Member Article

Kinesio UK short-listed for Sports Technology Awards

North East company Kinesio UK has been shortlisted as a finalist in the first ever international Sports Technology Awards, to be held in London on 4 April 2014.

Sponsored by the Daily Telegraph and isport connect, the Sports Technology Awards recognize the increasingly important role that technology now plays in sport and offers the opportunity to celebrate excellence and acknowledge successful technological innovation across all aspects of the sports sector.

Kinesio UK has been shortlisted in the category: “Best Technology across Multiple Sports - Medical and Health”

Entries have been received from all over the world including: Austria, Holland, Finland, Turkey, Italy, South Africa, USA & Australia. The shortlisted companies are a mix of technology companies, sporting bodies and clubs as well as large global brands. Just some of those involved include: Adidas, BT Sport, Continental, Opta, O2, Vodafone, BBC Match of the day, Turkish Airlines, Sky Sports, William Hill, Wilson, the R&A and IBM.

Kinesio Taping, an innovative elastic, adhesive taping technology, has taken the sports and medical markets by storm and has helped professional athletes at the top of their game, as well as amateur enthusiasts participating in grass roots sports. Used by healthcare practitioners and athletes for muscle injury rehabilitation and prevention, Kinesio Taping supports muscles, cuts injury recovery times and helps lymphoedema reduction. Using a unique, brightly coloured tape and specialist application methods, Kinesio provides muscle support during activity without affecting range of motion. This allows athletes to ‘mend on the move’ and has resulted in its widespread use within sport.

In 2008 Kinesio Taping first gained global exposure during the Beijing Olympics and was then used by a number of UK sports stars, most notably David Beckham. At the London 2012 Olympics athletes from 80 countries wore it when competing within a wide variety of sports and it is now regularly seen at sporting events throughout the world including Wimbledon, as well as on many Premiership footballers and sports stars, including footballer Gareth Bale and England rugby league star Sam Tomkins.

Resounding support from so many elite athletes and physiotherapists has firmly established Kinesio Taping as a key sports technology.

Gareth Bale, now the world’s most expensive footballer, endorses it: “Kinesio Taping is now part of my pre-match routine and I don’t play matches without it.”

The world’s most expensive rugby player, Sam Tomkins, says: “Last season, Kinesio supported my knee injury and helped it to heal much faster than expected. This year I’ve been wearing Kinesio on my hamstrings during the Rugby League World Cup and it’s made a big difference.”

Kinesio’s mission statement is ‘Taping the World for Health’ and as brand awareness grows, it is attracting increased interest not only within the sports world, but also from researchers, universities and the NHS.

Managing Director of Kinesio UK, Kevin Anderson says: “We are delighted to be shortlisted for the Sports Technology Awards. Kinesio Taping has emerged as a highly effective rehabilitative taping method within the UK as well as international physiotherapy and sports communities.

“Kinesio Taping is unique and fundamentally different to other sports taping techniques. The elastic, latex-free tape is quick to apply, long-lasting yet easy to remove, is suitable for patients of any age and is increasingly being used throughout the NHS for many different conditions including lymphoedema and paediatrics. Not only has Kinesio Taping raised the bar for sports injury rehabilitation, it is also now making inroads into mainstream medicine.”

For more information, go to www.kinesiotaping.co.uk or call 0191 287 7008.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kate Slater .