This summer has been a very active one for me personally. With my many races, paddle boarding, cycling, swimming, rock climbing and general off the hook activity trying to keep up with my 6-year-old son, I have had more than a few injuries. These injuries and activities have made me a master in the art of kinesiology taping.

About three years ago, I was introduced to kinesiology tape and it has made a huge difference for me with both injuries and supporting my fitness activities. I am frequently taped and people often ask me what the heck or why the heck do I have strips of tape on me?

Let's see if I can help answer a few basic questions about kinesiology tape. Kinesiology tape as we know it today was first developed in 1973 by Japanese chiropractor Kenzo Kase.

By 1979, he had fully designed his taping methods. By 1988, the tape was being used by the Japanese Olympic team and a handful of elite professional athletes.

What makes Kinesiology tape different from traditional athletic tape is its make up, which consists of cotton fibers with elastic strands woven tightly throughout to give it stretch and constant tension without the need to wrap like normal sports tape.

There are so many different applications for the tape with regard to connective tissue, skeletal or muscle support - along with its ability to increase your blood flow and lymphatic drainage makes it some pretty amazing stuff.

I was pretty surprised that carefully placing Kinesiology tape would make a huge difference in supporting, protecting and helping me heal my injuries.

It did take me awhile to understand all the various methods of taping for the best benefits, but once you get used to it, it becomes very easy to apply. When the tape is properly applied, you don't really notice you have it on.

The taping technique is based around the idea that if your body has added support with little restriction to blood flow or movement, your muscular system can stabilize and heal itself bio-mechanically.

From a sport injury aspect, Kinesiology tape gives just enough needed support, but still leaves you with a pretty full range of muscle functionality after an injury or extreme muscle fatigue.

A key part to the tape's ability to help heal and support is the fact that it lifts the skin to create a small space between the muscle and dermis layers. This space takes the pressure off the injury and swelling that allows space for proper drainage that helps reduce inflammation.

Since Kinesiology tape does not wrap tightly when applied and restrict circulation like traditional sports tape, it gives your body the ability to better manage temperature around the injury, which can lead to faster recovery time.

Kinesiology tape can be used on most areas of your body. It is very useful for ankle sprains, ankle support, plantar fasciitis, full knee support, rotator cuff, achilles tendonitis and even lower back support. Kinesiology tape is also used to manage other areas like headaches, carpal tunnel and arthritis.

Kinesiology tape has been so effective across such a broad spectrum of health issues, that over the past 15 years or so, more and more orthopedists, chiropractors, physical therapists and other medical professionals have made the tape a big part of their treatment plans.

With so many athletes and medical professionals having very positive results from using Kinesiology tape, it is no surprise that all types of folks have started using it on a daily basis.

There are a couple of points to consider before you jump into using Kinesiology tape.

First and foremost, if you have injuries, check with your physician before you start taping up.

The second thing is if you're going to use Kinesiology tape to support weak ankles for example, you will need a thorough understanding of proper taping methods.

You can get some very good guidance on how to tape from Youtube videos or Kinesiology tape websites.

My final point is be sure you get the real thing. In the world of Kinesiology tape there are many imposters purporting to be elastic therapeutic tape similar to Kinesiology tape. The real tape sticks better, can be worn longer and offers the correct support and tension needed to work correctly.

Judd Jones is the regional production director with Hagadone Newspapers. He can be reached at jjones@cdapress.com.