Bibrave Product Review: KT Tape

Disclaimer: I received samples of KT Tape to try and review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

Nagging injuries, runners injuries, large muscle injuries. We all get them. My first running injury was in the Fall of 2009 when I was starting on long distance running and thought the regular shoes I had were ok for running. I ended up with an IT Band injury so bad I ended up with a month of Physical Therapy (after I ran the half marathon the orthopod told me to not run. Sorry Mom). Part of what I found while doing PT was KT Tape. Don’t believe me? Flash back to January 2010 with my first marathon:

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Throwback to January, 2010 and my first marathon coming off ITBand injuries. Yes, I’ve been using @kttape that long and they’ve come a long way! Better build now adays 😜. Want to try? BIBRAVE30 saves you 30%! #bibchat #runchat #kttape

A post shared by Christine (@cgrunstheworld) on Mar 12, 2018 at 3:03pm PDT

KT Tape is an elastic sports tape designed to relieve pain and support muscles/tendons/ligaments. When you get hurt (and not the tired/stiff/sore that my trainer tries to get out of me on a regular basis), KT tape (when applied correctly) lifts the skin from the area of pain , swelling and/or inflammation to provide decompression to the fascia and greater movement of the lymphatic fluid through your system.

The nice thing about KT Tape is it can be used for Common Injuries like

• IT Band Injuries
• Plantar Fasciitis
• Turf Toe
• Rotator Cuff Injuries
• Shin Splints

And the list goes on! I remember having Turf Toe in high school and looking back, I wish I would have had some KT Tape rather than the tape the trainer had for me at that point in time. What’s even better is that there’s instructional videos on how to apply KT Tape depending on where you’re hurting.

We had a variety of different tapes to try out and I’m still trying to make my way through them. I started with the KT Tape Pro version (we were also sent KT Tape Pro Wide, KT Tape Pro Extreme, KT Tape Gentle and the original KT Tape). I was in New Orleans for a 5K/Half marathon race weekend and was dealing with some heal pain due to cracked skin. I came up my own little tape job:

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Since I’ve been swimming more, my heels are cracking leading to sore heels. An ad lib @kttape job seems to be doing the trick to help the soreness! (Get your own and save 30% with BIBRAVE30) #runchat #bibchat #kttape

A post shared by Christine (@cgrunstheworld) on Mar 2, 2018 at 5:50pm PST

I applied two pieces and left it for the whole weekend. I was able to get through a 5K on Saturday and a half marathon Sunday and 2 showers without it coming off.

When you apply KT tape, make sure the area your applying to is clean and dry. If you’re a woman, shave before hand; men I’m sorry. Also make sure to apply it an hour or so before a workout to allow maximum sticking. The key to putting on KT tape is the stretch. It does have stretch quality to it, but when applying it, you want to really only it stretch it about 50% with the main point being over the area of injury or pain.

Depending on how long you plan on wearing the KT Tape can dictate which version you want to choose.

KT Tape Pro is good for 4-7 days and stays on in water

KT Tape Pro Extreme is good on for a week and highly water resistant. The difference between this and the original Pro Version is that it has extra strength adhesive

KT Tape Pro Wide is a 4″ wide strip that’s good for your larger muscle groups (hamstrings, quads, low back). Typically this is good for 4-7 days and water resistant. Yes, if you’re short armed like me, you can still get it to your low back

KT Tape Gentle is made for gentle adhesive for easier removal and good for 1-3 days. If you’re going for harder work outs, maybe not the best one to use though.

While going through the KT Tape Website, I was able to find some newer stuff that I jumped on. I’m excited about the Blister Prevention  Strips which are small strips aimed for blister/chafing/hot spot prevention. Needless to say, I bought 2-3 roles and tested out the strips this past weekend while in NC. Two thumbs up for that! The next one is the KT Tape Pro X which is two 10″ strips combined to make an X for point related pain. I’m still working on getting the right placement for this one, so we’ll see.

Overall, LOVE the KT Tape. It travels well, is durable, can be used for multiple injuries or sore spots and does it’s job well. They’ve come out with a ton of different products since I first started using it back in 2009 and quite frankly, it’s gotten a lot better (huge fan of the Pro and Pro Extreme Versions!). Get over to their website and use BIBRAVE30 to save 30% off your order!