Hi, I'm Chris Harper, and with me is John, and we are here to demonstrate
an application for the acromioclavicular joint
otherwise known as the AC joint
The AC joint is where the collar bone and shoulder blade meet
and I'll just place a red dot where that is on the body, your pain may vary
slightly, but we will just put a dot there to indicate where the pain may be
some causes of this may be collisions involving the top of the shoulder
or separations causing ligament damage. KT Tape helps treat this condition by
relieving pressure to reduce pain
provide support
and may increase circulation to the inflamed area
for this application
we're going to position the body, I’ll have you just turn away from me slightly
We will let that arm drop by the side, and make sure we're in really good posture. We also
want to stretch the skin between the shoulder and neck, so we're going to turn the head away
and looking down
for the first part of this application I'm going to take one full strip
I'm going to fold this in half
and I'm going to cut rounded corners
the rounded corners help prevent the tape getting caught on clothing
when taking clothing on and off
for this first strip I’m going to twist and tear the backer paper
peeling that back I'm being very careful not to touch the adhesive of the tape
when I stretch this piece I'm going to stretch it with very even pressure with
my thumb, so I'm not going to grip in the middle, but rather with flat pressure like this
and I'm going to stretch this to eighty percent, so if I stretch a hundred percent, I'm just going
back that off just a little bit, and apply that down
now I'm only applying stretch to the middle of the tape
these ends I'm just going to lay down with absolutely zero stretch
I'm going to give that a little bit of friction to create heat,
and get that to adhere well
for the next piece I'm going to take that other half of the strip that I already cut
tearing it in the middle as I did with the first piece, again nice even
pressure, and I'm going to make a plus sign
right over that first piece and right over the center of that joint.
I'll rub that on and peel the paper off, laying those ends down
with absolutely
zero stretch. Be very careful when taping
between the shoulder and neck, the skin tends to be sensitive here plus it moves
quite a bit
you don't want to cause irritation there
Okay, for my next part we'll take another full strip
just like the first one, I'm folding this in half
and cutting rounded corners
just to get rid of the sharp corners
that way it doesn't get caught on clothing.
For this next piece, just like the first two, I'm tearing down the middle
being careful not to touch the adhesive
applying nice even pressure
eighty percent stretch,
I'm just crossing over the first two pieces
and again I'm laying down these ends with absolutely zero
tension
I'll give that a little bit of a rub so it adheres well
On my final piece, I'll tear down the middle
again with nice even pressure
I'll apply that right over
making
a plus sign with that third piece I put on
and applying that down
with zero stretch on the ends
I'm going to give the whole thing a good
friction rub that creates a little heat, and allows that adhesive to activate and
really stick to the skin.
Some helpful tips before applying- make sure you clean the skin very well to
remove any lotions or oils you may have on
be careful with taking clothing on or off, as this may roll the tape
and you can also combine this with the shoulder stability application for
maximum effect
some complementary treatments may include ice, rest, anti-inflammatory medication
such as ibuprofen, and also please seek care if you are experiencing swelling
or extreme pain, or if you suspect a separation or dislocation
for more information see our website at www.KTTape.com