KT taping, or Kinesiology taping, is a decades-old practice of controlling muscle movement and providing support to the muscles to help with injury improvement. Recently, KT taping has been garnering success amongst pregnant women, who have been using the pregnancy belly tape as a belly support.
Many women don’t know how to KT tape a pregnant belly correctly, which can lead to them feeling that it doesn’t meet their expectations. The reason for this is often improper usage, which can reduce its effectiveness.
It is essential to know how to tape your belly to get full support from it.
Why Should I Use KT Taping?
KT taping has numerous significance for pregnant women. It is essentially an alternative to a belly brace or belly band, though it is discrete and weightless so you wouldn’t feel like you are wearing anything on your body and it will not show under your clothes.
Despite being really light, it still ticks all the boxes of the benefits that a belly brace should provide.
Made from a light and aerated cotton-mesh fabric, it feels light on the skin, allows the skin to breathe, and does not hinder moisture evaporation from the skin. It is made to mimic the feel of the skin so you won’t feel annoyed when you wear it.
The adhesive used is heat-activated so you simply have to rub the top of the tape in order for the adhesive to work and the wave-like pattern mimics the fingerprint. It is designed this way to feel as comfortable as possible on the skin so you can use it for prolonged wear.
Benefits of KT Taping
There are several benefits that KT Taping provides. Some of them include:
- Provide support to the belly
- Help with back pain and sacroiliac joint pain during pregnancy
- Assist pregnant runners and athletes by controlling the movement of the belly
- Lift the belly and help with breathing problems that may occur due to the excess weight
Different Ways to KT Tape a Pregnant Belly
Many women often wonder how to KT Tape the pregnant belly because it seems weird that a simple tape will support the entire belly. But it does. It provides complete support to you, provided you tape your belly properly.
In the case of KT Taping, the first thing you should know is what ailment you are trying to target, are you taping your belly just for support, to lift it, or to provide back support?
Under-belly Taping
Under-belly Taping provides support to the belly and helps with sacroiliac joint pain. Under-belly taping is great for the end of the first trimester till the second trimester when your bump has not grown significantly.
The best way to do under-belly taping is to:
- Cut a piece of tape of your desired length. Make sure the length is enough for the tape to come up to the bottom of the ribs from the bottom of your belly.
- Place the tape under your belly (it would be best to stand in front of the mirror to do this)
- Tear the back-paper from the middle and remove it.
- Stick the tape from the middle under your belly. Align it properly to make sure the middle of the tape is aligned with your belly button.
- Now, stick the tape and bring it up from the sides of the belly. You will have to rub it to activate the adhesive.
- The tape should look like a big U-shape and should come from under your belly upwards to the sides of your belly, to the bottom of your ribs, or till you feel comfortable.
- Slightly tug the corners in a lifting way and then properly stick it in place. This will provide a lifting feeling.
You can add more strips of tape for a more secure life. 2-3 long strips should be more than enough if you feel your tummy needs more support.
Taping for Abdominal Support
If you feel you need to get some weight off your abdomen and it is putting too much pressure on your abdomen then the best way to tape your belly is:
- Take 2 strips of tape according to your preferred length
- `Take the first strip and in a vertical position like an I, place it under your belly and bring it up towards the side of your belly button.
- Slightly tug on your tape and create a ‘lifted’ feel.
- Do the same for the other strip of tape but stick this one on the other side of your belly in a vertical I position from under the belly up towards the chest, along the side of your belly button.
This relieves some pressure off your abdomen and helps you move about easily.
Cross-belly Taping
The cross-belly taping is great for women who are in their third trimester and need added support to their belly and groin area. This is a secure way of taping and is great for pregnant athletes and runners as it helps control tummy movement.
- Cut two strips of tape according to the preferred length. Should be slightly long.
- Place the end of one strip on your hip and bring it up diagonally over the belly, bringing it across your belly, and stick the other end near the bottom of your rib.
- Do the same for the other strip but in the opposite direction, starting from the other hip.
- You should have made an X shape from the tape and the middle of the X should be over your belly button.
- Make sure you rub the tape to activate it.
Taping for Added Lift Support
This method allows a greater ‘lift’ of your bump and enables you to do your daily chores properly. This is great for people in the third trimester of their pregnancy.
For this style of taping, you need to:
- Follow the same format as under-belly taping
- After you have taped the under-belly, add a straight strip of tape from in the middle of your belly, starting from the under-belly and bringing it straight up towards the top of your bump
- This strip should come over your belly button so you know it is in the middle.
- Stick the tape in place and make sure you rub it for the adhesion to activate.
Diaphragm Support Taping
During the end of your second trimester and the entirety of the third trimester, women usually feel shortness of breath due to the excess weight and so they have trouble walking around or climbing up and down the stairs.
To help with shortness of breath so you don’t start panting the minute you start walking, you should tape the diaphragm and see how relieved you feel. All you have to do is:
- Cut a strip of tape
- Place the strip of tape horizontally over the top of your bump, and stick it from one end of the belly to the other. It will be like a curved upside down, like a sad face.
- This support style and be combined with other styles of belly taping for added support as this only covers the diaphragm and does not provide belly support
Combining Different Styles of Taping
You can combine different styles of taping and then make your own style so that you get added support. There is no hard and fast rule as to how you should tape your belly, you should just know the basics and you can create your own way that is comfortable to you.
Conclusion
Belly taping looks harder than it is. It might take you some practice to get the hang of it, but once you do, it is as easy as changing your clothes.
If you feel that you can’t manage it on your own, you can always ask someone around you to help you out or you can go for the Tummy Tape which comes in a pre-cut shape so you just have to stick it without worrying about the shape or style.
