Power Taping for Crossfit Fitness in Canada - Taping movements, not muscles

Power Taping for Crossfit Workouts

For over 500 years, anatomy has been classically taught on the “isolated muscle” theory, focusing on individual muscle structure and function. Therapists of all disciplines typically learn origin, insertion, innervation and action of muscles in an isolated environment, with very little regard for their functional effect on movement as a whole. As a result, many sports and rehabilitation taping protocols are based on outdated concepts that muscles work in isolation, rather than applying what we now understand about movement, functional neurology, and the somatosensory system.

PowerTaping, in contrast, is based on the obvious yet largely overlooked concept of muscles acting as a chain. PowerTaping utilizes “longitudinal anatomy” and “movement pattern” concepts as a guide in the assessment, taping, and training method.

PowerTaping was originally developed by Dr. Steven Capobianco, M.A, D.C, DACRB, CCSP. A long term student of fascial and movement anatomy, he has harvested what he learned through the emerging research on the “all one fascia” concept popularized by the innovative mind of Thomas W. Myers, LMT, NCTMB, ARP in his book Anatomy Trains. With the growing body of evidence supporting the role of the fascial system, we would, as movement specialists, be amiss if we didn’t start applying this knowledge to revise what we currently do in our therapeutic and performance practices.

Even though the main focus of is movement taping, we will be communicating how PowerTaping can be used in many stages of corrective and performance care:

1.      Rehab Specific Taping: demystifying kinesiology taping for acute pain control.

2.      Edema Control Taping: a simple yet effective method to reduce swelling and chronic edema

3.      Postural Control Taping: a structural approach which corrects postural bio-mechanical dysfunction

4.      PowerTaping Method for Sports Performance: a revolutionary new concept that can be used to proactively improve performance for competitive athletes

Rocktape’s Open Source Concept

What is open source? Wikipedia defines the concept this way:

“open source is a philosophy or pragmatic methodology that promotes free redistribution and access to an end product's design and implementation details.”qsassasasasasasq

So what does this have to do with tape and movement? At Rocktape we believe that knowledge and information are to be shared. We also believe that others have as much to share as we do. We believe, that together we can create something that is important, useful and most importantly, pragmatic.

Why? Because this is how you win in today’s information-based world. At Rocktape, we embrace the philosophy of “doing well by doing good”.

Our goal is to provide movement therapists not just a new technique, but a new model, for the exploration and discussion of the fascial movement-based taping, and to create a community that can explore and contribute to this concept and advance the protocol with more knowledge and testing.

For a new methodology to grow and become mainstream, we need to collectively band together and formulate new, better, and more efficient means of taping that are clinically viable.

Visit www. RockTapeCanada.com for more information about power taping for crossfit fitness, and download your copy of the power taping manuals.

Kinesiology Taping | Applications of Power Taping to Improve Performance in Sports

Kinesiology taping or power taping for athletic performance is a four step system:

1.       Identify sport specific motor chain

2.       Preload by engaging the structure through stretch

3.       Activate the sport specific chain

4.       Train the sport specific chain

1. Identify Sport-Specific Motor Chain

Start by performing a functional assessment as outlined in the Assessment section of this manual. Use the Assessment Form.

2. Fascial Lengthening Phase: Preloading

With movement taping, we are required to lengthen a fascial continuity rather than a specific/isolated muscle. In order to stimulate the maximum number of cutaneous/fascial mechanoreceptors, we will place the athlete into a position that effectively elongates the entire chain. Chuck Wolf has developed an effective way to lengthen these chains with what he terms Flexibility Highways (http://www.3dhumanmotion.com/). We have also found that by “hanging” in a lengthened position, we can better elongate the fascial chain (> 1 min has shown to better lengthen fascial structures). To do this, we recommend assisted stretching aids such as Swiss balls, broom sticks, tables, chairs, etc. If we can maximally appreciate a fully lengthened position, we can better stimulate the appropriate mechanoreceptors and improve our movement patterns.

