Kinesiology tape is a flexible tape that’s used to provide support, reduce pain, and improve athletic performance. It’s commonly used for muscle injuries, muscle tension, joint complaints, and musculoskeletal pain. It can also help with conditions like back pain, poor posture, and lymphedema

If you’re suffering from an injury, you may benefit from a non-invasive treatment that doesn’t even require popping a pill: kinesiology tape.

“Unlike athletic tape, which limits motion, kinesiology tape is designed to make movement easier by reducing pain,” says Kristin Levin, certified athletic trainer with Henry Ford Health System.

Developed in the 1970s by a chiropractor named Dr. Kenso Kase, DC, this flexible tape works with the body to promote healing. While Dr. Kase developed his own brand of tape (Kinesio Tape), there are more than 50 different types of tape on the market. Some are designed to enhance performance, and others are designed to control swelling and lymphedema (a collection of fluid trapped in an area due to a lymph system dysfunction).