Page 90 - BSR 2022

EQUINE HEALTH
with product engineers through a long process
of testing various tape qualities. Eventually,
they created a tape that was flexible enough
to preserve range of motion but lightweight
and hypoallergenic so it could stay on the skin without causing a rash. His new tape imitated the thickness and resilience of human skin.
It has the same thickness, stretch and weight as the top layer of skin. This allows the tapes’ effects to target different receptors within the somatosensory system (the complex system
of sensory neurons and neural pathways that responds to changes at the surface of the body) with minimal perception of its presence on the skin. The somatosensory system is the part of the sensory system involved with conscious perception of touch, pressure, pain, temperature, position, movement, and vibration—sensations that arise from muscles, joints, skin, and fascia. Fascia is the connective tissue that surrounds muscles, groups of muscles, blood vessels,
and nerves, binding some structures together, while permitting others to slide smoothly over each other.
The tape that Kase invented can breathe and allows for sweat evaporation and cooling. The adhesive pattern is a repeated wave form, like the “tread” on a fingerprint. This pattern tends to lift the skin and allow moisture to escape. The elasticity facilitates tissue stretching to create either a massage or a lifting effect on subdermal and fascial layers. This forms tiny convolutions in the skin, which separate the muscle and dermal layers as well as increase interstitial space between the capillaries and the tissue cells. The increased space has a lower pressure gradient than the surrounding areas and pulls fluid and exudates into it.
This fluid movement helps decrease swelling, heat, inflammation, and pain in the treated
area and aids normal blood flow and lymphatic drainage. The increased space also takes pressure
off swollen or injured muscles, reducing pain and allowing for tissue remodeling and healing. The tape’s massaging
effect provides stimulation to skin cells that affect pain pathways—like rubbing
a spot that hurts. Kinesiotaping has some positive physiological effects on the skin
friction between the tissues in the skin, helps with movement of blood and lactic acid, and takes tension off certain muscles.
Just as human athletes can wear the tape when training for their sport, horses can be ridden with the tape in place while working. The tape can also be utilized when the horse is recovering from an injury.
Kinesiology tape is quite different from standing wraps, fleece wraps, first aid tape,
vet wrap or other tapes or braces. This tape stretches and is flexible. It does not restrict range of motion—yet at the same time, it provides some stability and support. The degree of stretch that you use when applying the tape and the application pattern on the body is crucial for obtaining desired results. Thus, a thorough assessment of the horse’s needs and issues is important before the tape is applied.
The tape tends to lift the skin, decompressing the tissue and enabling increased blood flow. The lifting forms
small irregular ridges in the skin, increasing interstitial space and allowing for decrease
in inflammation and facilitation of lymph drainage. The lifting of the skin and tissue decompression also impacts pain receptors and how they respond to messages from the brain.
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“The somatosensory system is the part of the sensory system involved with conscious perception of touch, pressure, pain, temperature, position, movement, and vibration.”
SPEEDHORSE
Dr. Kenzo Kase with one of his equine patients.
as well as the lymphatic, circulatory, and neuromuscular (fascia, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and joints) systems.
In human athletes, Kinesio Taping® was first used on sumo wrestlers in
Japan. Kinesiology tape has been successfully used on humans for more
than 25 years and gained popularity during the 2012 Summer Olympics. In recent years it has become an alternative therapy for horses.
There are several brands currently used in the equine world. Equi-Tape was the first equine elastic kinesiology tape, created by Dr. Beverly Gordon, an equine
chiropractor and physiotherapist.
WHAT IT’S SUPPOSED TO DO
It’s been said that equine kinesiology tape improves the proprioceptive feedback to the area that’s taped, helping retrain
muscles to maintain the correct positioning/alignment as the horse
moves. It also allows free movement of lymphatic fluid and reduces
This can help facilitate the healing process in injuries and the recovery process during athletic training.
The tape also helps prolong the benefits of manual therapies because it helps increase the stretch of collagen fibers in the muscles. Proper taping can help alleviate muscle soreness and aid muscle relaxation and can reduce swelling from an injury.
HOW TO USE IT
Always consult your veterinarian first when an injury is involved, and then discuss taping with a practitioner who is familiar with this kind of therapy. Even though taping is considered a safe alternative therapy and you can purchase the tape yourself, it’s usually best to hire a certified practitioner to apply it to your horse to ensure that it is done properly for best results.
Kinesiotaping can be used at any point in a healing process, from acute onset to chronic, or in the rehabilitation stage. It can also be used as a preventative to protect the area from further injury during rehabilitation or strenuous