Earlier this week, thanks to Dr. Mandy Smith at Bloomington Sports and Wellness, I got my racing stripes!!
She taped me pret-ty good with RockTape, better known as KinesioTape (actually, KinesioTape is to elastic therapeutic tape as Kleenex is to tissue. Make sense? It's a brand name). It comes in a bunch of different colors, but on that day, I only had my choice of pink or pink. It's ok. :)
Mandy tells me she's the only "Rock Doc" in all of Indiana, meaning she's taken a bunch of courses and tested/certified to apply it correctly. You don't have to be a medical specialist to apply or buy the stuff yourself, and there's even instructions included on how to tape yourself. Obviously, it's most effective when done correctly. Think of it like putting a band-aid on your finger when it's extended straight. It pulls when you bend your finger, right? Sort of the same idea here-- the tape pulls when I stand up straight or bend my knees.
The purpose of this is to lift the fascia, the thin layer that covers your muscles. By lifting the fascia, we might be able to take some of the stress off of the muscles where I'm having pulling or tendinitis issues. While this isn't intended as a permanent solution, it should help us figure out what's working/not working so we can concoct a good treatment plan.
Compared to Kinesio Tape, according to Mandy, Rock Tape is so much better -- much more adhesive and flexible. I can at least tell you that I've had this on since Monday afternoon and have only had to cut and trim a few inches off when it came undone. I've showered (ha! Aren't you glad?) and run just about every day, and she even says that this tape will usually stay on swimmers for up to 5 days. It's Saturday and still sticky!
I am covered with this tape from a few loops around my foot to completely up to my hip (3 stripes on the left leg). With all of these left foot-calf-knee-hamstring-hip problems, we went all the way. On my right side, as you can see, I am sporting a below-the-knee tape job where my lower leg muscles have been feeling like they were pulling off of the bone -- painful and sharp!! It got so bad in the last few weeks I was walking normally, but it was not pleasant.
Despite the fact that Lance Armstrong was one of the first to make this stuff trendy, I like it not because it's what the cool kids are doing but because it's actually worked. While I didn't have a painful enough baseline to compare to, I haven't felt any pain in my right leg since the tape went on on Monday! On the left, I felt a twinge at Thursday night's run. And now, after the 13 mile run, I can definitely feel a little pulling in the lower right leg, but I suspect it's because the tape's gotten more elastic over the past few days. I'm still MUCH better off than I was before, so I think we're on to something...
Ps: [Disclaimer-- Shameless plug ahead.]
If you want to try RockTape, Mandy's going to be at most of the Mag 7 races taping people before the run. You don't have to be injured to get taped. It obviously won't be as in depth as what I have going on, but you'll get the general idea! Go to the first race, the Magnificent 7k and find out! (I think that's the first one she's at -- will verify!)
She taped me pret-ty good with RockTape, better known as KinesioTape (actually, KinesioTape is to elastic therapeutic tape as Kleenex is to tissue. Make sense? It's a brand name). It comes in a bunch of different colors, but on that day, I only had my choice of pink or pink. It's ok. :)
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The purpose of this is to lift the fascia, the thin layer that covers your muscles. By lifting the fascia, we might be able to take some of the stress off of the muscles where I'm having pulling or tendinitis issues. While this isn't intended as a permanent solution, it should help us figure out what's working/not working so we can concoct a good treatment plan.
Compared to Kinesio Tape, according to Mandy, Rock Tape is so much better -- much more adhesive and flexible. I can at least tell you that I've had this on since Monday afternoon and have only had to cut and trim a few inches off when it came undone. I've showered (ha! Aren't you glad?) and run just about every day, and she even says that this tape will usually stay on swimmers for up to 5 days. It's Saturday and still sticky!
I am covered with this tape from a few loops around my foot to completely up to my hip (3 stripes on the left leg). With all of these left foot-calf-knee-hamstring-hip problems, we went all the way. On my right side, as you can see, I am sporting a below-the-knee tape job where my lower leg muscles have been feeling like they were pulling off of the bone -- painful and sharp!! It got so bad in the last few weeks I was walking normally, but it was not pleasant.
Despite the fact that Lance Armstrong was one of the first to make this stuff trendy, I like it not because it's what the cool kids are doing but because it's actually worked. While I didn't have a painful enough baseline to compare to, I haven't felt any pain in my right leg since the tape went on on Monday! On the left, I felt a twinge at Thursday night's run. And now, after the 13 mile run, I can definitely feel a little pulling in the lower right leg, but I suspect it's because the tape's gotten more elastic over the past few days. I'm still MUCH better off than I was before, so I think we're on to something...
Ps: [Disclaimer-- Shameless plug ahead.]
She will definitely be there. And thanks for the shameless plug. Oh, and to everyone reading this, I am not the same Mandy that is being discussed, just the race director of the 7k :)
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