Taped Together and Still Dancing: The Real Magic Behind Kinesiology Tape

You know you’ve lived a wild life when your brother—a paramedic, no less—won’t hand you a razor blade because you look like a walking mummy wrapped in sports tape.

True story. But let me back up.

I was the kind of teenager who thought gravity was optional and pain was negotiable.

I’ve swan-dived off cliffs, snowboarded off ledges with no landing strategy,

and once saved my own life by grabbing poison oak as I slid off a mountainside.

(Yes, poison oak. I have a deep respect for that plant and don’t react to it.)

Fast-forward a few decades, and I now pay rent to my past self—in microtears of muscle and ligament, noticed by pain in areas. Enter kinesiology tape, the unsung hero of my 50s, and the reason I’m still moving, still working, and still occasionally dancing (though these days it's less mosh pit, more Pilates and dancing).

What Is Kinesiology Tape, Really?

Let’s demystify this colorful miracle. Kinesiology tape isn’t magic, but it might as well be. The purpose of muscle tape is to act like a surrogate muscle or ligament—giving your body just enough external support so the real structure underneath can finally take a breather and heal.

It's like giving your overworked joints a much-needed nap while still letting you function. It moves with you, sticks for days, and doesn’t make you smell like menthol or BenGay. You can run errands, hike mountains, or wrangle toddlers with it on. It’s better than any brace—and less obnoxious than most.

How Does Kinesiology Tape Work for Pain?

When a muscle is torn or partially shredded (yes, that’s a thing—more on that surgeon story in a minute), it can’t do its job. That means other muscles pick up the slack, and chaos ensues. Kinetic tape gives your body fake ligaments and pretend muscles so the busted parts underneath can actually recover. That’s the how behind “how kinesiology tape works for pain.”

It also lifts the skin ever so slightly, creating space to improve blood and lymph flow. (Yes, there’s science. I linked it below so you can geek out like I do.)

The Time a Surgeon Got Schooled on a Hiking Trail

Picture this: I’m taped from shoulder to ankle on a Sierra Club hike—knee, SI joint, ankles, shoulders, hips, all patched up. My friend is taped too. A surgeon spots us, smirks, and asks why we’re wearing tape “if nothing’s fully torn.”

I say, “Well, actually, partial tears exist. And they hurt like hell.”

He doesn’t believe me. Says partial ligament tears aren’t real. I argue—because I am a walking encyclopedia of partial tears. I’ve had more than 60. (Yes, I stopped counting at 60. Wouldn’t you?)

And you know what? He refused to listen. Wouldn’t believe someone who could palpate a torn ligament better than his $3,000 MRI machine. That’s Western medicine for you—if it’s not on the scan, it doesn’t exist. Meanwhile, my knees are held together by German tape and stubborn willpower.

The Real Benefits of Taping (Especially If You’re a Bendy Human)

Taping isn’t just for elite athletes or aging punks with cliff-jumping regrets. It’s a game-changer for folks with chronic injuries, past trauma, and even those with connective tissue conditions like Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS). For EDS folks, it can feel like someone finally handed you the ligaments you never had.

Kinetic tape benefits include:

• Support without stiffness

• Pain relief without drugs

• Natural alignment without braces

• Confidence that your joint won’t betray you mid-grocery store squat

  
  

How Do You Know If You’ve Got an Old Tear?

Clients ask me this all the time. “What does a muscle tear feel like?” It varies. Sometimes it’s sharp, it can be shooting pain away from the exact area of the tear, other times it’s oddly tingly. Sometimes it’s sneaky and shows up years later when you move a certain way or re-injure it.

Pro tip: If you run your fingers lightly across the muscle and feel a dent—like a pothole under your skin—that’s scar tissue from an old tear. Ligaments? You’ll feel wobble, not dent. That’s the job of the ligament: to hold you together. If it’s slacking, you’ll feel the instability.

And yes, I can find these suckers like a truffle pig. It’s a skill I earned the hard way.

My Top 4 Healing Essentials (aka, How I’m Still Walking)

1. Kinesiology Taping – Applied like a pro. Because I am one.

2. Infrared LED Therapy – Because light heals.

3. Targeted Strength Training – Rehab isn’t sexy, but it works.

4. Fresh Green Juice – Because ligaments don’t regenerate on caffeine and despair.

   
   

Want to Get Taped Like a Pro?

If you’re local and dealing with mystery pains, old injuries, or ligament wobbles that no doctor believes, come see me. I love helping people feel held—literally and energetically. With tape, of course. I also have a ton of taping videos on my website.

Taping isn’t just band-aid therapy. It’s healing in motion. It’s the bridge between dysfunction and regeneration. And sometimes, it’s the only thing standing between you and another damn MRI.

Rolled Up and Ready: Evidence That’s as Tight as Your Hamstrings

Chan, O., Del Buono, A., Best, T. M., & Maffulli, N. (2012). Acute muscle strain injuries: A proposed new classification system. Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy, 20(11), 2356–2362.

Summary: This study proposes a new MRI- and ultrasound-based classification for muscle strain injuries. The system offers more precision in defining injury characteristics, which helps guide both clinical decision-making and rehabilitation planning.

Butler, D. L., Juncosa, N., & Dressler, M. R. (2004). Functional efficacy of tendon repair processes. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 427(Suppl), S234–S243.

Summary: A deep dive into tendon biology, this review discusses the interplay of mechanical forces and cellular healing in tendon repair. It emphasizes that successful recovery requires understanding the microarchitecture of healing tissues—not just applying support or stretching.

Wu, W. T., Hong, C. Z., & Chou, L. W. (2015). The Kinesio Taping Method for Myofascial Pain Control: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2015, Article ID 950519.

Summary: This paper evaluates the effectiveness of Kinesio Taping (KT) in reducing myofascial pain. It suggests that KT improves local circulation and lymph flow, which may reduce inflammation and relieve pain in soft tissues. While results are mixed, KT shows promise as a low-risk intervention in pain management.