Best KT tape? (chondromalacia)

[beaujolais]

Can anyone recommend a brand and vendor for a good KT tape (kinesiology tape)? I’m probably going to have to KT tape my knees for awhile because of chondromalacia.

I start PT in a week and will ask them, of course, but I wanted to hear about what any of you use/like. I believe they say the stretchy type is best for chondromalacia. Also, any recommendations for where to get it at good prices? Thanks.

[Where_sMyWhite]

I don’t remember the brand I used but I did find it on Amazon and in a variety of colors… black, beige, pink, blue…

I think it was the Kinetic.

Ask your therapist their recommended wrapping pattern for you. Knees can be done in a variety of ways so I’d find out what they recommend.

[beaujolais]

Thanks so much, WMW! Amazon is great. I will ask my PT before I do anything, of course. COTHers are so wise & helpful, so I went ahead and put this question up. Or, perhaps, probably I just needed some sympathy and to talk. I’m tired of having a difficult body. It’s always one problem or another (or 5 others).

[Where_sMyWhite]

beaujolais, I hear you on having a problematic body…

Some don’t think KT makes a difference but IMO, it can make a difference. I am not always sure why it works. It does offer a modicum of support but I think it also works by just “sensitizing” that part of the body much as a PT lightly tapping a muscle will activate it (I’ve had that happen to me).

I figure if pro bicycle riders use it, it must do something Haven’t seen pink much at Tour de France but beige and black for sure. Shoulders, knees, quads, hamstrings, etc.

[red_mares]

There’s KT tape and there’s another less stretchy tape that my PT uses that I cannot remember the name of for the life of me. It’s really sticky and he puts a different tape underneath it. I think so it doesn’t pull skin off.

I’ve done KT for chrondomalcia for years; 3-4" under the knee cap. I think it is the easiest KT tape pattern there is. The one for my ankle - :eek:

If I don’t get the PT’s super duper tape, I use Rock Tape, which I got on Amazon.

[beaujolais]

"I hear you on having a problematic body…

Some don’t think KT makes a difference"

Again, so sorry, WMW. Know that you are not alone. Right, remember the poster who wouldn’t use anything “not proven”. Yes, if many pro sports people use it, there may be a reason why.

Thanks, Redmares. Well wishes to all.

[Where_sMyWhite]

[QUOTE=beaujolais;8928480]
Again, so sorry, WMW. Know that you are not alone. Right, remember the poster who wouldn’t use anything “not proven”. Yes, if many pro sports people use it, there may be a reason why.[/QUOTE]

:lol: I know I’m not alone

I get the importance of scientific based research and everything but IMO sometimes it is hard to prove something. To me, KT tape is one of those… maybe it does something, maybe it doesn’t, maybe thinking it does is enough, I dunno. But when I see a pro dancer on Dancing with the Stars with his shoulder taped or the plethora of profession cyclists with various body parts taped… for whatever reason, it must be doing something

[Kyrabee]

I use Rock Tape. From Amazon

I have pink/purple argyle:D.

Susan

[foggybok]

hard to do a placebo study

But I use it on all kinds of things. If I put it on my shoulder I can play pickleball all week with no pain. If I don’t I suffer quite a bit and my game goes downhill as I change my mechanics to protect the shoulder.

It also really helped with my knee, but I quit using it because I get almost the same relief from a good brace and it’s cheaper…(hubby already had one). That said, the relief is only almost as good with the brace…

Also really helped my shin splints…

I LOVE K-tape!!!

Keeps this old rickety body together while I try to be athletic

I’ve just been using KT-tape or occasionally some of my leftover 3M Elasticon I bought for the horses… K tape seems to work better…

[Where_sMyWhite]

[QUOTE=foggybok;8928930]
hard to do a placebo study [/QUOTE]

But is it really just a placebo or it really does “something” we just don’t know how to measure for quantitative results???

[foggybok]

[QUOTE=Where’sMyWhite;8929217]
But is it really just a placebo or it really does “something” we just don’t know how to measure for quantitative results??? :)[/QUOTE]

LOL, I meant placebo controlled… ooops

But yeah, I believe it works. No pain is no pain… So I don’t really care why

[Knubbsy]

I use KT Pro since I have a latex allergy however, it comes with already ~10% stretch. My PT doesn’t really use K-tape but another therapist at the clinic usually uses Rocktape since it doesn’t have pre-stretch.

[Equisis]

Definitely check with your PT. Mine used to tape my knee for me (chondromalacia due to tilted and maltracking patella) using elastoplast tape, which has much less stretch than KT tape. The taping pattern was to hold the patella in place, though, and not so much for pain relief (though it had that effect) so that might have been the reason for the sturdier tape. I stopped taping for a while because I found a really effective brace, but I still tape sometimes when the brace isn’t practical. I use KT tape or Rocktape now, which is much more comfortable for long-term wear than the elastoplast, although I’m not sure I feel the same results.

[lucky_dog_farm]

I use KT tape and am usually covered in it. Sometimes I find it for a great deal at TJMaxx and then I buy all of it. I tape my knees everyday, as well as my feet. I love the stuff

[beaujolais]

Equities, which brace, if you don’t mind?

Thanks again, so very much, dear friends!

[MyssMyst]

[QUOTE=Kyrabee;8928671]
I use Rock Tape. From Amazon

I have pink/purple argyle:D.

Susan[/QUOTE]

I’m also a rock tape junkie!

[beaujolais]

My PT has me using Kinesio Tex Gold for chondromalacia. It seems to help and is comfortable. Anyone have any input on this tape? (I think Rock Tape is less stretchy, correct?) Thanks.

[hunt_jumpfl]

I had good luck with Rock tape for my foot and ankle after a severe sprain last year. I tried some other brands and they are definitely not all created equal.

[Bogie]

KT tape helps me a lot – I tape my patella when I bike and it’s far more comfortable than my old brace and last year when I had posterior tibial tendonitis and I lived with my ankle taped for a couple of months.

I found it discounted at Marshalls and stocked up there.

[beaujolais]

So, I guess the Rock Tape holds things in place a bit better? Is it also easy to take off, meaning easy on your skin, to remove?