By David Fiedler
For years, athletes have been smearing lotions and creams such as Ben-Gay and Icy-Hot on themselves to relieve pain and soreness associated with muscle strains and aches. Athletic trainers have been slapping tape on players too - reinforcing creaky joints like knees, ankles, elbows, wrists, knuckles, etc.. Any part of an athlete's body that bends was a potential site for a generally stiff and unsophisticated process of wrapping it mummy-like with pre-wrap and then one form of adhesive tape or another, again, generally to strengthen and/or protect an already vulnerable joint.
Relatively recent developments in the world of performance products put a new spin on this whole practice however. After going through physical therapy, founder Greg van den Dries created a signature product called Rock Tape, a specific type of kinesiology tape and when coupled with the company's Rock Sauce topical pain relieving lotion has created a new way athletes both proactively improve performance and relieve pain and soreness, according to company claims and practical user experience.
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And while kinesiology tapes were once generally limited to medical professionals and physical and sports therapists, Rock Tape ($16 for a 16.4 ft x 2 inch roll) and its partner product, Rock Sauce (4 oz bottle, $18) are now widely available and intended to be used together by athletes of all types.
How Rock Tape and Rock Sauce Lotion Is Used
Typically, a light layer of Rock Sauce lotion is first rubbed into the area to be taped. This can be a shoulder, calf, quadraceps, whatever. Once the excess lotion is wiped away, a length of Rock Tape is placed directly on the muscle, applied loosely or tightly, depending on the desired goal. A number of instructional videos are available showing how to tape specific areas and for specific results. The final step in the application of the tape is to place three or four drops of Rock Sauce on the tape and then gently rub it in. Once applied, the Rock Tape can be worn for a number of days, as many as 4-5 days according to the company, and it can be worn in the shower, etc.
The Science Behind It
Here's how Rock Tape works. While traditional athletic tape -- primarily used for reinforcing joints -- binds and doesn't stretch, Rock Tape is designed to be almost a second layer of skin, quite stretchy and with tremendous 'snap-back' or recovery to its original position after being flexed. When applied with little or no stretch on the tape but lots of stretch on the tissue it causes the skin to form convolutions and wrinkle. This creates a bio-mechanical lifting mechanism that decompresses the tissue just under the skin, which creates four main benefits.
First, by causing decompression the tape promotes a more normal flow of blood and other fluids in the taped area, carrying away toxins coming from inflammation and injury and bringing in oxygen and nutrients vital for healing and recovery. This likely produces the dramatic improvement in swollen and bruised tissue that is often seen when Rock Tape is applied.
Next, many athletes finds that mechanical improvement in the body's movement is seen after kinesiology tape is applied, because pressure on the vertical layer cake of tissue between skin and bone is reduced and more normal slide and glide mechanics between the layers of tissue is restored. A practical example of this is the guy who can only bend halfway to the floor may find increased flexibility toward his toes once tape is applied.
Also, the tape has a positive neurological effect as well. A lot of pain generated by movement or muscle contraction is generated by nerve endings in the space between the skin and muscle. As tape decompresses this space there is less pressure on these nerve endings. Additionally, having elastic tape stuck to your skin is also believed to stimulate receptors within the skin called Mechanoreceptors. These receptors play a part in our movement awareness, commonly called proprioception. Applying tape directly to muscles can improve this proprioception, which can both decrease pain and improve the way we move.
Finally, a big part of successful athletic performance is mental. Do not underestimate the amount of psychological benefit that translates into improved performance a person can receive simply by carrying the expectation that products like Rock Tape and Rock Sauce are helping.
Should You Try It?
Many athletes have found positive results from using the Rock Tape and Rock Sauce, either together or separately. Rock Tape offers a number of benefits to athletes as listed above, while Rock Sauce itself is a strong-smelling topical pain reliever and can be useful either with the Rock Tape or in its own right for application on tight or sore muscles. Rock Sauce is formulated with 20% methyl salicylate, 10% menthol (a cooling agent) and .3% capsicum, a natural heating agent found in chili peppers. For most users, the lotion delivers first a cooling sensation, followed with a warming sensation. Biggest complaint among users is the initial strong smell of the lotion, but if you've used Icy-Hot or Ben-Gay or another similar product you'll know what to expect.
Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.
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