Kinesio taping - what do you need to know before you can start applying them?
 

i had some very positive experiences over the last year with kinesio tapes.
now i´m wondering what is needed if i want to apply them myself.
do i need to take courses to acquire the necessary knowledge.
how to apply them, where to apply them.
is there a wrong way that can hurt more than it helps?
i´d appreciate your comments

Taking courses to acquire the necessary knowledge is certainly beneficial. But I may probably skip it if I just want to tape a general area, there are enough tutorials floating around to show you. But if you want to pinpoint exactly the muscle (groups) to target, I'd take the courses.

There's no real wrong way that can hurt you. Well maybe we'll lose some skin hair and have unsightly tan. If you're me, removing an improperly placed tape hurts the wallet: "ahhhh man, this stuff ain't cheap."

A good question to ask is, does it really work for you? It did nothing for me when I needed some sort of support/pain management coming off of shoulder surgeries. I've stopped using them as soon as my shoulder was strong enough to serve back-to-back 3 setter singles.

thanks for the feedback. tape sure ain´t cheap:)
friend of mine had a shoulder surgery two years ago, took her a long time to start playing again, and to this day the shoulder hurts after about an hour of playing. she started using kinesio tape a month ago and she reports much reduced pain.

There are some videos for shoulder applications using KT tape (I think?); they are excellent guides for general taping to aid shoulder stability and reduce pain. It is tough to apply it yourself... In my case my wife and daughter watched those videos with me and apply it bfr I play. Also a lot of Physical therapists and DCs know how to apply it... I have had pretty positive results applying it after having to scopes on my shoulder... Still play with it as a precaution.

i have about the same experience. the tape works in lots of cases and there are lots of good how-to videos available.
i was just wondering, whether it is useful to attend a special course, which would include diagnosing as well as applying. not only how-to but where to apply:)