Frequently asked questions

Dynamic Tape is used like a bungee cord. It is therefore applied with the muscle or joint in a shortened position. No stretch is applied to the anchor points on either end and it is only necessary to ‘take up the slack’ in the tape, just stretching to where you start to feel some resistance. As movement occurs, the tape lengthens and resists further allowing it to aid in decelerating motion thereby reducing load on the structures normally responsible for that deceleration. It then recoils as shortening commences to reinject the energy back into the system to assist movement, perhaps where a muscle is weak, injured or overloaded.

A PowerBand is made by laminating two pieces of Dynamic Tape together before applying to the body to increase the resistance and recoil that they provide. This is useful when more force is required and a PowerBand will also hold its properties very well over an extended period of time.

Dynamic Tape does not contain latex. That said, allergic reactions can occur in a small percentage of people. If you have a known allergy to medical adhesives, discuss with your health practitioner prior to use to see if conducting a patch test using a small piece of Dynamic Tape is appropriate.

Dynamic Tape uses a pressure sensitive, medical grade acrylic adhesive from a Japanese company.

Do not use on frail, damaged or sunburnt skin. Anyone with known sensitivity to medical adhesives should discuss with their physician prior to use. Dynamic Tape and in particular certain techniques may not be appropriate for people with circulation issues or sensation deficits e.g. peripheral neuropathy associated with diabetes. Please discuss with your healthcare practitioner prior to use. *

The most common form of skin irritation that occurs with Dynamic Tape is due to improper use and can be easily corrected. A small percentage of people may have an allergic reaction. This usually occurs quickly and begins to get hot and itchy within thirty to sixty minutes. The entire area covered by tape will be affected and if left in place welts and blistering can occur. Remove tape immediately should you feel hot, itching or burning sensations. A mechanical irritation can occur if the tape is pulling strongly on the skin. This can happen due to too much tension, too small anchors, not holding the anchors down as you take up the slack in the tape and improper removal. These usually present as redness or blisters in isolated areas where there has been too much tension, commonly on the ends of the tape or where the tape has turned a corner. They often take several hours up to a couple of days to develop. Again, remove the tape if it becomes itchy, overly sensitive, annoying or painful. This is due to faulty application, not an allergy. Watch the handling, application and removal guide videos carefully before use.

Generally speaking any open wounds or sensitive areas (eyes, eyelids, axilla (armpits), genitals, and anus are not places where Dynamic Tape should be used. Use caution on the ribs, inside of the upper arm and thigh as these are also areas where the skin can breakdown more easily. Dynamic Tape is intended to absorb load through the tape but if the anchoring spot is too sensitive tape should not be used. Also, care should be used if there is a lack of or diminished sensation. This is common with neurological conditions such as a stroke, nerve damage, or numbness caused by diabetes. If you present with any numbness we strongly recommended consulting your doctor before using this product as irritation or damage to the skin could result from excessive tension using the tape without appropriate pain feedback to warn of impending skin breakdown.

Clean with soap and water and allow to completely dry before applying Dynamic Tape. If areas have hair, trim with electric clippers. It is not generally recommended to use a razor as that causes skin irritation prior to use of product. Alcohol is a solvent which can make the glue less effective unless completely dry so if using alcohol on the skin to remove soap/oils be sure the skin is completely dry before applying Dynamic Tape.

Remove the tape immediately, gently clean the skin with soap and water to remove any irritants, and contact your physician if required. While Dynamic Tape, similar to many other elastic tapes with a medical adhesive, is very safe and effective to use, a small proportion of the population has a natural sensitivity to these products. If you have had previous sensitivity to taping speak with your doctor before using this product. If a reaction occurs, please discontinue use of this product.

These tapes are fundamentally different. The aims, clinical reasoning and method of application is also vey different. Dynamic Tape is used biomechanically to provide an external force to the body to assist where weak or overloaded, or to modify a movement pattern to indirectly manage load or to perhaps improve a technique. It has very strong resistance and recoil and stretches in all directions to allow it to achieve these aims. This can be at odds with a kinesiotaping philosophy that is aim for subtle inputs into the nervous system via the contact of the tape with the skin. It is recommended that you have a clear aim of your treatment and choose the product that aligns best with that aim whether that be a rigid athletic tape to restrict motion for a short period of time, Dynamic Tape to act like a spring or external muscle to manage load, modify movement or assist function, or a kinesiology tape.

