As Cheryl speculated it is related to pressure bandaging. Kinesio tape is a brand name for a a cotton strip with acrylic adhesive that originated in Japan. A Japanese chiropracter, Dr. Kenzo Kase popularized it and developed a proprietary method of the generic tape complete with special training classes and certification.
My personal opinion is that it's just woo woo especially since it claims to work on everything: muscle imbalances, pain, the back, the neck, the knees, the lower legs and even lympadema. The theory for lympadema is
[quote]On skin, the Kinesio Tape pulls the upper layers of skin, creating more space between the dermis and the muscle. The space created is believed to relieve pressure on the lymph channels in the area between the muscle and the dermis, creating more space for lymph flow and thus better lymph drainage through an affected area.[/quote]
Unfortunately all the studies are by people who sell Kinsesio tape or teach it for a living. Nothing scientifically valid.
You can see for yourself how it works on You tube which has several videos on it. It's very popular with physical therapists as a result of a clever marketing ploy of giving it away free in the Olympics.
Myself, I am very skeptical about it. A Los Angeles Times article basically scoffed at it. My view echoes this doctor quoted in the article
[quote]For products that have become so popular on and off the playing field, there's surprisingly little evidence that kinesiology tapes actually relieve pain, says Dr. John Wilson, an assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Wisconsin in Madison who specializes in both sports medicine and arthritis treatment. "People often ask me, 'What does that stuff do?' I think it's mainly just window dressing." According to Wilson, it's unrealistic to think that a strap of tape on the skin could have any effect on blood flow or lymph drainage. It's quite possible, he says, that some people feel relief simply because they expect the tape to work. In other words, kinesiology tapes could just be stretchy, colorful placebos. "Until some study comes along to tell me otherwise, I believe any pain relief would come from the placebo effect," he says.[/quote]
The Healthy Skeptic - LA Times Interestingly enough in the same article,
[quote]Jennifer Gamboa, a spokeswoman for the American Physical Therapy Assn. who runs a private physical therapy practice in Arlington, Va., says that she sometimes uses kinesiology tapes on clients, including dancers with sore ankles or members of the general public with lower-back pain. She's not convinced that the tape really does anything to protect the joint, improve blood flow or speed healing, but she does think that it helps people become more aware of their bodies and reminds them to avoid certain movements.[/quote] Generally it's not a very good idea to use tape or bandages on the neck or face unlike other parts of the body.
I have heard great things though about facial massages.
Charm