Posted 5/29/2014 5:21 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Merrida,
After my second shoulder surgery, I used to have my PT tape my shoulder so that I could swim. It was the only way that I could continue to compete (although I had to get special permission from the officials to race wearing the tape). It didn't help me with the pain as much as with the instability. ie. It didn't help lessen the baseline pain that I felt at rest, etc. But the increased stability did lessen the resulting pain/increase the amount of time I could use my shoulder before being overcome by pain & forced to stop.
I will say that the increased support and stability from the taping allowed me to recover from that surgery without needing a third surgery on that shoulder. Had I taped my shoulder when I swam after my first surgery, perhaps I wouldn't have re-injured it (and caused more significant & widespread damage than with the first injury) and needed a second surgery.
However, the downside was that because the taping allowed me to push myself further with my bad shoulder, the more I did, the more strain I put on my opposite shoulder. And despite the taping, my bad shoulder was still really quite bad (I never should have gone back to swimming to begin with, but I was young and extremely stubborn), so I significantly favored my good shoulder. And that resulted in me essentially destroying the shoulder joint in my opposite, formerly "good" shoulder. After having surgery on my second shoulder (my third shoulder surgery overall), I was finally forced to call it quits.
So I just want to warn you that if you do start taping, and do find that you feel less pain and/or have better function, just be careful not to overdo it like I did. Also, I remember my PT telling me that I could only keep my tape on for so long (maybe max 24 hrs? certainly not more than that & potentially quite less -- 12 or 18 hrs?) before it had to be removed. I don't remember why exactly, but it had something to do with the negative impact that the taping could have on the surrounding tissues or the joint if used chronically. But I do believe that it is some legitimate concern/risk associate with taping. You might want to look into it or ask your PT about it. There also may have been some rule that you could only be taped every so often (ie. x times in y number of days/you had to wait a certain amount of time between tapings) for the same reason as above. I wish I could remember more of the details, but this was almost 10 yrs ago. Perhaps protocols have changed since then, but I would suspect that they have not (or at least not significantly).
Also, before you have your PT tape you, make sure that they are really familiar/experienced with KT taping. This method of taping requires some specific training & isn't necessarily something that is taught to all PT's. I know because my mom is a PT, and she had to take several courses in KT taping in order to get certified. You can absolutely get hurt if the taping is not done correctly. Both because your arm, leg, whatever could be taped in an abnormal position, causing abnormal strain on your body, and because it does require some force to put the tape on (it surprised me how much force was involved the first time I got taped...it's not exactly a passive process). So you could get hurt just in the process of the PT manipulating your body in order to put the tape on. So before you get started, it might be a good idea to make sure that your PT is very familiar with KT taping.
Anyways, good luck. I hope the taping helps you. I definitely think that it would be worth a try if your doc and your PT both think that it is okay. As long as it is done correctly, it is not going to hurt you, and there is certainly the potential that it will help! We take every little bit of relief we can get, right?!
Skeye