No, but being educated in correct application and use is highly recommended to ensure that you receive maximal benefit and minimise risks associated with improper application. Please consult with your physician or a local licensed professional who has attended a Dynamic Tape certification course if you have any questions.

If you are a medical provider with experience with kinesiology tape, we highly recommend you attend our live 1-day, 8 hour CEU course as our product is fundamentally different to other tapes. Do not apply like a kinesiology tape.

The striations in the adhesive layer have been shown, on occasion, to leave an impression on the skin that looks like fine lines. Commonly these resolve within a day or two but there have been reports of this lasting for weeks. There is no damage to the skin, it is merely a superficial presentation that will go away with time.

Dynamic Tape generally lasts for several days provided that no irritation is occurring. The part of the body, environment and what you do with it on will all influence wear times. Hand applications may last two to three days whereas back and shoulder applications may last five to seven days. Hot, humid conditions or swimming can also reduce wear times but with correct application, Dynamic Tape can tolerate these conditions well. To increase wear times, cover the tape when possible e.g. where a t-shirt to bed for shoulder or back applications to prevent the edge being peeled off when rolling or wear a sock over foot and ankle applications so that the tape is not inadvertently rubbed off over night.

Yes. Dynamic Tape, when applied correctly, is able to withstand water exposure for extended periods. Swimming in chlorinated water, soaking in hot tubs, or spending hours in the shower, will likely reduce the overall wear time. If applied correctly Dynamic Tape will last through multiple showers and going to the pool a few times but it isn’t perfect. Swim two hours a day and it likely will only last 2-3 days. To improve wear times, it is helpful to wear a wetshirt/rash shirt when swimming or surfing (if the tape is applied to the upper body and trunk). Pat dry. If the end is lifting slightly holding down for a minute or so while the tape is just slightly damp will often re-activate the glue.

Every roll of Dynamic Tape has an expiration date. This is two years from the date of manufacture.

No, Dynamic Tape is a single use product.

Dynamic Tape has much stronger resistance and recoil than other products, therefore the application is very different. If you are not achieving long wear times make sure that you are applying the tape correctly by watching the video: Safe Application and Removal of Dynamic Tape. Next, determine if there are any other factors compromising the application including dry/flakey skin, lotions, hair, wet/sweaty skin, high humidity. Dynamic Tape should be stored in a cool, dry environment. Leaving the tape in a hot trunk or baking out in the sun for days can potentially affect its ability to stick to the skin. Common mistakes include applying over lotion or oil, not using large anchor points, not holding the anchor point down as tension is applied, over-stretching the tape, applying in a lengthened position like a kinesiology tape, not pressing and holding the tape for 60 seconds, excessive overlapping of tape and starting one piece of tape on another.

Dynamic Tape is a biomechanical tape, not a bionic tape. That said, research is showing that Dynamic Tape can be effective at changing movement and technique. It follows that the improved technique may make you a better athlete and Dynamic Tape might be useful in helping you make those changes. Of course, practice is required to both groove the new motor pattern and to ensure that you have the requisite strength, power, endurance and range of motion required to perform it. Preliminary research is showing that Dynamic Tape can prevent the onset of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and there is a lot of anecdotal evidence with endurance athletes suggesting that they fatigue less with Dynamic Tape doing some of the work, and throwing and jumping athletes reporting more zip in their throw or spring in their step due to the strong properties of the tape but further research is required to validate this and to determine which applications are most effective.*

Our aim with Dynamic Tape is to treat the underlying cause of the pain and swelling. Simply, removing some bruising or swelling is of little help if you continue to overload the sprained ligament as the bruising and swelling will simply return. It is therefore necessary to determine if there is any structural damage, what pain processes are involved, is the pain load dependent (as is generally the case with things like sprains, strains and tendinopathies, can we manage that load by doing some work directly with the tape or indirectly by changing the movement, do we need to position appropriately to optimise the healing process, is weakness present that we can counter to improve movement and loading, can we challenge the person’s faulty beliefs about movement, pain and damage in some of our persistent pain cases, can we reduce their fear of movement and start to address maladaptive movements that are perpetuating their pain and so on. Pain is a complex, multi system process that can vary from one person to the next even with similar injuries, and can vary within a person throughout the course of an injury. Our aim and the mechanisms of Dynamic Taping can vary dramatically from someone with a mallet finger or a sprained ankle, to a person suffering from longstanding low back pain.