K- Tape – Adding Skills to your Sports Massage Therapy

Once you’ve completed your qualification as a sports massage therapist there are many additional skills you can continue to learn whilst topping up your annual CPD credits. 

These credits are key for continuous professional development and are a must if you wish to become a member of the regulatory bodies that look after our industry. 

 

At FEMA, we highly recommend joining an association such as the SMA (Sports Massage Association) or ISRM (Institute for Soft Tissue Therapists) to continue developing your skills. Both associations have shown great support to our recently graduated therapists over the last year, despite the restrictions and uncertainty of the pandemic. In order to remain a member, therapists are required to complete a minimum of 15 hours of CPD per year, which is great practice for keeping your skills up to date and memory refreshed as you continue to learn throughout your career. 

 

One of the most popular CPD courses is Kinesiology Taping, also known as K-Taping for short. This course can be completed within a day via a workshop and will add great value to your clients. 

K-Tape is an elasticated sports tape used to relieve pain, whilst still supporting muscles, tendons, and ligaments. The tape is stretchy and flexible so doesn’t restrict movement and is often identified as bright pink tape worn by footballers or athletes. The colour, however, doesn’t mean anything, and comes in a variety of colours and patterns for personal preference. 

When you suffer an injury through impact, strain or over-use, inflammation produces swelling from the build-up of lymphatic fluid. This fluid is what causes pressure on the joint or place of injury and is the result of significant discomfort or pain. Of course, every injury is different so please bear that in mind. 

 

K-Tape aids muscle movement by providing external awareness of muscle engagement whilst improving its ability to correctly contract. It has also been suggested, although not yet scientifically proven, that the tape slightly lifts the skin away from the layers of inflamed muscle, allowing for muscle swelling and lymphatic drainage to occur. 

Your clients don’t need to be professional runners, athletes, or particularly active individuals to benefit from using K-Tape. The application is light and breathable, making wearing the tape for a few days comfortably and it can be worn when showering or swimming. K-Tape is also very easy to apply once you have learned the correct technique, so you can even show your clients how to apply it at home. 

Although not every therapist believes in the power of K-Tape, we have had some incredible results in clinic at Fire & Earth. As such a straightforward and beneficial technique, it’s highly recommended that you learn how to use K-Tape effectively. 

 

At Level 3 SMT’S your scope of practise comes under soft tissue dysfunction. This includes all areas of chronic tension, old and new injuries, and stress. K-Tape can be just as beneficial to these areas as a recent sports injury. If you’d like any advice on K-Tape or to discuss booking a course at FEMA then please get in touch; we would love to hear from you.