Whatever gets you moving . . . congratulations!  Seriously.   Any exercise is beneficial as long as you are working to your fitness level and doing it ’right’. 

Alas, nobody’s perfect and we sometimes hurt ourselves.  Here are some products designed specifically for the prevention and treatment of sports injuries. 

Injury Prevention Products

Stretching.  The most common sports injuries are caused by not stretching  your muscles before exercise.  The ProStretch and ProStretch Doubleare among our most popular products, and for good reason.  They reduce your risk of injury, improve lower extremity strength, balance, proprioception and flexibility.  Plus they make your legs look and feel fantastic.

See all ProStretch and Stretch-Rite

 Agility.  This 101 Agility Drills book will guide you through the routines to help you stop, start and change direction of the body rapidly and in a controlled manner.  Coaches and athletes, listen up.  It’s not too early to prepare for fall sports.  Agility training will prevent injuries and give you a leg up on the competition.  Some agility products include the Dot Drill Mat, Agility Dots, Agility Rings, Agility Ladder, Running Parachute and Stackable Steps.

Flexibility.  Get on the Ball!  I promise that flexibility will be yours if you consistently work out on the ball.  We have many brands and sizes to fit every budget and every exercise goal.   Get a FitBall Exercise DVD for overall fitness, the  Strength Training on the Ball Book to get even stronger, or how about a Pilates on the Ball DVD for a great workout and (for me) a lot of laughs.

Balance.  Shop our huge selection of balance products.  I can’t stress enough how good balance will change your life.  No matter how old you are, you can improve your balance.  Read 21 Reasons to Improve your Balance.

See all Exercise/Fitness Products

Injury Treatment Products

Cold Packs. Keep one in your freezer at all times for aches, pains, sports injuries and muscle pulls (or to wrap around something in the cooler on the way to the picnic).  Always put a layer of dry terry towels between you and the ColPac! 

Not sure when to use heat or ice?  Read Arthritis Pain – Which is Best, Heat or Ice?

See all Hot/Cold Therapy

Spa Therapy.  Bubble your troubles away.  Yes, it’s true.  You can have a portable whirlpool spa right in your house, or on your patio, or in your backyard – at a fraction of the cost of a traditional hot tub.

Treat all your sore muscle aches & pains with products from Allegro’s Muscle Pain Category.

Wound Care.  Hey booboos happen, even to adults.   Be prepared for cuts and scrapes with first aid kits, bandages, dressings, gauze & prep pads.  We have it all in our Wound Care Category. 

Therapeutic Bands and Braces.  These brilliant little gizmos absorb shock and support your tendons so you can relieve your pain and still live your life.  See our popular products for knee injuries and elbow/forearm support.

Shin Supports.  These wraps alleviate shin splints and relieve calf & muscle pain.  Too bad we didn’t have these around when we were running concrete stairs and bleachers in high school.  Good times.

Ankle Supports.  Ankle and foot injuries happen all the time.  Check out our Ankle/Foot Orthotics products if you are having ankle pain, weak ankles or just need support for your feet.  We have lots of specialized insoles and heel cups,  ankle braces, splints and supports and products to relieve the pain of plantar fasciitis.

Back Supports.  These are used for both prevention and treatment of back pain and injury.  Choose from traditional back supports, abdominal binders, posture aids, hernia splints and more.

See all Orthopedic Products and sort by popularity, price or product name.

Got a picture of Kinesio tape in action saving the world? Send it in and it might make the next edition of the Daily Kinesio Report: Submit your picture via email to Kinesio@AllegroMedical.com today. One weekly winner will receive a roll of genuine Kinesio tape.

Kinesio Tape and Kinesio Taping is nothing new, but it is certainly catching on. It was developed more than 25 years ago by Dr. Kenzo Kase, a Japanese chiropractor who trained in the US.

For years, the tape and the taping methods were primarily used by sports medicine doctors, rehabilitation specialists, physical therapists and chiropractors. The effectiveness of Kinesio Taping has spread like wildfire and it is now used by medical practitioners and top athletes worldwide. The Japanese Olympic volleyball team is thought to have started the frenzy with the athletes.

I’ve read that Kinesio Taping is being used on Lance Armstrong, Serena Williams, David Beckam, Robby Ginepri and Justine Henin, not to mention the current crop of Olympiads including Martins Plavins and of course, Kerri Walsh.

In Lance Armstrong’s book “Every Second Counts”, he refers to Kinesio as “Something better than any laser, wrap, or electric massager…The Tape. It is a special hot-pink athletic tape that came from Japan and seemed to have special powers. Every morning before the stage, they would tape us all up, different parts of our bodies . . . George’s back, Chechu’s knees. Sometimes we’d be so wrapped up in hot-pink tape that we’d look like dolls, a bunch of broken dolls. But the next day the pain disappeared–it was gone.”

