rotator, flexor, extensor, abductor, or adductor?  I was first exposed to KT Tape about a few years ago when I was working with the AVP tour.  I asked Jim Jensen, VP of KT Tape if I could try some for the Los Angeles Derby Dolls.  I was just starting out as Director of medical services for the league.  I have been a hooked on KT Tape ever since.  The Los Angeles Derby Dolls is one of the leading Banked Track Roller Derby Leagues in the country and is comprised of 5 teams of some of the finest athletes I have ever seen.  Taking hits and falls while being on 4 tiny wheels and achieving speeds of up to 35 to 40 MPH on a banked track, we see our fair share of acute traumatic injuries.  Hence, I would say the most common KT Taping I do is for edema flushing.  The new Edema KT-Tape is so quick and easy to apply that it saves me, and the Doll Repair Staff, a considerable amount of time.  As fellow artists in taping, I hope you experiment, create, have fun, and share your successes and failures.  -Dr. Richard Fox, DC, Los Angeles, CA Photo Credit: Susanica Tam