Category: Canine Kinesiology Tape

The Benefits of Adding Kinesiology Tape to Your Practice

3/27/2017

Kinesiology tape is a stretchy, sticky athletic tape that was developed for humans over 30 years ago. This tape has recently gained popularity with animal bodywork practitioners after it was discovered that the same benefits humans experience when wearing the tape can be experienced by animals. To many people’s surprise, this revolutionary tape can be applied over an animal’s hair instead of directly to the skin to achieve the same decompression effect seen in humans.

Kinesiology taping is a modality that every animal bodywork practice can benefit from. This tape allows the practitioner to enhance their other therapies by leaving the animal with prolonged blood and lymph flow improvement, decreased pain sensation and support of joints and muscles that are suffering from instability or hyper and hypotonicity.

Some conditions that can benefit from kinesiology tape are: ACL and other knee related injuries in dogs, back pain in dogs and horses, hind end weakness in dogs due to IVDD, spina bifida, arthritis, or DM, suspensory ligament injuries in horses, post surgical swelling in all animals and stocking up in horses. A recent study in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science showed a significant reduction in swelling after 24 hours of kinesiology taping in horses with arthroscopic tibio-patellofemoral surgery. (http://www.j-evs.com/article/S0737-0806(16)30525-1/abstract)

While kinesiology taping is a very safe and effective technique, there are specific ways to cut and apply the tape for the condition being treated and there are contraindications to utilizing this tape as well. Proper training is required to be able to adequately add kinesiology taping to your practice.

Angel’s Animals - Holistic Online Courses, offers kinesiology taping certification courses for both Equine and Canine practitioners. These courses can be completed from anywhere in the world and do not have time limitations. The courses are taught by Dr. Angelique Barbara who is a Doctor of Chiropractic with a BS in Veterinary Science and a MS in Veterinary Pathobiology. Dr. Barbara was one of the first practitioners to start using kinesiology tape on animals and she developed these comprehensive courses to share her applications and experience with other practitioners.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE EQUINE COURSE

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CANINE COURSE

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How Can My Dog Benefit from Kinesiology Tape?

2/23/2017

4 Comments

You may have noticed kinesiology tape on athletes while you were watching a game on TV or perhaps you have personal experience with it from your PT or Chiropractor taping you following an injury. I think it's safe to say that most people have been exposed to this athletic tape in one form or another by now. People are aware of how it can help them decrease pain, give them additional support without reducing range of motion and help them train and play harder while reducing the change of injury. I bet one thing you didn't know about kinesiology tape though is that your dog can benefit from it as well!

There are many reasons why you would want to tape your dog. I have listed a few of them for you below:

Decrease Neck, Back and Hip Pain - Many dogs will experience some form of neck, back or hip pain in their lives. For some dogs, it will be short term, usually following an injury of some kind. For other dogs, this pain will be more chronic, usually stemming from arthritis, degenerative changes from disorders such as hip dysplasia or a disc bulge which is common in many breeds of dogs. Kinesiology tape can provide your dog with a natural way to decrease pain on a daily basis or during exercise.
Decrease Inflammation - Dogs can develop bruises and swelling due to an injury, just like we do. We do not notice it as often on our dogs though due to their hair. Kinesiology tape has been proven to aid in decreases inflammation from injury, allergic reactions and surgery when applied correctly.
Support Joints - Is your dog suffering from a knee injury, luxating patella or other joint instability? If so, kinesiology tape is the perfect way to give your dog additional support without restricting range of motion. Most dogs prefer kinesiology tape over braces because it allows them to move freely.
Heal Quicker Post Surgery - Most dogs will undergo at least one surgery in their life and kinesiology tape can be applied after surgery to reduce swelling and promote healing!

To Recap:

Decrease Pain
Speed Up Healing
Decrease Swelling
Increase Support

Common Conditions That Can Benefit From Kinesiology Tape:

Neck Pain
Back Pain
Hip Pain - Hip Dysplasia
Luxating Patella
ACL Tear - Knee Injuries
Disc Herniation/Bulge
Hematoma/Swelling
Joint Instability
Weakness due to Degenerative Myelopathy
And more!

Caution!

While there is no doubt that your dog can likely benefit from kinesiology tape, it is important to use caution when applying the tape. Each condition listed above has a specific tape application associated with it and there are certain times kinesiology tape can make the situation worse and you should refrain from taping. Be sure to gain adequate training or consult with a canine kinesiology taping professional before taping your dog!

Want to learn how to apply kinesiology tape to your dog? Check out our online course!

Canine Kinesiology Tape On-Line NON-Certification Course

$200.00

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This course was developed to teach dog owners how to apply kinesiology tape to their dog(s) to decrease pain, provide support and aid with numerous conditions such as hind end weakness, muscle spasms, joint instability and more! THIS COURSE DOES NOT INCLUDE A CERTIFICATION OPTION!