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Strapping Tape – A Physio’s Guide

Strapping Tape – A Physio’s Guide

Strapping tape comes in a variety of materials, sizes, brands and colours making it difficult to choose the correct tape for your situation?

We have produced a summary of commonly used strapping tapes to remove the guess work for you.

Rigid Strapping Tape

Rigid strapping tapeDescription: Strong tape, which is resistant to stretch. Most commonly used tape by physios.

Colour: Tan/skin colour

Size: 38mm and 50mm width

Use:

Joint stability – Used to aid in the prevention of joint sprains and also to provide protection to joints post injury.

Posture – Strong postural support for people with back or neck pain to prevent undesired movement/positions.

Arch Support – For conditions like plantar fasciitis and shin splints.

Pros: Very strong, restricts undesired movement

Cons: Occasional skin reactions

Kinesio Tape (Rock Tape)

Rock Tape Kinesio TapeDescription: Elastic or stretchy tapecommonly used in athletic sports.

Colour: Multiple colours and patterns

Size: 50mm and 100mm width

Use:

Joint and Muscle Support – Used to provide mild support(proprioception) to joints and muscles without restricting movement.

Posture – Mild postural supportfor people with back or neck pain to improve awarenessof undesired movement/positions.

Pros: Hypoallergenic (less likely to cause a skin reaction), allows normal movement

Cons: Only mild support

Fixomull

Fixomull tapeDescription: Slightly elastic woven tape commonly used as under-tapeby physios and for wound protection in the medical field.

Colour: White

Size: 50mm or 100mm width

Use: Protective under-tape before application of rigid strapping tape.

Pros: Hypoallergic (unlikely to cause a skin reaction), slight stretch ensuring comfort and lasting adhesion to the skin.

Cons: No significant support if used in isolation

Summary

Rigid strapping tape, preferably with a fixomull under layer for maximum support to prevent or protect injuries.

Kinesio or Rock Tape for mild support or to provide increased awareness of movement.

My Physio Perth provides professional taping services at no out of pocket expense to you if you have private health insurance. Call us on 9447 6152 or book an appointment online today if you require strapping. 

4 Comments

  1. Tim Clarke on January 31, 2023 at 8:22 pm

    I was surfing through the internet for a while just to get in-depth information about the topic you wrote about and it really helped me to know more about which kind of strapping tape is useful for different conditions. Keep sharing such blogs further as well. And kindly let me know how can I subscribe to the Newsletter. Thanks.

  2. Proremedyphysio on May 30, 2023 at 10:21 pm

    I simply wanted to write down a quick word to say thanks to you for those wonderful tips and hints you are showing on this site.

  3. Best physiotherapist in calgary on June 17, 2023 at 7:20 pm

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  4. Pill Up on June 20, 2023 at 9:36 pm

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