There are two main types of muscle soreness: acute and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Acute muscle soreness is usually experienced during or immediately after a physical activity, while DOMS is the soreness that is felt 24 to 72 hours after exercise.
DOMS occurs as a result of small tears in the muscle fibers that occur during exercise. These tears cause inflammation, which triggers pain receptors and leads to soreness. The severity of DOMS depends on the type of exercise, the intensity, and the duration of the activity, as well as the individual's fitness level and recovery time.
Light muscle soreness is not always a bad thing, since soreness is often an indicator that muscles are adapting to exercise. Being too sore can put a damper on your day and get in the way of your workouts.
To alleviate muscle soreness, some strategies include gentle stretching, massage, taking a warm bath, applying ice or heat to the affected area, and taking over-the-counter pain relievers.
KT Tape can reduce post-workout muscle soreness by up to 50% and improved anaerobic power recovery time.
Remember: everyone's experience with marathon training is different, so be patient and listen to your body. Good luck with your training!
]]>Depending on your level of activity, you should choose the KTTAPE that best suits your lifestyle.
If your activity level is low/moderate and you are looking for a kinesiology tape for your daily routine, we recommend KT TAPE Original.
It is made of cotton, water resistant and lasts from 1 to 3 days.
If your level of activity is moderate/high and you need a kinesiology tape that will help you to keep up with your workouts, we recommend KT TAPE PRO.
Made of synthetic material, latex free, water resistant and lasts up to 7 days.
If your activity level is intense and in extreme conditions, we recommend KT TAPE PRO Extreme. It is made of synthetic fibers and our best adhesive to resist heat, water, marathons up to 7 days.
KT TAPE uses a strong adhesive to resist your workouts, sweat, water and to help your recovery.
But, if you have sensitive skin or are prone to irritation, we recommend using KT TAPE Gentle.
Specially designed with a more skin-friendly adhesive.
On the other hand, if you are a person who sweats a lot during activation or your skin tends to be oily, we recommend KT TAPE Pro Extreme.
We've created the perfect adhesive to resist the moisture and oil our bodies produce, so you won't have to worry about it coming loose or losing its adhesion.
The pre-cut KT TAPE Precut tapes are easily adapted to most areas of the body to provide the necessary support.
For certain applications where a longer tape length is needed, you can use KT TAPE Uncut and choose the size that suits your needs.
For body areas with large muscle groups, KT TAPE Pro Wide is ideal. With its double wide strip, it covers a larger surface area for easier application.
Do you like to wear tape in all colors or do you prefer not to emphasize that you are wearing KT TAPE?
If you prefer colors, KT TAPE Pro offers you more than 8 different colors to choose from.
If on the opposite you prefer discretion, KT TAPE Pro Extreme has different shades to suit your skin tone.
A sport of springs, jumps, and quick stops is bound to take a toll on the legs, knees, and feet. Basketball players see their fair share of injuries, typically from overuse or minor trauma. Usually, they heal and return to the court. But that’s not always the case. Sometimes, a basketball player who gets blindsided gets sidelined.
Every NBA team has an athletic trainer waiting to rush on the court if something goes wrong. And sometimes, things really go wrong.
Sprained ankle-turned-fracture
After continuing to play on the sprained ankle, it became an ankle fracture, which then became a potentially fatal methicillin resistant infection.
Torn ACL, torn lateral meniscus, sprained MCL, dislocated patella
Landed awkwardly after missing a layup.
Broken right hand, sprained wrist and dislocated elbow
Swung too far on the rim after a fast-break dunk.
The three most common injuries in basketball are:
Rolling your ankle
One or more ligaments of the ankle are torn or partially torn.
Light treatment: Rest, ice, compression & elevation
Heavy treatment: Physical therapy
Helpful gear: KT Tape, ankle support & walking boot
Jumper's knee
The back of the kneecap coming into contact with the tigh bone.