In preparation for the application of the PowerTaping, the athlete should perform the following steps to pre-load the system using:

A. Neural System

The neural system is best activated by using the following techniques:

1.       Foam Roll

2.       Trigger Point Ball Release

3.       Stick Release

By stimulating certain muscles receptors via pressure (above techniques), research has shown that the targeted muscle can neurally elongate. This will maximize the lengthening potential of the tissues to be taped.

PowerTaping for ATs/Kins and Coaches/Trainers. Roll with ball/foam roll/stick over targeted tissue. Scan to locate areas of tenderness. Once found, hold pressure (to tolerance) over area for 20-30seconds. Continue to scan and repeat process along length of chain.

B. Dynamic Warm Up and Priming, to maximize length potential

Priming the nervous system via a gradual warm up of whole body, multi-joint motions has been shown to help lengthen the target tissues, thus improving starting length of tissue to be taped.

C. Fascial Lengthening Method

The fascia is best lengthened by using the following techniques:

a.       Flexibility Highways (Chuck Wolf – Human Motion Associates)

b.       Yoga Poses

c.       Athletic posture/stance

Movement taping requires lengthening of fascial continuities (chains) rather than a specific/isolated muscle. In order to elongate the performance chains, we have the athlete perform various forms of fascial stretches. Chuck Wolf (Human Motion Associates – www.3dhumanmotion.com) has developed a revolutionary fascial flexibility program. In addition, yoga poses and/or athletic postures (i.e. 3 point stance, aero bike position) are other ways to elongate performance chains.

D. Assisted Stretching Props

The fascia can be lengthened by using the following techniques:

a.       Swiss Balls

b.       Sticks

c.       Bolsters

d.       Wall

Effectively elongating fascial chains requires the athlete to maintain a posture for an extended period of time (1+ minutes).   We have found that if you can “hang” on assistive equipment (above props), it is easier to maintain the required position to lengthen the chain.

3. Activate the Sport Specific Chain

After the pre-loading phase, the athlete can be taped using the longitudinal anatomy concept described in the following Performance Chains sections of the PowerTaping for ATs/Kins and Coaches/Trainers.

4. Train the Performance Chain

After taping according to the methods outlined, encourage new/improved movement patterns via cutaneous stimulation.

You can find more about kinesiology taping applications by visiting http://www.rocktapecanada.com.  If you need a Rock Doc and power taping practitioners in Ontario CA, just click on the link.

Kinesiology Taping for Sports Performance and Treatment of Various Conditions

RockTape is a special kind of tape known as kinesiology tape. First used by acupuncturists and chiropractors in Japan, today kinesiology tape is used by practitioners throughout the world not only to treat injuries but also to improve sports performance.

While the use of kinesiology tape in sports is often associated with athletes such as Serena Williams, Kerri Walsh and Lance Armstrong, RockTape has been also found effective for the treatment of a wide variety of problems, not just sports injuries.

What is Rocktape used for?

• Achilles tendonitis
• Plantar fasciitis
• Jumpers knee (PFS)
• ACL/MCL issues
• Rotator cuff
• Groin and hamstring pulls
• Lower back issues
• Shin splints
• Tennis and golf elbow
• Pain associated with pregnancy
• Postural correction

Some instructional videos will show you how to tape for many different issues. Please note that if your issues are severe or do not improve within a day of using RockTape, you should seek help from a medical professional.

Kinesiology Taping to Improve Sports Performance

While a 5 hour marathoner cannot be turned into a 3 hour runner, there are methods to help you break the 3 hour barrier if you’re already close. When applied properly, RockTape can help athletes improve form and decrease fatigue through better blood flow. These are the two most critical aspects of increasing performance in almost any sport.

There are varied uses of RockTape for specific sports such as Triathlon, Running and CrossFit.

RockTape Kinesiology Taping is for Taping Movement, Not Muscles

If you are a chiropractor, physical therapist, sports doctor, personal trainer or other professional interested in learning to apply Rocktape to support sport-specific fascial chains, you can visit Fascial Movement Taping section of www.RockTapeCanada.com


How Does RockTape Works?

