There are times I’ll be at my parents house and those old photos will be out, we’ll be sitting around the table reminiscing and laughing. The looks of my sister and I evolving style wise, hair wise… makeup wise. One thing is constant in a lot of my sports photos from the day. Knee braces. All of them I can be seen sporting not one, but two braces. I was that lucky kid that had Osgood’s in not just one knee, but both of them. It didn’t stop me from playing sports though. I’d brace or wrap for each game, grin and bear it. No pain, no gain. I wasn’t a quitter and my determination was (and still is) insane.

It was the story of my life for the better part of two decades. All through youth sports and into high school sports. Then on June 17, 2004, I got into a serious car accident. Had a big Ford F-350, loaded with a small backhoe on a trailer, slam into me at 70mph while I was at a stop, blinker on, waiting to turn. The rear bumper to my brand new car was sitting in my passenger seat next to me. If it had happened 20 minutes later, my nephew would have been with me. I still get chills thinking about that possible outcome.

The injuries I sustained were pretty intense. My car was lifted into the air, propelled forward and around before hitting the ground. It sounded like a giant explosion. My car crumpled all around my “cockpit”. And I just narrowly missed hitting a car coming in the opposite direction. After the dust of everything settled, I was shipped off to physical therapy. On one of my appointments, my therapist slapped this giant (what I thought was a) band-aid on my shoulder. I asked her why she put a band-aid on me, and she went into the explanation of what exactly the stuff, called Kinesio Tex tape, was. Being skeptical, I shrugged and went on my merry way. I quickly realized, this stuff was for real. However, at the time, I couldn’t get my hands on it personally. My PT would cut off extra lengths of it and send me home with it.

Eventually, I could get it online. A few years ago, a local pharmacy started carrying it. Then other companies (Mueller) started making it. Athletes sported it during games, Olympiads wore it during the games. Suddenly it was everywhere and everyone was discovering the amazing thing that was Kiniseo technology.

I have been using it for almost a decade and it has helped in more ways than one. It’s helped to relieve the pain and swelling by letting the blood start flowing again. By taping my knees, I’ve been able to work on building the strength there so that my bad days, or “Pain days” are very few and far between now. When my spondylosis is flaring, it eases the pain and discomfort there better than an ice pack or heat pack can. My injuries from my accident very rarely cause issue, and it’s usually only when I’ve had a brain fart and have pushed too far. Kinesio technology helps me live my day to day life without hitch. I’ve bought rolls and rolls of it, and feel that it has been worth every penny. I’ve recommended it to people all over. They always come back to me, their stories similar to mine, thanking me for turning them on to it.

Wanna check the stuff out? Go to Kinesio Taping’s webpage to read more about it, watch some videos of taping methods and buy (you can also buy it from Amazon.com here)