It useful to investigate the psychological influence of KT as it is a popular example of a product that hasn’t been proven that appears to improve athlete confidence and performance, or their perception of this. Your entire body has a vast network of two types of nerves: motor nerves (allows muscles to contract and move) and sensory nerves (allows you to experience touch, smell, taste, sounds, pain, etc. MATERIAL AND METHODS Kinesio Tex Gold tapes were applied using the muscular-ligament technique and Polovis Plus textile cladding blinded the sample. This study sought to compare the effects of facilitatory KT on muscle activity and performance between regular KT-users and non-users. Haug, M. (2011). Not So New. An "I"-shaped application was used. But any major medication, treatment, or lifestyle change has the exact same possibility. What's it's purpose? Benedetti, F., Mayberg, H. S., Wager, T. D., Stohler, C. S., & Zubieta, J.K. (2005). KT Tape: Does It Work, Or Is It A Placebo? Previous studies have proposed that placebo effect could be a major attributing factor. This warrants KTs use as a therapeutic aid, as even the slightest possibility of a fractional improvement in performance for elite athletes may be the difference between a gold and a silver medal. It is particularly used in orthopedic and bio-mechanic strength and conditioning. Whilst initially only seen on some of the world’s top athletes, it is now becoming a staple for everyone’s sports bag. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. “Because I know It will!”: Placebo Effects of an Ergogenic Aid on Athletic Performance. There are many different brands and colours – but the question everyone is asking…. on KT Tape: Placebo Effect or Actual Benefits. Let’s break these down individually: Relieve pain: When you accidentally smack your elbow into something, what’s the first thing you do after swearing (stay with me…this odd question will make sense in a minute)? I just took their course back in med school, really like their taping framework, and absolutely LOVE their tape. And, if the athlete was Usian Bolt, is it possible for him to physiologically improve anymore? Like many, I first noticed the kinesiology or "kinesio" tape on the various limbs of olympic athletes during the 2012 London games. The product has definitely taken the pro to everyday banged-up athlete by storm. In other words, KT did not improve performance; it was the expectations or beliefs among both groups that resulted in improvements. The "KT Tape" is almost picturesque, like dabs of paint on athletic forms. Is It Not Just a Placebo? Placebo Effect or no? While it may seem like the tape is helping, it is not significantly helping address soreness, tenderness, and pain in the long term. They can span widths of “1 to 4”, some are waterproof, and certain brands make them for both humans and animals (think race horses). Explaining the placebo effect: Aliefs, beliefs, and conditioning. No, I’m not being sponsored (*sigh*). Kinesio-tape: therapeutic aid or placebo? Kamper, S. J., & Williams, C. M. (2013). Copyright © 2020 Being Holistically Healthy - WordPress Theme : by. The "KT Tape" is almost picturesque, like dabs of paint on athletic forms. You’re essentially walking around all day rubbing your hurt elbow without having to actually rub it because the KT tape takes care of stimulating touch and vibration fibers for you. If you ever look at KT tape applied to someone’s skin, their skin looks similar to Shar Pei folds (kinda funky, but serves a purpose). Finally, braces are not designed to improve strength and functional performance, hence the comparison between KT and the brace is invalid. Bruises heal better and swelling reduces very quickly when KT tape is applied to them by utilizing the principle of tissue decompression.