When RockTape is manufactured, a bias is introduced into the weave of the fabric so it stretches in one direction and not the other. This creates a bio-mechanical lifting mechanism that lifts the skin away from the soft tissue underneath, which allows more blood to move into an injured area to accelerate healing and recovery.

What is RockTape Made Of?

RockTape is a natural-hybrid product and consists of 97% cotton, 3% nylon and uses no drugs. The adhesive is a hypo-allergenic acrylic based adhesive and contains no latex.

Where Can RockTape be Purchased?

RockTape is sold by many retailers who offer products for runners, cyclists, triathletes and more. Call your favorite sporting goods store to see if they carry RockTape. If they don’t, you can check this link to find a retailer, or purchase through the online store.

How can I find someone who can tape me?

You can find a practitioner in your area that have been trained in the application of kinesiology tape before your sports activity engagement to improve your performance, or for treatment and management of your injuries, or for other various conditions as listed above.

For more on kinesiology taping applications, visit http://www.rocktapecanada.com.  If you need a Rock Doc or taping practitioners in Ontario CA, you can find them by clicking on the link.

Kinesio Taping for Easing Athlete’s Pain in Ontario CA

In the early part of the 1970s, Japanese chiropractor Kenzo Kase developed kinesio taping with the purpose of facilitating the body’s natural healing process while allowing support and stability to muscles and joints without restricting the body’s range of motion. It successfully treated a variety of orthopedic, neuromuscular, neurological and medical conditions.

The method reached many countries worldwide over the years, and it began to be used by occupational and physical therapists, athletic trainers, chiropractors, acupuncturists, and other health care experts as well. First used by acupuncturists and chiropractors in Japan, today kinesiology tapes are used by practitioners throughout the world to treat injuries and improve sports performance.

Unlike any standard taping applied to athletes which often involve wrapping a joint for support and compression, RockTape, a specially designed kinesiology tape is placed in position in a variety of patterns depending on the injury. It is positioned and pulled to differing degrees of tension to create the desired effect and is typically worn for two to five days, unlike the standard tape, which is used mainly during an activity.

RockTape can be used to pull back a shoulder that is hunching forward. To reduce swelling in a joint, the tape can be used to pull up the skin and create an area of low pressure where body fluid can move and drain. Trained clinicians apply the tape to provide stimulation to skin cells that affects pain pathways — similar to rubbing a spot that hurts. The tape can be applied along the length of a tired muscle for support.  It is like allowing the muscles to go on vacation for a day or two so they come back healed.

Although there are varying opinion on the medium-term and long-term effect of the method, both therapists and athletes say kinesio taping is not harmful, and over the short-term it have beneficial effects to alleviate an athlete’s pain without interfering with the range of motion.

Some trainers use RockTape for their athletes during breaks in matches to make them feel better immediately.

Recent studies on kinesiology tapes showed some short-term effect. A study of 42 patients with shoulder pain, which was published in 2008 in the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, found that range of motion improved immediately after application of the kinesiology tape, compared with a sham taping using no tension; although the study found no significant difference in pain or overall disability scores. Another study on 41 patients with whiplash after car accidents found statistically significant pain relief and improvements in range of motion with kinesiology taping compared with a sham tape. The effects were seen immediately and continued a day later.

Even if RockTape kinesiology tapes can be used and applied personally by anyone, it is best to get the help of trained professionals to put the tapes on you in the appropriate patterns for maximum benefits and for it to stay in place for longer days.

For information about RockTape kinesio taping, visit www.RockTapeCanada.com.  If you need a Rock Doc or physiotherapy practitioners in Ontario CA, you can find them by clicking on the link.

RockTape | Kinesiotaping - How Is It Done and How Does it Work?

There are differing schools of thought on the methodology for applying RockTape kinesiology tape. Early and persistent reasoning suggested that origin-insertion, muscle innervation and muscle action taping best serves to support/stimulate external body areas. This “anatomical approach” probably makes the most intuitive sense to medical practitioners as it follows anatomical “rules of engagement.”

