The strategic placement of an elastic bandage on the skin – a type of adhesive tape without medication – can alleviate muscle pain and rehabilitate bodily dysfunctions in the areas of orthopedics, neurology, facial paralysis and speech therapy. It looks like magic, but it's not. This simple but efficient procedure is the result of the technique called Therapy Taping Method, which has been used in Brazil and in several Latin American countries, such as Chile and Argentina, especially by athletes. At Unicamp HC, this therapy has already been successfully used in patients diagnosed with muscular dystrophies and neuropathies who attend the Neuromuscular Diseases Outpatient Clinic.
This increment, depending on how it is placed, can activate and relax the muscles, reduce the sensation of pain, in addition to providing a better sense of the body in space. Therapy does not cure infectious processes, but it can reduce edema; does not use medication, but can eliminate pain in a few months, says Cristina Iwabe Marchese, physiotherapist and postdoctoral fellow at Unicamp.
This technique is generally recommended for athletes to improve motor response during sports and post-injury, reducing pain. “As it is an external stimulus that remains on the skin 24 hours a day, for approximately five to seven days, the bandage helps ensure that adequate sensory stimuli are sent to the brain, making it possible to achieve the desired objective”, he highlights.
According to the specialist, who works with the technique and is one of its supporters in the country, promising results have been observed when this method is associated with conventional therapy. She, however, makes a reservation: the application of the bandage (composed of cotton and elastane) must be carried out by qualified professionals, because unskilled work can interfere with the person's well-being and harm their health.
It is estimated that currently more than 11 thousand professionals (physiotherapists, occupational therapists, doctors, speech therapists and other health professionals) in Latin America have been trained by the Therapy Taping method. They went through training courses, as there is a concept to be assimilated and a neurophysiological explanation behind the technique. “Unfortunately, nowadays several videos try to explain how to apply the bandage, but they do not explain why, for what, how and on whom it should be used”, explains the physiotherapist.
According to her, the Therapy Taping Method also works to restore weak muscles and correct posture. This occurs because the bandage causes sensory stimuli in the skin, which are sent via nerve pathways to the cerebral cortex, returning an appropriate response to the muscles. The technique has also produced positive reports in cases of tendonitis, injuries, sprains, etc. But its main functions, in addition to providing muscular support, helping with vascular and lymphatic drainage, activating the endogenous analgesic system and stimulating the perception of post-injury body parts, resulting in the optimization of the ability to perform everyday actions and activities. day.
Bandages began to be used in Japan in the 1970s, empirically and without adequate physiological and scientific criteria. It became known worldwide at the 2012 Olympics in London. Approximately 20 years ago, Therapy Taping was introduced in Brazil by physiotherapist Nelson Morini Jr., author of the book Therapeutic Bandage, who created the technique based on the concept of integument stimulation and the principles of neurophysiology.
Learn more about method e look photographs of different applications of bandages in other locations
