A cohesive athletic tape or bandage (also called self adhesive) is designed to adhere only to another tape of the same type. Specifically (and in contrast to adhesive tapes and bandages), these tapes do not adhere to skin, hair or other parts of the body. As a result, you can wrap a cohesive tape or bandage around a limb for support without having to worry about experiencing pain and/or hair loss when you remove it.
A cohesive tape or bandage will have three key variables in its construction – the base material, an elastic yarn and a cohesive technology. The base material used can be fabric or non woven. The elastic yarn can be either linear or knitted.
The quality of elastic yarn will affect the consistency of compression that the bandage provides. Another key determinant of performance is the quality of cohesive used. The better this technology, the more able the self adhesive tape or bandage will be to remain in place for an extended period.
Advantages Of Using Cohesive Athletic Tape
We briefly outline below some of the key advantages of using a cohesive athletic tape for joint support.
Cohesive Athletic Tape Does Not Stick To The Skin
As mentioned above, this tape only sticks to itself, but not to the skin or other types of tape. As a result, it will not cause any damage to skin or hair upon its removal.
This property also makes cohesive athletic tape preferable for animals, especially furry ones. Just like humans, animals like dogs, cats and even horses can suffer soft tissue injuries like sprains and strains. When they do, the remedies are very similar – find some way to protect the soft tissues of the joint from unusual stresses and allow the tissues to heal naturally.
So cohesive athletic tape can be used to provide the joint support needed by animals when they suffer soft tissue injuries. But, since the tape will not attach to the animal’s fur, it will not tear the skin or fur upon removal. That, of course, makes for much less distress to the animal.
Cohesive Tape Stretches Easily
Most cohesive bandages are also very elastic and can stretch to double their lengths. As a result, they can be used to apply compression as well as support to an injured joint. That compression provides for enhanced blood circulation, which contributes to faster healing. It also can be used to staunch a heavily bleeding wound.
To vary the compression from cohesive athletic tape, just change the amount of stretch when applying it. For higher compression, increase the stretch and vice versa.
You Can Vary The Support From Cohesive Tape
In addition to varying the compression from cohesive tape, you can vary the support it provides by changing the number of layers you apply. To apply more support with no extra compression, you can simply wrap more layers, taking care to press the layers together as you wrap them.
There Is No “Give” With Cohesive Tape
When applying some types of adhesive tape, a trainer often has to allow for their tendency to loosen slightly during wear.
Cohesive bandages, on the other hand, have much less of this type of “give”.You can apply the exact amount of compression and/or support you want until you are ready to remove the tape.
Cohesive Tape Can Be Removed & Reapplied
Unlike adhesive tape, cohesive athletic tape can be removed and reapplied. It doesn’t rely on a chemical adhesive for its sticking power, so it doesn’t lose this power over time.
So if you think you have applied it too tightly or loosely and want to reapply it, you don’t need to use a new piece of tape.Just remove it and reapply.
Latex Free Cohesive Bandages
Just as with adhesive or zinc oxide tapes, you can buy cohesive bandages in latex free form. This means that those with latex allergies of sensitive skins need not be apprehensive about wearing these bandages for extended periods.
A cohesive athletic tape or bandage (also called self adhesive) is designed to adhere only to another tape of the same type. Specifically (and in contrast to adhesive tapes and bandages), these tapes do not adhere to skin, hair or other parts of the body. As a result, you can wrap a cohesive tape or bandage around a limb for support without having to worry about experiencing pain and/or hair loss when you remove it.
