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Kinesiology Tape for Neck Pain
Neck pain is one of the most common complaints that people visit the GP for. If you have a sedentary life, a desk job for example you may find that neck pain is aggravated by the position of your screen. For some people neck pain is a result of poor mattresses and pillows which can also result in some pretty uncomfortable movements the next morning.
What Causes Neck Pain
Neck pain is normally caused by straining the muscles that keep your head attached to your spine and allow it to move around. Sleeping awkwardly or sitting in one position looking at a screen for too long can cause strain to these muscles which in turn means they go into mild spasms and lose flexibility making it awkward for you to move your head from side to side or up-and-down. If you’ve ever woken up with a pain in your neck you will know how painful this can be. Thankfully kinesiology tape can help support your neck while you heal and enable the muscles to rest and relax.
The beauty of kinesiology tape is that it can be applied at home. For the neck you may need someone to give you a hand, but the process is quite simple so will talk you through one of the easiest neck taping patterns to support general neck pain.
Application
Using one of the pre-cut strips follow the instructions in the cutting guide to add a V shape. Anchor the tape without any stretch at the uncut end, about 10 cm below the base of your neck right in the middle of your shoulder blades with the remaining tape facing up the neck to the back of the head.
Bend your head forward as much as you possibly can. Remove the backing tape from one side of the V shape and using a 50% stretch pull it up and a slight angle to sit just behind the ear. Remember the last 2 cm from the top anchor and you can release the stretch at that point.
Now repeat with the other side so that the tape reaches up to the other ear creating a Y shape overall from behind the ears down to the middle of the shoulder blades.
Using half a piece of pre-cut tape, round the ends that are not pre-cut and apply horizontally at the base of the Y shape using a 50% stretch.
Conclusion
Remember to get the best adhesion results rub the tape to warm it up. The tape can stay in place for up to 5 days, and you are able to shower with it on but avoid soaking it for a prolonged period. If the neck pain persists you may need to consider seeing a doctor but a few days rest may be all that is required to settle it back down. It’s also worth having a look at the position of your computer monitor and your chair to make sure that you can remove any possibility of adding extra strain to your neck.
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