United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Well first off let me say hello to Louise. We were in Lewiston the last couple weeks for funerals and let me say BRRRRRR. It has been almost 70 everyday since we got back on Saturday.


My question is about taping and what were your expiriences like. Did it help? Did it bother the skin? Our OT has mentioned taping for Jakes shoulder and we had tried it for a couple days when he was 6 months but it irratated his skin. Are there other options?

As always thanks in advance. Jerry, Crystal, and Jake

We tried taping for TJ when he was about 9 mos old, he did not do well with it then, it really irritated his skin, and we couldn't see the benefit in creating more pain for him.
We tried again this past summer, thinking since he was older we could try again, we used different tapes but because the tape was so much weaker, it wasn't harsh on his skin, but really did little.
We tried Kiniseo again this December, and after about 3 weeks his skin was so raw it was awful, we were doing 2 days on and 2 days off and it was still terrible. He would scream while trying to get it off, no amount of soaking or oiling or rubbing made it come off any easier. We have given up on the idea for now, we might try again when he's older.

Hello -
I saw the post and thought I would chime in about it. I am new to this board, so forgive me if you were asking someone else.
My son, Jaxson, is 6.5 months old and we have been using the Kinesio tape for the past 3 weeks. It is going very well for him. The OT and PT used the tape first on his neck for his torticollis, which has helped. Then they stareted to tape his biceps, triceps. Yesterday the taped his shoulder and both his uppper and lower back.
His skin has had no reaction at all, however, I have heard that their skin may react at any time.

Good luck!
Kim

My daughter's OT has been using the Kinesio tape on her wrist and forearm to help stabilize the wrist. She has been tolerating it well and we keep it one for 3-4 days, but she HATES it when I take it off! (I have tried lotion and oil and she screams everytime.)The OT tried taping her back yesterday to stabilize her scapula but after several hours a corner of the tape lifted off and we could see that her skin was very red. Therefore I had to take the rest of the tape off and my daughter freaked out. For some reason it seems like the skin on her back is more sensitive than her arm so I don't know if we will be able to use the tape for the scapula.

I think you are going to find a lot of variance in how people respond and react to the tape. I do think that obpi's tend to be more sensitive because of involvement of the sympathetic nerve system in the injury.

I found I could tolerate the tape for about 3 days and then I began to redden, puff up and itch, so that's when I removed it, gave it a rest for a few days and then taped again. The taping really did help, esp. post surgery when you are trying to retrain muscles.

Nancy

other options for taping is a custom soft brace made for Jake's issues..... I'd check into the braces made by Ruth Cofre http://www.arkpcb.com
but have your specialist prescribe the brace and define the problem. You guys are in Texas - Ruth comes to clinic every so often.

Dr. Pape talked about taping and bracing....saying that taping is hard on the little guys because their skin is so sensitive...

just an idea for you
kissies to Jake!!
say hi to crystal,
francine

Yes, everyone responds differently, but applying a thin layer of Milk of Magnesia and allowing it to air dry before applying the tape can help the skin to not react. Also with my daughter we put the baby oil on the tape (they make baby oil gel now that doesn't run) and let it soak for an hour before removing it. Also doing the baby oil for an hour, then removing it in the bath helped.

It definitely helped her scapular winging!

Anna,

Thanks for the advice about removing the tape. I have tried the baby oil but I didn't leave it on for very long. I will definitely give that a try! We also heard about the Milk of Magnesia so we will try that on her back. I'll let you know if it works.