Kinesio Taping is basically a technique of applying Kinesio Tape — thin, elastic, color-coded strips of tape – on joints and muscles where support and stability is needed. It is a “non-restrictive” taping method (think the opposite of heavy strapping of ankles), used to reduce pain and inflammation, relax overused tire muscles and speed healing. It is also used for preventative maintenance, edema and pain management.

The tape itself is an elastic woven tape that comes in a variety of widths, colors and types. It is cut into different shapes and applied with a slight stretch to stretched skin. It may look like conventional athletic tape but it is fundamentally different in that it has a specific elasticity that plays a role in its effectiveness. It is thin, like skin, and is applied by professionals trained specifically for the different applications. It is placed on top of the skin, strategically, often in “waves”, and is effective for 3 to 5 days before it needs to be replaced. You can shower or swim with it. It doesn’t contain latex, which is great for those with latex allergies.

How Does Kinesio Tape Work?

When properly applied, you don’t even know the tape is there. The practitioner places it on slightly stretched skin from one end of the muscle to the other, with varying amounts of stretch to the tape. For muscle support/facilitation, the tape is applied from the muscle origin to the muscle insertion. For rehabilitation or muscular inhibition, it goes on just the opposite.

The taping technique is based on the body’s own natural healing process. Rather than “strap down” the muscle, the philosophy is to give free range of motion and allow the body’s own muscular system to heal itself bio-mechanically. Application of Kinesio Tape encourages muscles to function as they would if they didn’t need the tape, which improves not only body movement but circulation of venous and lymph flows, body temperature, etc. Pretty simple, but it makes perfect sense. There is, I believe, a psychological aspect as well. If your sore muscles are supported and allowed to heal, you are not in as much pain and you relax. Your performance improves along with faster healing.

Kinesio Tape’s Uses are Seemingly Endless

Who would think that strategically placed elastic athletic tape would make any difference in the healing process, or athletic performance, for that matter? Well, it seems to work in a whole lot of ways if you ask our customers. Reviews (avg 5 out of 5 stars) of Kinesio Tape mention its effectiveness in relieving carpal tunnel, arthritis, plantar fasciitis, shoulder pain, and even ocular myasthenia. Other sources say that Kinesio Tape can be used for headaches to foot problems and everything in between. Examples include muscular facilitation or inhibition in pediatric patients, lower back strain/pain (subluxations, herniated disc), knee conditions, hamstring, groin injury, rotator cuff injury, whiplash, tennis elbow, patella tracking, pre- and post-surgical edema, ankle sprains, athletic preventative injury method, and as a support method.

One very important thing to remember is that the effectiveness of Kinesio Tape highly relies on the placement and technique. You can do it yourself, but only after you have been trained by a professional.

If you have any of the conditions mentioned above, Kinesio Taping might be worth a mention to your medical practitioner or chiropractor. For those professionals looking for a great deal on Kinesio Tape, or any other medical supplies check out AllegroMedical.com.

Bandages and dressings

Allegro has a variety of dressing brands, in all sizes, quantities and types for venous ulcers, diabetic skin and all other types of wounds.

Allegro is your place for bandages such as cotton-based or nylon stretch for securing dressings, self-adherent wraps and Unna boots for firm, even compression therapy. Or, for support of sprains and strains with no clips or tape, try elastic tubular retainers or bandages in a wide variety of sizes and colors. See our selection of zinc-oxide based bandages for leg ulcers, eczema and dermatitis.

Adhesives, applicators and gauze.

There’s every type of tape you need, right here at Allegro, including gentle yet secure paper, cotton elastic and sports tapes, plus specialty tapes that are waterproof and breathable to hold dressings and gauze in place.

Stock up on sterile, cotton tip 3″ and 6″ applicators in boxes of up to 2000.

For packing and drainage, 100% cotton packing strips can accompany your dressings. Also good for dental packing. Come to Allegro for soft gauze in pads and rolls, and sponges good for all types of wound treatments.

Collagen and silicon

Control the effects of scars with silicone gel sheeting. Used by dermatologists and surgeons worldwide to lessen the look of injury and surgery scars.

Self-adherent silicon dressings minimize the pain of dressing changes by lowering trauma to the wound. Silicon is good for wounds, burns and skin ulcers. Or, collagen dressings provide the strength and structural support of collagen that enables healing to proceed at a rapid rate.

Wound cleansers and prep

Wound cleansers and debriders gently cleanse a wound before dressing application. They contain ingredients that absorb drainage and/or deodorize the wound, and are used to remove dead tissue while keeping healthy tissue intact. Good for painless flushing and removal of bacteria and debris.

Use absorbers (hydrophilic dressings) in gel, paste or powder to decrease the amount of exudate and to bring nutrients to the wound site that help the body heal faster. Safe for diabetic wounds.
When was the last time you checked your first aid kit? Replace that old kit in your home or office with a new kit from Allegro. Our first aid kits contain everything you need to administer minor first aid – bandages, topical cream, antiseptic, gauze, scissors, aspirin, ammonia inhalants, a first aid booklet – even an instant ice pack.