If you watch athletic events, you have undoubtedly seen athletes with different color tape on various parts of their body. This type of taping is called kinesiotaping and it is applied with the goal of being able to support muscles by helping them move appropriately.
Injuries can be caused by imbalances that change how a joint moves. When these ‘abnormal’ motions occur, more stress is placed across the joint and supportive structures that can lead to pain. Part of the appeal of kineseotape is that it helps to activate the muscles by placing them in the correct position and reminds the athlete to engage those muscles. In other cases, it is believed that enough pull can be generated that it can actually change joint position and assist with minimizing those imbalances.
There have only been a few studies assessing the effectiveness of kinesiotaping and more are needed. The one review that I found states that there is not enough evidence to support the use of kinesiotaping, but it does mention that it has not caused any negative effects.
Kinesiotaping may or may not work, but there is not a downside to using it. The true mainstay of injury prevention and conditioning is to use corrective exercises and neuromuscular training to change poor postures and recruitment patterns that lead to injury. If the underlying factors are not corrected, then no amount of tape is going to help.
Morris, D, Jones, D, Ryan, H and Ryan, CG. The clinical effects of KinesioTex taping: A systematic review. Physiother Theory Pract.2013 May;29(4):259-70.
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