Magic Taping

by Mitch Hauschildt, MA, ATC, CSCS

I have said multiple times that what we in the Rocktape world refer to as “Tweak Taping” is the closest thing to magic that I have seen in quite some time in the rehab world.  It is amazing to me because, while we usually teach long fascial taping to improve movement, tweak taping is much the opposite.

Long fascial line taping utilizes long pieces of tape to improve tissue gliding, neurosensory feedback and improve areas in need of stability and motor control.  It works very well to improve function and movement in most of the patients that I work with.

On the other end of the taping spectrum is tweak taping.  It utilizes very small pieces of tape (usually less than 6 inches in length) on very specific parts of the body.  The way I typically explain it is that we are sending a signal back to the brain to take it “off threat” and allow the joint to move more freely.

Tweak taping can be used on any part of the body, but the joint that I find works the best is the shoulder.  I believe that is because the shoulder relies very heavily on soft tissue and proprioceptive feedback in order to remain stable.  Even small changes in proprioceptive feedback can have a large impact on stability and motor control as demonstrated in my last post “Instability or Smudge?”

The basics of tweak taping is using trial and error to find different spots around the joint and drag the skin in different directions and repeating an objective marker until you find the spot and direction of skin drag that has the largest impact.  Then, you take a small piece of tape, anchor it and then pull the skin in the preferred direction and lay the tape down over top of it.  This essentially locks in the skin drag.

I usually use Tweak Taping to improve range of motion and pain.  In the shoulder, I prefer to use shoulder flexion as my marker and I find that picking points all around the scapula and posterior aspect of the shoulder to improve their function.  I start by having the patient flex the shoulder forward as a baseline.  Then, I pick a spot on the shoulder and drag the skin in one direction with my fingers.  While holding the skin in that direction, I have them repeat the flexion.  I ask them if it is “better, worse or the same?”  I also watch their motion and reaction to the movement in order to assess objectively what is better and what isn’t.

I drag the skin in multiple directions and repeat the flexion each time.  After moving the skin in all 4 directions, I move onto another spot.  I continue to move around and drag the skin in different directions until I find what works well for that patient.  Everyone is different in their location and directional drag for maximum results.

Recently, I was reminded on how well this works while teaching an FMT Performance course in St Louis.  I had an attendee who was struggling with shoulder range of motion and pain.  After a quick evaluation and some tweak taping, the results were impressive.  Check out the video below to see how she did.

Tweak taping is magic taping in my book.  Once they have regained their range of motion and reduced their pain, they are ready to lock in permanent improvements with corrective exercise within their new range of motion.

To learn more specifics on tweak taping, check out a Rocktape FMT Performance course.

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