by rocktapeuk | Mar 8, 2016 | diving, Interviews, Rocktape Kinesiology Tape
I was at a Health Expo prior to the Dallas Marathon. I had been using kinesiology tape extensively with my patients as well as the athletes of USA Diving for many years. I saw a RockTape booth and was intrigued to find what this tape had to offer that my current tape didn’t. So I stated talking to this guy named Greg van den Dries. He had no idea who I was and I had no clue who he was. We were just two guys at a pre-race health fair. I was browsing around looking at products and was intrigued by this new tape with the slogan “Go Stronger, Longer.†He was an owner and developer of a relatively new kinesiology tape company called RockTape. He went through his little spiel trying to convince me how much better RockTape was compared to the “other†brand. I then told him of my involvement with the US Diving team as their Head Athletic Trainer/ Physical Therapist and that I was about to travel for the World Cup of Diving. So he handed me six rolls. In a month I was in London for an event leading up to the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. It was there that I first exposed the athletes of USA Diving to RockTape. One by one, these athletes came to me and said that RockTape was “by far better†than what I had previously been applying. It stayed on longer and held up to the demands of hitting the water at 35+ miles per hour. RockTape quickly became an integral part of my medical kit. Today, RockTape...
by rocktapeuk | Mar 7, 2016 | CrossFit, Interviews, Rocktape Kinesiology Tape
I read this quote a few days ago, and it actually took some time to sink in and think about… “The suffering is so intense, that it’s absolutely cleansing. The pain is so deep and strong that a curtain descends over your brain….Once, someone asked me what pleasure I took in riding for so long. ‘PLEASURE???? I said.’ ‘I don’t understand the question.’ I didn’t do it for the pleasure; I did it for the pain.†– Lance Armstrong I totally get it! I have spent years competing. In Judo – where i have represented my country for many years, and then in CrossFit, where I have fought, and succeeded for a place at the Regionals in 2014 and 2015. We put ourselves through these workouts… and yes, it actually hurts! Every single person who is competing in the Open will have finished a workout and been left rolling around on the floor – thinking what the fuck! Incoherent and bemused yet satisfied! What pleasure is there in feeling your lungs hurt, and your muscles cry?! Well there is pleasure… there is pleasure in pain. Having competed and fought for a place at the European/ Meridian Regionals for two years, I was a bit – no let’s re-phrase that… very down… not to be in ‘that fighting place’ this year. A shoulder injury has set me back this year, and I was thinking about not entering the Open for 2016. But then I remembered why I love this sport. I love the pain. I thrive off the feeling of hurting. Of putting myself into ‘that’ place where nothing else...
by rocktapeuk | Feb 23, 2016 | ice hockey, Rocktape Kinesiology Tape
As a Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist I often use tape as an adjunct to treatment to facilitate and encourage correct movement patterns with my patients. I joined the Great Britain Ice Hockey Team in early 2015 as physio for the U18s squad having never seen an Ice Hockey game in my life! My initial thought (aside from how brutal the sport can be!!) is how much potential there is for injury. At World Championship level the athletes will play 5 games, in addition to daily practices over a week long period, thus leaving little time for recovery and rehabilitation. Previously, although qualified as a ‘RockDoc’, I tended to lean towards the more traditional, rigid Zinc Oxide taping methods. Watching the GB squad perform, it occurred to me how restrictive and (let’s be honest) ineffective these techniques can be. Although the players usually spend no longer than a minute on the ice at a time, the intensity is phenomenal. I was finding the zinc oxide tape was lasting no more than 20 minutes and I often had to re-tape between periods. Not only does this take time away from the boys rehydrating and resting, but was also leaving them with uncomfortable skin rashes due to the lack of breathability. This year I joined the U20s squad for their World Championships in Megeve. Having a little more time to prepare, it occurred to me that it would be a great idea to approach RockTape to see if they would like to team up with Team GB for the competition – to our delight they agreed! Having won the gold medal in the previous...
by rocktapeuk | Feb 5, 2016 | Reviews, Rocktape Kinesiology Tape
To say I was a little dubious about the rock tape course was an understatement. I’m an engineer in the military with, at the time, very little knowledge of physiology and couldn’t get my head around how tape could do so much to help the body. The two day course back in October has now happened to be one of the best courses I’ve done. It was an intense but very fun two days, with a great bunch of people and Dan the instructor had no problem helping me with things I couldn’t get my head around. I left the course with a quickly improved skill set which has set me up for a great 2016. Since the rock tape course I gained a place on the RAF ladies football team to do all their taping for them. Also a place on the RAF winter sports team which covers bobsleigh, luge and skeleton. I’ve just got back from a week in Austria taping up all three teams. It’s a great feeling to be able to explain to other weary people how RockTape works and be able to physically show them too. This is a picture of me with the RAF Skeleton team after they had just completed in the RAF Champs in Austria. Also a picture of one of the skeleton competitors knees I taped up. He went on to win the competition. Next stop, Gibraltar, at the RAF ladies football training camp....
by rocktapeuk | Jan 26, 2016 | Cycling, ice hockey, Rocktape Kinesiology Tape
We reached out to the UnitedHealthCare Pro Cycling team to get their thoughts on RockTape Kinesiology Tape. Check them out below! When did you first begin using kinesiology tape and how were you introduced to it? Linda Villumsen: Back in 2007 when racing a world cup in Germany, I had a bad crash resulting in a heap of injuries, including a broken wrist and a badly injured knee. I went through a couple of real hard months debating whether I would ever ride again because I suffered from swelling around the knee. My team doctor advised me to try kinesiology tape and at first I was very skeptical, but I was proved wrong, and I have used kinesiology tape in just about every race ever since then. Cari Higgins: I was lucky enough to come into contact with RockTape when it was a baby company, maybe months old. Unfortunately, it was because I had a nasty crash on the Velodrome in San Jose, CA. My hip was majorly swollen and puffy the next day, but I still wanted to race. I ran into the founder of RockTape, because his daughter was racing, and he convinced me to try out the tape in a spiderweb fashion to reduce the swelling. The results were pretty amazing and you could tell exactly where the tape had been applied and where the spots I missed. I was sold. Danny Summerhill: I used kinesiology tape for the first time in 2007. I got tendinitis in my knee while doing base miles early in the season, and as it was my first ever time with...
by rocktapeuk | Jan 19, 2016 | ice hockey, Rocktape Kinesiology Tape, Sponsorship
RockTape Sponsors the GB Men’s Ice Hockey team. Ice Hockey UK have extended their deal with RockTape – the leading provider of kinesiology tape – to include Great Britain Men. RockTape, who began their sponsorship with IHUK for GB U20s’ bronze-medal World Championship success in France, will now supply the product for GB Men’s trips to Italy and Croatia. Pete Russell’s side take part in the Olympic Pre-Qualifying next month in Cortina and then the World Championship (Division 1B) in Zagreb in April. Ice Hockey UK, general secretary, Andy French, said: “It is fantastic the RockTape will now supply GB Men for their upcoming tournaments. “The U20s squad had nothing but praise for the product in Megeve. “We are proud to be associated with RockTape and very happy to have them on board with us again.” Director of RockTape, Simon Bunyard, said: “RockTape UK are delighted to be working with GB Men’s ice hockey team. “The grit and endurance they display when competing makes them a perfect match for RockTape and we look forward to helping the team on their way to victory.” For more details on Ice Hockey UK visit their website...
