Two weekends ago, I was invited to a 2-day Rocktape UK course (FMT Basics & 2) and I couldn’t possibly pass on such a fantastic opportunity, despite it meaning I officially had to be absent from our live workout. I get so excited learning and growing as a Physio, which in turn helps me make educational videos for you! So, we’re winning either way 🙂
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For starters, they are more than just tape! Ha, I love that! Rocktape is a type of kinesio tape which means it allows you to move, unlike old-fashioned rigid tapes which actually restricts movement!
With kinesio tape, you really are getting the best of both worlds in that the targeted structures feel supported (and more enabled) plus you get an opportunity to keep moving. It’s waterproof too so you can swim, shower etc and there wouldn’t be a problem.
Rocktape is a premium brand and has managed to establish itself as the water-resistant tape that sticks!!! I mean, that’s obviously what you want from any tape, at the very least, right? The longer it’s able to stay on you, the more benefit you get from having the tape, simples. Rocktape stretches to 180% of it’s original length but can magically ‘snap back’ or ‘recover’ and this is what sets them apart from others. On one of my patients, it’s stayed on for as long as 7days. See some of my patients with Rocktape on here.
In the video below, Daniel Lawrence – an absolutely amazing Chartered Physiotherapist who doubles up as the Educational Director for Rocktape explains in detail how it works and why you might want to use kinesio tape as a professional or an individual. See more info here about the neurological and mechanical effects of taping.
The FMT Basics & 2 course was way more insightful than I anticipated. There was a lot of depth and clinical reasoning, exploring available research and the lack of it too. I love how open-minded the Rocktape tutors were during the discussions about how and if taping really works. They answered as many of our questions as possible but also empowered us to explore for ourselves in clinic.
They emphasised, as any good clinician would, that Evidence-based practise is great but isn’t everything and I personally appreciate this. Some things work simply because they do and as a clinician/athlete/patient/human being, you know this because it works over and over.
I have felt a lot more confident applying tape (or not at all) since the training course and to be honest, it’s been a lot of fun to practise on my patients, especially as a lot of them are athletes. Here are some of the pics from the weekend.
Many thanks to all the tutors on the day – Mike, Wendy, Nick and Dan. My course mates were truly fantastic too. Huge thanks to the gorgeous Isabeau for being my partner in crime and making 2 days of learning feel like a breeze! You all are an absolutely amazing bunch of people and I feel lucky to have met and clinically reasoned with you. Thank you for helping me end 2017 on a very positive note professionally. I’m officially a Rockdoc and I couldn’t be happier.
Remember as Dan highlighted in the video, using tape isn’t the only thing you should do. It works best in conjunction with other forms of treatment. Although anyone can technically apply tape on themselves or to other people, it’s important to remember that seeking the professional opinion of a Physiotherapist to diagnose and treat the primary problem is vital.
As we further discussed at the end of the video, calf pain could quite easily be a DVT (potentially deadly) or a muscle sprain (not so deadly). Unless you’re qualified and able to clinically differentiate and differentially diagnose conditions, it’s obviously best to seek the opinion of someone who can.
If you’d like some physio advice or want to book to see me in clinic, send me an email [email protected]
Both of my private clinics are based in South East London – Beckenham and Forest Hill. I am also mobile in surrounding areas and can do home visits too.
For other interesting content in health & fitness and physiotherapy, visit Joy’s website at http://www.joy-de-vivre.com/