If your upper shoulder is sore or you have pulled your deltoid muscle or it is weakened, this is how you would tape the deltoid with kinesio tape to relieve the pain and promote healing. For treatment of muscle pain, Kinesio Taping® is ineffective unless the skin is stretched.

I've seen this taping on a lot of basketball players. I would bet if we could see it, it would be on a lot of baseball players as well. Kinesio tape is designed for a slight longitudinal only stretch when applied, it lifts the skin and provides support for surrounding soft tissue. In the demonstration, the ATC is using this longitudinal stretch.

Cut your Kinesio Tape in a Y strip		I have outlined the taping above.

In the You Tube demonstration below, the athletic trainer or PT is stretching the tape slightly.

"There are two ways to apply Kinesio® Tex Tape: unstretched or stretched.

UNSTRETCHED: In this case, we stretch the skin of the affected area before application of the tape. This is done by stretching the muscles and joints in the affected area. After application, the taped skin will form convolutions when the skin and muscles contract back to their normal position. When the skin is lifted by this technique, subcutaneous flow of blood and lymphatic fluid is increased.

On the other hand, if joints or ligaments are injured, the tape should be STRETCHED before application to the skin. The damaged joints or ligaments are incapable of functioning normally and rely on the stretched tape for correction. It is also important to note that while, depending on the injury, tape is either stretched or not stretched, this does not mean that the actual application technique will change.

Caution should be exercised to prevent lateral shearing forces particularly on the elderly or individuals who have systemic illness or sensitive and/or traumatized tissue. Increased unidirectional pull on the skin can cause blistering or micro trauma increasing edema and hemorrhage. In addition, over stimulation of pain and nociceptors of the skin may increase pain or produce itching. Kinesio USA, LLC recommends consulting your physician/Certified Kinesio® Taping Practitioner prior to the use of Kinesio® Tex Tape." 1 (see source info below)

How to apply the kinesio tex tape for a deltoid muscle.