I'm Chris Harper and I'm here with Makayla to demonstrate application for
tennis elbow.
Tennis elbow is when you have pain on the outside portion of your elbow, and this
may be caused from overuse of forearm muscles, or from racquet sports,
especially when you have an improperly sized racket grip,
or gripping objects while your hand is turned down or pronated.
KT Tape helps treat this condition by relieving pressure, relaxing
associated muscles, and may increase circulation.
For this application
we're going to place the elbow in ninety degree bend,
and for our first part of the application I'm going to tear one full strip.
I'm going to fold this in half,
and using a pair of scissors I'm actually going to cut rounded corners
on this piece. The rounded corners help prevent the corners from getting caught
on clothing as you're taking shirts on and off.
Okay, with the first piece I'm actually going to twist and tear the
paper backing.
While peeling that back, I'm being very careful
not to touch the adhesive.
Also, when I place this on stretch I'm going to create nice even pressure with my thumbs,
versus gripping the tape like this.
I'm going to go right over that point of pain, in this case we're going to say it's right
about here. I'm going to stretch that to eighty percent, so a hundred percent and just backing
that off just a little bit, and I'm sticking that down.
Just make sure that's on there.
Okay, and then these tail ends I'm just going to remove the paper
and lay that down with absolutely zero stretch.
So I'm just taking that paper off
and laying that down with absolutely
zero stretch.
I'm going to give it a little bit of a rub to create friction and heat to make sure that
adheres well.
And my next piece, I'm going to
also
twist and tear that backer paper.
Right in th middle, applying nice even pressure.
Im actually going to apply this
right over that point a pain, crossing over that first piece, so I'm going to apply that
with eighty percent
stretch. So one hundred-percent, and backing that off just a little bit.
I'm applying that down, laying the tails of the tape
down, being careful not to touch the adhesive of the tape,
with absolutely zero
stretch.
I'm going to give that a little bit of friction just create heat and adhesion.
For the last portion of this,
I'm going to take a full strip,
and with this piece I'm going to twist and tear down by the logo end of the tape.
Taking that piece off to create an anchor point.
With this I'm going to apply
just above my previous pieces on the skin, and I'm applying that was absolutely
zero stretch.
I'm going to peel the paper off, leaving myself a little paper to hang on to
so I'm not touching the adhesive portion of the tape,
and we're going around the elbow
with twenty five percent stretch, so if I stretch a hundred percent and back that off halfway
and halfway again, I'm going to lay that down, going right over that site of pain
and down the forearm.
As I apply this, I'm going to make sure the wrist is also in a little bit of a
bend or flexion,
and that last little bit of tape I'm just laying down with
absolutely zero stretch.
I'm going to give the whole application a good
friction rub to make sure that adheres well
to the skin, that heat helps it adhere.
Some helpful tips before applying are to clean the skin very well, remove any
oils or lotions you may have on. Also trimming excessive hair
will help the tape adhere to the skin much better.
Be careful with taking clothing on and off as this may roll the edges of the
tape.
Some complementary treatments may include rest,
ice, use of anti inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen.
Also, stretching, massage, and gradual strengthening are helpful.
Please seek care if you experience a numbness or tingling below the elbow
into the hand or forearm,
or if you have severe pain, swelling , or discoloration.
For more information see our website at www.KTTape.com