Dr. Steven Capobianco, chiropractor and developer of the Fascial Movement Taping (FMT) method, argues kinesiotaping should be “based on the obvious yet largely overlooked concept of muscles acting as a chain… the body’s integration of movement via multi-muscle contractions as a means of connecting the brain to the body’s uninterrupted fascial web in order to enhance rehab and athletic performance via cutaneous (skin) stimulation. By taping movement rather than muscles, FMT has demonstrated greater improvement in both patient care and sport performance.” (Performance Taping Chain - Rotational Movement Disfunction)

Dr. Capobianco is not alone in this line of thinking. Leading fascia researcher, Robert Schleip, PhD, underscores movement and its role in pain and dysfunction. New research in addressing movement impairment, rather than joint and muscle pain, has initiated a fast growing movement model.₁

Additional support for this model comes from Thomas Myers in his groundbreaking book, Anatomy Trains.₂ He offers a template to assess, treat and manage body-wide motor dysfunction based on myofascial meridans, and movement impairment.

Application models aside, how is kinesiology tape theorized to work and what is the support?

As with anything that touches our body’s biggest organ, kinesiology tape has a cutaneous mechanoreceptor effect that stimulates those receptors to enhance body kinesthesia, or movement awareness. By stimulating large skin mechanoreceptors, kinesiology tape can downgrade painful stimuli from the nociceptors to decrease pain perception.

Recent research indicates that kinesiology tape has a greater stimulatory effect on compromised tissue (due to injury and/or fatigue). Thedon, et al.₃ conducted a study to evaluate body sway in individuals with and without tape. They found that the tape showed very little change in the uncompromised condition, but when the subjects were fatigued, the tape provided an added stimulatory effect to the skin helping to compensate for the loss of information fed to the brain from the muscles and joints. For the pain and performance community, this study provides insight into the ability of an “auxiliary” system, such as the skin, to augment treatment and training outcomes. Some of the “stickier and stretchier” kinesiology tape brands remain on the skin for up to five days thereby extending the stimulatory effect.

Visual evidence that “something” is happening occurs when kinesiology tape is used on bruising. The elastic pull on the epidermis/dermis layers creates an area of lower pressure to assist in fluid dynamics (acute/chronic edema₄). The pre-tape and post-tape photos (please see below) are most compelling. Where the tape was applied directly to the skin, bruising dissipates more rapidly than areas without tape.

Kinesio Taping for Pain Management in Ontario CA

A 2012 study 5 of 32 surgeons, showed a statistically significant reduction in neck and low back pain (using Oswestry Low Back Disability Index and Neck Disability Index) and functional performance (using neck and low back range of motion scores) with the use of kinesiotape during surgery. This may have far-reaching implications for other jobs/activities where sustained positions result in musculoskeletal pain.

A final and anecdotally successful use for kinesiology tape, also developed by Dr. Capobianco, is “power taping” during later pregnancy. An example is the “baby belt” application, which attempts to offload the abdominal strain by redistributing the stress to the upper scapula-thoracic area. The tape follows a fascial sling Thomas Myers calls the “spiral and superficial front lines.” He and other fascial pioneers suggest that skin stimulation enhances fascial proprioception and as the fascia encompasses the entire body in a “neuromyofascial web” a broader improvement in body posture results.

Clearly the use of kinesiology tape is popular (millions of users) and the applications are broad (from athletic injuries to edema). Specific evidence for efficacy is scant but growing, and plausible.

There are currently no reported dangers associated with using this elastic cotton mesh bandage, and the only significant contraindication is on open wounds. Kinesiology tape breathes well and flexes like a second skin, unlike most braces that act more like abrasive exoskeletons. It withstands sweat and/or water and is by most comparisons a cost-effective treatment modality.

While science is unlikely to discover that kinesiology tape is the panacea for all aches and injuries, health-care practitioners should keep this tool in the chest due to its vast possibilities in treating patient complaints.

Visit www.rocktapecanada.com for videos on how to apply RockTape for kinesiotaping.

Resources to visit:

·         7 Orthotics Industry Secrets

·         Foot Knee Back Therapists in Ancaster, Ontario CA