What’s New
Stay up to date with everything going on in the world of RockTape!
Soft Tissue course – how to positively affect both the neurological and mechanical systems.
Most manual therapists have traditionally been taught a very mechanical model when it comes to soft tissue therapy. Recently, many people would agree that the benefits we achieve with soft tissue therapy can be attributed to both the neurological effect as well as the...
What is the optimal tape tension for pain relief?
Kinesiology tape is typically applied with a small amount of stretch on the tape, but recommendations vary for how much stretch to apply. Whilst the optimal amount of tape tension will most likely vary from person to person, a recent US study tried to compare the...
Use of kinesiology taping to assist with dynamic knee control in female athletes.
This study from Iran set out to investigate the effects of using kinesiology tape on dynamic knee control in a group of female athletes. An increase in knee valgus in landing is thought to increase the risk of many knee injuries such as ACL and MCL injuries. ...
Effectiveness of Kinesiology tape for knee arthritis
Knee osteoarthritis (OA) can be a debilitating condition resulting in pain, loss of mobility and a decrease in independence. Exercise, in particular strengthening exercise, is one of the key components of knee OA management. However, often the knee pain that is...
Do you tape your knees to help with pain? Maybe you should.
Knee pain and the effects of kinesiology tape have been well studied with many articles showing a benefit in pain levels and daily function with tape applied. There have been two recent articles that have added to the evidence base for using kinesiology tape for...
Different taping techniques for persistent low back pain-does it matter how you tape?
Persistent low back pain is a very common problem worldwide costing millions of dollars with a huge variety of interventions being used, often without much success. Kinesiology taping is a relatively cheap, non-invasive modality that can be used as an adjunct to...
RockTape kinesiology taping courses
Kinesiology tape is a divisive subject. The mention of it tends to send some physio-centric social media channels into meltdown! But I believe that many therapists have formed opinions of kinesiology tape based on outdated claims that have their origins in the...
A study of participants with carpal tunnel syndrome and how they felt with kinesiology taping applied.
Much of the research that is completed in manual therapy is “quantitative”- that is they measure an objective variable such as grip strength, jump height, force produced etc. There are few published papers that are “qualitative” in nature, that is that ask...
Kinesiology tape reduces pain and disability in female patients with chronic low back pain.
A recent study by Macedo et al has shown improvements in pain levels and a reduction in a disability measure in those with chronic low back pain following one application of kinesiology tape! This study included 108 females between the ages of 18 and 50, who had...
Rock Pods – cupping
What are Rock pods? Rock Pods are our version of cupping. They are medical grade silicone cups that come in 2 sizes. Each set of Pods has 4 large an 4 small cups and come in a convenient carry case. What are they designed to do? Cupping creates a decompressive force...
More Flossing options.
In our earlier blog post, we outlined two simple ways of using floss bands, as they are the two that people usually start with. However if you are now becoming more comfortable with the concept, then there are other ways of utilising these bands: Joint support and...
Should you be Flossing daily? A beginner’s guide to RockFloss.
Floss bands are not a new concept. They have been around for a while now under various names. In Australia, they have been mostly used as part of a warm up routine for gym workouts, particularly in the CrossFit world. But they can also be a useful tool in the...
Posture Medic – Improving posture
Posture Medic product review performed by Yolanda Schmidt Have you ever felt like you need multiple pieces of equipment when it comes to stretching, strengthening and stabilizing muscles? Posture Medic is the all-in-one tool, conveniently designed to overcome poor...
Kinesiology tape research
The popularity of kinesiology tape, or coloured sports tape, has increased dramatically over the last decade. Despite being invented in the 1970’s by Dr Kenzo Kase, kinesiology tape rose to prominence following the Beijing Olympics in 2008, and is increasingly seen on...
An athlete’s reading list
In 2017 I set a goal to read 52 non-fiction books. I didn’t quite make it all the way (the final count was around 35), but I did read some absolute gems along the way. Below are my top six recommendations for athletes, and those who support them – coaches, parents...
Meet Amanda Ross – Olympic Equestrian Rock Star
Meet Amanda Ross. A Sydney 2000 Olympic equestrian athlete who competes in eventing – horse riding competitions that involve a number of disciplines. Amanda is based out of Tuerong, on Victoria’s beautiful Mornington Peninsula, and travels the country competing....
4 types of self-confidence
Plenty has been written about the need for confidence. If you are an athlete, it is considered almost an essential character trait. After all, how can you win if you don’t believe you can? If you don’t have confidence in yourself? Sometimes however, we get a little...
Meet Elana Withnall – Heptathlete and Rugby 7’s
This month’s RockStar is Elana Withnall. She’s a superstar on the track and field representing Australia in Heptathlon. In 2013 and 2014 she won back to back gold medals at the Oceania Championships, as well as being selected to be the Australian team captain....