Light treatment: Rest, stretching, ice, quadriceps strengthening
Heavy treatment: Physical therapy
Helpful gear: KT Tape, knee support & arch support
Policeman's Heel
Inflammation on the bottom surface of the foot.
Light treatment: Rest, stretching & massage therapy
Heavy treatment: Phycical therapy, corticosteroid injections, surgery
Helpful gear: KT Tape, night splints, motion-control running shoes
While ankle sprains are injuries most don’t expect to happen. As a match goes on and our body starts tiring, we usually start to lose control over muscle strength. This muscle strength is used to keep our feet in proper form (read – preventing ankle sprains from a bad jump).
The only things that can help is training and expanding the limits of your body so you can keep on going for longer. The other option it to use tape or a small ankle support to help stabilize certain muscles and joints.
If you do end up with a sprained ankle, make sure to put ice on the ankle as soon as possible to reduce swelling. Get your foot some rest, and when you restart traing, use KT Tape to give your foot the extra support that it needs. Make sure to check out our ankle taping guide to help you out.
Tight quadriceps and hamstrings can put unwanted stress and tension on the patellar tendon. Stretching both these muscles can help prevent jumper’s knee.
Strengthening the quadriceps (by doing leg extensions for example) and other muscles around the knee provides extra support to cope with impact from high jumps. If you are rehabbing from this injury, don’t forget to start your strength training with limited weights to prevent additional injuries.
Inflammation on the bottom of the foot, a stubborn injury that starts of as a minor irritation but can develop into a more serious injury when not treated accordingly. Rest, stretch the foot and include some massaging to help the foot to heal.
As with many physical injuries, body imbalances (tight muscles and muscle imbalance) often lies at the root cause. Stretching the tight muscles will most of the time relieve pain. Ofcourse take in consideration that stretching any muscle takes repetitive action. Combined with low impact exercice like swimming or cycling, the plantar fasciitis should slowly but surely fade.
]]>Kinesio taping is widely used in the sporting world for rehab and joint stability. Research from 2016 suggests that kinesiology tape may also improve sprint performance. The mechanisms behind this are not entirely understood, but may rely on tactile stimulation of mechanoreceptors. This stimulation may enhance the excitability of motor units and thus increase muscle contractility.
Taping for cyclists is done on the quadriceps along the anterior thigh muscles. KT Tape has a written guide and video guide for taping if you are considering to experiment. Many athletes have tried kine tape to help with injuries, one of them being Lance Armstrong.
An injury that is unfortunately popular amongst cyclists is tendinitis. Patellar tendinitis is an injury connecting the kneecap to the shinbone. Extending the knee will hurt, and as there is no way to ride without extending the knee, any cyclist can confirm the annoyance this injury brings.
Icing and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory might help, but the adverse effects on your stomach because of these drugs are worse than helping your knee to heal with KT Tape. While under no circumstance we will argue that tape is a miracle for any injury, kinesiology tape can help to prevent injuries and help support inflamed tendons. Most of our tape holds up for a few days when correctly applied.
As we are discussing kinesiology tape for cyclists, it’s obvious that we target the most important part of a cyclists’ body, the legs. However, KT Tape has been used by cyclists not only to support their legs, but also the arms, shoulders and neck can get very sore after a long distant ride.
]]>Help stabilize weak or tired muscles by using kinesiology tape. Tape will not cure injuries, but it will make an athlete more confident. Experience additional joint support with tape that does not restrict range of motion. Especially for volleyball, a full range of motion of the shoulders are essential to serve the ball optimally. Shoulders are most of the time a weak link compared to other joints.
Kerri Walsh Jennings, an Olympic beach volleyball player likes to tape her shoulders. Two shoulder dislocations made Kerri on the lookout for much needed shoulder support.
A sore shoulder muscle might lead to an unexpected bad serve because of other muscles taking over to overcopensate for the tender muscle. Check out our shoulder taping guide for instructions.
Apply tape to sore muscles to give it additional support, and improve the mind-body connection to streamline movements to prevent injuries. This way, you will have full control, and you will probably play better or atleast with more confidence.
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