There are 5 main goals for the Kinesio Taping Method:
Sports Performance
Supports movement during athletic activity while maintaining full range of motion and increasing circulation for optimal muscular performance.
Taping for Joint Laxity/Instability
Assists in supporting the joint and soft tissue through full range of motion allowing strengthening while strain and soft tissue spasms are prevented.
Taping for Motor Retraining
Motor patterns can be affected by taping the desired muscular tissue providing sensory input and thus allowing the athlete to have better proprioception/control of the area aiding in correcting issues with aberrant motor patterns.
Taping for Postural Correction
Retraining of proper posture allows injured tissue to heal by preventing repetitive strain and assists in preventing future injury. The tape is applied in a specific fashion making poor posture uncomfortable while refraining from passively holding the patient in good posture. This prevents a passive reliance on the tape and forces the patient to hold themselves in proper posture using their endurance/postural stabilizing musculature, strengthening it for when the tape is removed.
Edema (Bruise) Reduction
Taping the affected area in a specific criss-cross pattern changes the pressure gradient between the skin and the tape allowing diffusion to remove excess fluid from the area and facilitates its movement to the lymphatic system.
IASTM treatment enables clinicians to effectively break down scar tissue and fascial restrictions. The technique specifically detects and effectively treats areas exhibiting soft tissue fibrosis or chronic inflammation. The technique is utilized on injured tissue while the patient performs provocative range of motion. This brings the injured/irritated tissues to the surface allowing the practitioner to more effectively treat the affected area.
At NextLevel, we utilize a multifaceted approach to treatment that includes Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTM).
Over-used muscles (and other soft tissues) change in three important ways:
Each of these factors can cause your body to produce tough, dense scar tissue in the affected area. This scar tissue binds up and ties down tissues that need to move freely. As scar tissue builds up, muscles become shorter and weaker, tension on tendons causes tendonitis, and nerves can become trapped. This can cause reduced range of motion, loss of strength, and pain. If a nerve is trapped you may also feel tingling, numbness, and weakness.
How do overuse conditions occur?
What is an ART Treatment like?
Every ART session is actually a combination of examination and treatment. The ART provider uses his or her hands to evaluate the texture, tightness and movement of muscles, fascia, tendons, ligaments and nerves. Abnormal tissues are treated by combining precisely directed tension with very specific patient movements.
These treatment protocols - over 500 specific moves - are unique to ART. They allow providers to identify and correct the specific problems that are affecting each individual patient. ART is not a cookie-cutter approach.
What is Active Release Technique (ART) to Individuals, Athletes, and Patients?
ART is a patented, state of the art soft tissue system/movement based massage technique that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves. Headaches, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, shin splints, shoulder pain, sciatica, plantar fasciitis, knee problems, and tennis elbow are just a few of the many conditions that can be resolved quickly and permanently with ART. These conditions all have one important thing in common: they are often a result of overused muscles.
TREATMENTS