Kinesiology Tape

Over the past several years, I've dealt with lots of IT Band issues. It started on my left knee and was followed by my right knee because apparently, the right knee was jealous.

In the mean time, I've learned several tips and tricks for keeping the achiness and IT Band irritation at bay. Along with foam rolling, and my regular PT routine and strengthening exercises, I've also discovered kinesiology tape.

Taping up my IT Band was super easy and after watching several YouTube videos on the application process, I had it down in no time. However, one thing that still plagues me to this day is the stickiness of the tape. I've tried it all - from washing the knee down with soap and water and drying it well to using rubbing alcohol, hairspray, and everything else in between. My final assumption is that the tape just can't hold up to the humidity of the deep south. Either that or the pH of my skin is crazy. It could be the second one...who knows.

After reviewing the process of taping up my IT Band, I finally decided to stick to one strip of tape vs two - I ditched the "X" piece of tape over the side of the knee and decided to just stick with one long strip from the side of my knee, up my leg. This actually helped the tape stick better and helps with the IT Band issues during my run - win win!

So where my taping process used to look like the photo below....

Source

...I got rid of the blue pieces of tape and now just use the long strip that's shown as a black piece of tape in the photo above.

So, throughout the past several years, I've tried several different brands and type of kinesiology tape and decided I would share my thoughts and opinions on each one with you today!

First up is Loxley Sports.

I was sent two packages of Loxley Tape to try out. This tape is not pre-cut, but I like how the back has measurable squares. It took five large squares to make the amount of tape I needed for my knee. If the tape is not going to be pre-cut, I much rather it have a measurable grid as this one does.

As far as stay power of this tape, I give it a C. It's ok, but I know not to wear it on super hot and humid summer days because it definitely won't do the trick.

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Up next is RockTape.

I ordered two boxes RockTape for a race and even tried a temporary trial of Amazon Prime so I would have the take in time for the race!  I'd heard awesome and amazing things about this tape and I couldn't wait to try it out. To be honest, I wasn't super impressed like I thought I would be. The tape sticks ok but again, I know I can't use it on super hot and humid days. I do rank this tape higher than the previous one mentioned - it stays put better and lasts a bit longer....I give RockTape a B-.

This tape also is not pre-cut, so you can make the strips as long or as short as you'd like. There isn't a way to measure the size of the strips you need to cut, so I had to eyeball this one. Sometimes my strips were too long and sometimes they were too short.

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 Last but not least is KT Tape.

There are two forms of KT Tape - Regular and Pro. I've tried both and out of all of the brands of tape I've tried, the KT Tape Pro is hands down my absolute favorite.

I also love how these strips are pre-cut which is super easy for use with the one strip that's needed for my IT Band. However, I know if you have multiple areas to tape or you need to cut slits in the tape, a pre-cut option might not be your best bet.

As far as stay power goes, I give the regular KT Tape a B+ and the KT Tape Pro an A-.

 These also come in a wide variety of colors and patterns!

After having so many issues in the beginning, I did a little research on the KT Tape spray and eventually discovered that hair spray did the trick 90% of the time, so I never went any further with the KT Tape spray. Has anyone had any luck with it?

Have you ever needed kinesiology tape? If so, what has been your favorite brand? Do you have trouble getting the tape to stick?