Over a hundred lucky athletes managed to get their niggling aches and pains taped away by Kinesio UK before the Great North Run on 13th September 2015.
For the last four years, North East-based Kinesio UK has taken an exhibition stand and treatment beds at the pre-Great North Run Pasta Party in Gateshead, to offer their therapeutic taping services free to runners with last minute twinges.
This year as ever, qualified Kinesio practitioners were totally inundated with concerned runners who were desperate for support and relief from pain prior to the big race.
Managing Director of Kinesio UK, Kevin Anderson says: "The Great North Run is one of the most popular half marathons in the world and people of all ages and all level of fitness tend to have a go. Many have been training all year for this event and some have trained too hard, or have suddenly developed minor injuries, aches and pains in the days or weeks leading up to the race.
"These runners who have often paid a lot of money to enter, are naturally reluctant to cancel and throw away all that time spent training. In addition they may have been pledged hundreds of pounds worth of charity sponsorship and don't want to let people down. They are still capable and fit enough to run, but they just need the additional support and relief from pain that expertly-applied Kinesio taping offers. And that's where we come into our own! We had five staff in total manning the stand, including three qualified Kinesio practitioners."
It was Martin Sweeney's seventh time running the Great North Run. Martin, who's from Warrington had his knees Kinesio-taped and his wife Vicky needed Kinesio applied to support her ankles. They were both running for Guide Dogs for the Blind and finished in 2.41 hours. Martin said: "The Kinesio tape definitely worked a treat on the old knee caps. Usually at around six or seven miles the pain kicks in but actually I was fine right up until the end this year. Vicki was also very happy with the support that Kinesio gave to her ankles."
Caroline Ames couldn't get over how much relief an application of Kinesio gave to her ankle. She has suffered an ongoing problem with tendonitis for a few months while training for the Great North Run and said: "Kinesio gave my ankle so much extra support. I also felt a lot safer and stronger as I knew my ankle was taped up."
Matt Grant, from Nottingham, who's 28, has been suffering from lower back pain due to a posture problem and was concerned that this would affect his time. He was keen to finish the race in under two hours so went along to the Kinesio stand the day before to see if Kinesio taping would help. He said: "It really made a difference and the Kinesio even seemed to slightly correct my posture too. I didn't get nearly as much pain as I was expecting and I finished the race in 1.57!"
Christine Owen from Newcastle had been having treatment on her Achilles for an ongoing tendonitis problem but was still determined to do the Great North Run. Qualified Kinesio practitioners taped her ankle supportively and she said: "Simply having the Kinesio tape in place meant I felt so much more confident. I was half expecting to finish the race on all fours but I made it in 3.46 hours and on two feet!"
Kevin Anderson said: "There was a constant stream of people waiting to be taped and fortunately we were able to treat them all. Most of the injuries appeared to be caused by over-training and we saw many knee injuries, along with tight calves and Achilles pain. Everybody that was taped expressed immediate relief because Kinesio is so comfortable and supportive once in place. It's now great to have feedback after the run from our patients too. We're delighted to have helped so many people reach their destination - and achieve their time - in one piece!"
Comentários