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Activate the Stick!
One of the most important things you need to learn when using kinesiology tape is the correct application. If you don’t apply it properly it won’t be as effective. One of the most common problems people encounter is not getting it to stick well enough.
Heat-Activated
Kinesiology tape can be left on for 3 to 7 days. However for that to happen successfully you need to ensure you have worked with the heat activated glue not against it. It doesn’t take that much heat to activate the glue in kinesiology tape, in fact simply rubbing it is good enough.
Apply Correctly
So before we look at activating the glue we are going to recap quickly on the correct method of application. It is important that your kinesiology tape is applied to clean, hair free, dry skin. So you need to wash and dry the area, shave any hair, even fine hair can prevent a good adhesion, Then clean the area with something like surgical spirit which removes any bodily grease and oil.
Preparing the Tape
Of course you will have prepared the tape by cutting the correct lengths and if necessary shaping it as described in our cutting techniques. You can then apply the tape starting with 0% stretch at the first anchor the percentage stretch given in the instructions for the particular injury for the main body of the tape and then finishing with the second anchor at 0% stretch once more.
Now to Activate!
As we have already mentioned, the adhesive used on the tape is heat activated. Simply rubbing the tape briskly is a great way to activate the glue. You can do this with your bare hands, and you need to ensure you are working from the middle of the tape out to the edges. The risk of rubbing the tape at the end is that you will catch and lift one of the edges and then it doesn’t really stick.
Not Too Much Heat
And as we draw to a close a final word of warning. You don’t need to overdo the heat. We have previously mentioned that it is perfectly safe to shower or get your kinesiology tape wet. In this case we always suggest passing it to dry gently with a towel or if you are concerned, then using a hairdryer on a low heat setting. The problem with blasting your kinesiology tape with a lot of heat from something like a hairdryer is that you can overdo the glue and make it difficult to take off at the end of the period. This could cause skin irritation and in the worst case scenario break the skin as it comes off. So please just stick to rubbing the tape with your hand. If it gets wet and you want to dry it with a hairdryer keep it on a cool heat!
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