The Ultimate Guide to Posture Taping

Correcting years of bad posture is tricky. It isn’t going to be a quick fix. But, getting into the perfect posture is possible with consistency, awareness, dedication, and the right tools and exercises. 

If you’re a medical practitioner – a physiotherapist or orthopaedic, read this ultimate guide to posture taping to learn how to apply kinesiology tapes and help your patients get optimal postural correction results.  

Not a healthcare provider? We also encourage you to stick around until the end and see how body tapes can enhance your day-to-day life – and of course, get that perfect spine back! 

We tend to assume rounded shoulders and hunched stance are set in stone. And now that we’ve reached a certain age, the ship has sailed and we should say farewell to better posture. However, with the right tools and procedures, there’s a good chance posture correction is a realistic goal. And when coupled with certain exercises, it’s even more achievable.  

What Is Kinesio Tape & How Does It Help with Postural Correction?

Ever wondered what type of tape some professional sports team players, athletes, and gym-goers wear in action and why? Those bright or skin-tone coloured tapes are actually called Functional or Kinesio Tapes. And, nowadays more than ever before, both professionals and ordinary people are resorting to these medical-grade body tapes for two primary reasons: 

1. Preventing & treating physical injuries 
2. Enhancing performance & improving posture

Kinesio tapes are made of cotton, and their stretchy and elastic properties provide dynamic support of muscles and joints without hindering natural movement. 

With this easy-to-implement therapy (kinesio taping), your clients can benefit in myriad ways such as:

• Bruise and swelling reduction
• Chronic & occasional pain relief
• Fatigue and inflammation prevention
• Blood flow improvement 
• Performance and stability enhancement 
• Speedy recovery from minor injuries 
• Posture correction

When applied for posture taping, kinesiology or functional tapes will mainly aid with the Posture Habit Re-Education phase of the treatment. Kinesiology tape improves proprioception of the Posture System, and serves as a trigger to correct your clients’ posture when they start to hunch over their desk and phone.

Proprioception, also known as kinaesthesia, is sometimes described as the "sixth sense." Signalled by proprioceptors, mechanosensory neurons located within muscles, tendons, and joints, proprioception is the sense of self-movement, force, and body position. So, while wearing the posture tapes, your clients will be reminded to switch to the correct posture every time they collapse forward into poor posture. 

But, how do kinesio tapes actually help with posture correction? 

Posture tapes are flexible and non-restrictive. Their lifting effect allows for increased blood and lymph circulation in the taped area, which in turn, creates a wider space between the skin and the muscle and interstitial space. The resulting improved circulation activates the healing effect necessary to restore the damaged tissues. 

Besides that, kinesio tapes help apply pressure or provide continual stretching of the skin within the taped area. This external activation of cutaneous mechanoreceptors triggers modulatory mechanisms within the central nervous system and leads to an increase in muscle excitability and proprioception. This piece of evidence demonstrates that kinesio tapes are not only therapeutic, but also overall physical performance boosters. 

How to Implement Posture Taping 

The following easy-to-implement posture taping techniques are perfect to remind your clients to maintain the proper posture. Many people, quite involuntarily, bend forward with gravity and fall into a C-shaped (slumped forward) posture, characterised by forward head posture with anterior rolling of the shoulders. Kineso tapes will prove highly beneficial for many of your clients who, like countless others, hunch over their desks and phones for hours on end and may face permanent hunch, if not treated.

Posture Taping Method #1

1. Cut 3 long “I” strips from an uncut roll of kinesio tapes or use precut strips. Make sure the strips have rounded edges.  
2. Two pieces of the tape should go from the client’s neck to their lower back, and one strip from the anterior aspect of one shoulder to the anterior aspect of the other shoulder.
3. Apply 25-50% tension in the middle of the tape (not at the edges).
4. Apply the two long “I” strips on each side of the spine with tape. To apply the bilateral “I” strips, have the client flex forward at the hips and apply the tape with them flexed anteriorly.
5. To apply the long “I” strip across the upper back, have the client sit up in proper posture. Starting at one shoulder, apply the tape to the anterior aspect of the shoulder, then continue to apply the tape across the upper back to the anterior aspect of the opposite shoulder.
6. Advise the client to have the tape on for approximately 3-5 days. The kinesio will increase proprioception of the Posture System while improving Posture Habit Re-Education.

Posture Taping Method #2

1. Cut 2 long “I” strips from an uncut roll of kinesio tapes or use precut strips. Make sure the strips have rounded edges. 
2. Apply 25-50% tension in the middle of the tape (not at the edges).
3. Apply the two “I” strips to form an “X” with the patient sitting up in proper posture. Start with the first tape and apply it from the top of one of the shoulders down to the base of the cervical spine. The tape will end under the opposite scapula. Continue with the second strip and do the same for the opposite side. 
4. Advise the client to have the tape on for approximately 3-5 days. The kinesio will increase proprioception of the Posture System while improving Posture Habit Re-Education.

And for some general application tips, please refer to our instructions.

Benefits of Using Kinesio Tapes for Postural Correction at Your Medical Practice

Body tapes are creating a lot of buzz among healthcare providers and individuals alike and gaining a lot of popularity because of their myriad benefits. Some of the rewards of implementing kinesio taping for postural correction or other physiotherapy purposes include:  

1. They are convenient & effortless.

Kinesiology tapes, or body tapes, come in various forms, such as precut strips, precut rolls, and uncut rolls, taking minimal time to apply. So, this allows you to accept and treat more patients.

2. They work round the clock.

The types that are hypoallergenic and breathable can be worn for hours on end without leaving skin burns or irritation. So, you can rest assured your clients are getting the treatment they deserve. 

3. They provide a steady secondary source of income.

Kinesio tapes are inexpensive, and when purchased in bulk, they become even cheaper options. You can charge an additional fee per application.

Postural Correction with SKINES Body Tape 

SKINES Body Tape is made of the highest quality elastic therapeutic cotton with a hypoallergenic acrylic adhesive layer. The kinesiology tapes are breathable, waterproof, and sweatproof. SKINES Body Tape comes in various forms (Precut Roll, Precut Strips, Uncut Roll) suited for physio/sports purposes, including posture correction. It features rounded edges for easy application and removal, perfect for medical practitioners who wish to treat more patients in less time.

For wholesale enquiries, please contact wholesale@skines.online.