How to Tape a Knee for Running? Step By Step Guide
Are you a health freak? Do you love to run to keep your body fit and healthy? But with age, your knee and other joints have become weak. If you are experiencing knee pain, especially during running, you should try knee taping because it will help you stabilize your knee and also give you relief from knee pain.
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Knee Taping
Knee taping is beneficial to treat and prevent further injuries. There is a special tape that is applied around the knee to manage pain. If you want to learn how to tape a knee for running, this article is for you.
Types of Knee Tape
There are two types of tapes that are used for knee taping:
Rigid Tape
This tape is designed in such as way that helps to prevent an area from moving. It doesn’t stretch and stays in a specific place.
Elastic Tape
This tape is made up of stretch cotton and is also known as Kinesio tape. It offers stability but with a broader range of motion as compared to rigid tape.
If you are a beginner runner, you must follow several tips to understand the best running technique that will help you to prevent joint pain.
Techniques to Tape a Knee for Running (Step-by-Step)
You must want to know how to tape a knee for support to prevent future injuries and enhance knee stability. But before trying these techniques, you must consult your physician because everyone has a different body, and it is not necessary that the same approach that works for someone else might work for you. That’s why a physician’s advice is essential to prevent any discomfort later.
Below we have mentioned the common taping techniques. Let’s have a look!
1) The McConnel Technique:
In this technique, the rigid tape is used to generally manage the kneecap or patella to ease pain and increase the structural support.
You will need a 2-inch wide adhesive gauze that protects your skin, one ½ inch-wide rigid medical tape, and a scissor.
Steps:
- Sit on a bench with your leg slightly bent and extend your knee.
- Cut two pieces of adhesive gauze and place them over your kneecap.
- Now put the strip of rigid medical tape and pull it over the kneecap toward the inner part of the knee.
- While doing that, push the soft tissue on your inner knee and secure the end of the tape to the kneecap’s inner side.
- The rigid tape can be applied in other directions depending on the symptoms.
Read More: Electrolyte for Runners
2) Kinesio Taping Technique:
Kinesio tape is a more flexible and stretchy tape that provides stabilization to your knee and allows a good range of motion. You will need Kinesio tape and scissors.
Steps:
- Sit on a bench with your knee bent.
- Cut two Y-shaped strips and two I-shaped strips.
- Starting at mid-thigh, put on the bottom part of the Y-shaped tape without stretching.
- Stretch one tail of the Y-shaped tape and wrap it around the inner knee, and secure the end without stretching.
- Repeat the other tail on the other side of the kneecap to surround it.
- Put the other piece of Y-shaped tape on the bottom part, several inches below the kneecap.
- Stretch one tail of the tape and wrap around the kneecap.
- Place first I-shaped tape below the kneecap.
- Straighten your knee and repeat with the second I-shaped tape and place it lower than the first.
- Secure the ends by wrapping the tape.
Why Should You Tape a Knee for Running?
Athletes often tape their knees to protect their existing injuries. It helps to restrict the movement of injured joints to avoid swelling & re-injury.
If this question pops in your head that does taping help runners knees, the answer is yes! It is one of the best techniques to use where stability and support are needed & can minimize excessive motion during any physical activity.
The importance of taping a knee for running are:
- Improve joint stability
- Relieve pain
- Slow down muscle action
- Reduce re-injury
- Lower strain
- Facilitate normal movement
- Prevent injury, etc.
Things to Consider before taping:
- Check the skin sensitivity of the person to be taped.
- Check if there is an existing rash or broken skin around the taping area.
- The hairs of the area to be taped should be removed 12 hours before the tape application.
Also Read: Tips to Increase Stamina for Running
How to Remove the Knee Tape After Running?
After getting extra support from the tape during running, now it’s time to take it off. Knee tape can adhere properly, so you have to be careful while taking it off. It is vital to learn how to remove the knee tape after running without causing any discomfort.
Below we have mentioned some tips so that you can comfortably remove the Kinesio and other tapes:
- Oiling: Apply oil directly on the tape. Baby oil or olive oil is the best to rub properly on the tape. Wait for around 10-20 minutes before removing to reduce the stickiness of the tape.
- Remove the tape: After 20 minutes, remove the tape slowly to prevent damage to the skin.
- Rolling: Rather than pulling the tape, roll it back because it is less painful.
- Do not move opposite to the hair growth: Always move the tape in the direction of hair growth. It will reduce skin irritation.
- Tighten the skin: Do not forget to tighten the skin while peeling the tape. To reduce the discomfort, tug the skin in the opposite direction.
Apart from this, you can also use lotion, ice, or take a warm shower to remove the tape without any discomfort. It can also loosen the stickiness of the tape.
Wrap Up
Knee taping is beneficial to support your muscles and joints during running. We hope this article helped you to understand how to tape a knee for running.
Knee taping enables you to enhance your exercise ability, support you, and give you relief while you run.
As there are many ways for knee taping, but it is better to consult your doctor to understand the best technique.
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