March Issue of Swimming World Magazine Looks Into Use of Tape in Swimming

PHOENIX, Arizona, March 2. IN A Voice for the Sport in the March issue of Swimming World Magazine, publisher Brent Rutemiller reveals what some athletes are doing under their suits to enhance their performances.

Click play below for a multimedia look Inside Swimming World Magazine as presented by The Morning Swim Show's Peter Busch:

Experts continue to debate the benefits of applying traditional athletic tape to injured muscles. Meanwhile, athletes continue to rely on various taping techniques to help them heal more quickly and protect their muscles and joints during sports competition.

Now, early reports indicate a growing trend in which swimmers are using duct tape as a device on their skin to bind muscle groups together. They are trying to get the same effect as a $500 high-performance suit that promotes core body stability.

Since swimmers will be limited to only one racing suit during a competition, they are already coming up with their own devices to keep that competitive edge.

Some female athletes are using tape as a first-level form of compression to streamline their chests before getting into a racing suit. Both males and females are experimenting by tightly wrapping tape around their core body.

During the 2008 Olympic Games, the benefits of athletic taping made volleyball headlines when a new type of tape, Kinesio Tape, showed up on the shoulders, arms, legs and backs of many high-profile athletes. In Lance Armstrong's book, "Every Second Counts," he praised the athletic tape that came from Japan as having "magical powers."

Athletes are learning that the tape can be applied in a specific pattern—either stretched or not stretched—depending on the needed outcome. Many claim that the tape method helps relieve pain by lifting the skin to allow the blood to flow more freely to the muscles.

In a recent study from San Jose State University, it was reported that in 30 healthy individuals, the use of the tape along the lower trunk area appeared to increase the range of motion in the trunk, allowing the athlete more flexibility. Combine that with the proven fact that swimmers with a greater trunk rotation and flexibility have improved performances, and taping could make a major impact in the sport.

Reports also indicate that taping increases neuromuscular feedback, allowing athletes to move better and more confidently and feel less pain. When pain is lessened, incorrect neuromuscular movement is interrupted or reduced. With less pain, a swimmer can hold his or her stroke and body position much longer.

All of this points to the next wave of concern heading toward competitive swimming. The sport is still reeling from the after effects of high-performance swimwear that obliterated the record books in 2008.

The athletes will never go back to earlier times. Leading suit manufacturers have taught them about the benefits of muscle group recruiting and compression technology.

The fact that athletes are now applying those lessons in innovative ways indicates device testing may be the next fight within the governing communities.

But first, the debate must rage.

Is taping one's body parts and hiding it under a swimsuit an advantage? Is taping considered performance enhancing? Are there medical reasons why a person may have to have his or her arms, legs, chest or core taped? Can taping be policed, and if so, how?
One coach recently spoke out, saying that taping should be illegal and that random device testing should be done along the same lines as drug testing. If you can get private urine samples, you can check privately for performance devices.

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March 2009 Issue
Contents of The March issue:

7 TEXAS PICKED AS NO. 1 by John Lohn
Coach Eddie Reese's Texas Longhorns will be favored to win their 10th men's NCAA national swimming championship later this month at Texas A&M University in what would be their first title in seven years.
10 ARIZONA LOOKS TO REPEAT by Jason Marsteller
Arizona finds itself in a familiar spot as the pre-season No. 1 pick to win the women's NCAA Division I Championships, but this is the first time the Wildcats are in position to win back-to-back titles.
14 CELEBRATING 50+ YEARS IN AQUATICS: 1965-68
by Jeff Commings
As we celebrate 50+ years in aquatics, Swimming World Magazine will be taking a trip through history, highlighting some of the top moments of the magazine's existence.
16 THEN AND NOW by Jeff Commings
The dominant women's individual medley swimmer of the mid-60s for the United States was Claudia Kolb, a title that is now owned by Katie Hoff.
18 SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING: THE WELL-ROUNDED SPORT by Taylor Payne
There are numerous positive attributes associated with synchronized swimming.

DEPARTMENTS:
6 A VOICE for the SPORT
43 CAMP DIRECTORY
55 FOR THE RECORD
59 CALENDAR
62 PARTING SHOT

In the Swimming Technique portion of the magazine you will find the following:


29 Q&A WITH COACH STEVE BULTMAN by Michael J. Stott
31 HOW THEY TRAIN: Kristen Heiss by Michael J. Stott
32 DEALING WITH PAIN by Michael J. Stott
As a swimmer, it's important to know the difference between pain—which can lead to injury—and discomfort.
34 SO NEAR, YET SO FAR by Michael J. Stott
Being able to recover from disappointing swims is more likely when a swimmer has the right attitude and an understanding coach.
36 SWIMMING PERFORMANCES FROM TRIALS TO OLYMPICS by Genadijus Sokolovas

In the SWIM portion of the magazine you will find the following:

21 THE POOL'S EDGE: Taper and the Older Athlete by Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen
23 SWIMMING THROUGH LIFE by Dan Stephenson
Swimming gives you a strong heart, a strong mind and strong friends. There are more benefits than making the Olympic team, and they are there for the taking at any age and any speed.
26 THE WORKOUT CARD: Kicking Your Way to Fast Swimming by Ken DeMont
28 LANE LEADERS: Bob Strand by Emily Sampl

In the Junior Swimmer portion of the magazine you will find the following:
39 NATIONAL AGE GROUP RECORD SETTER: Nick Silverthorn
41 SPEEDO AMERICAN RELAY by Judy Jacob
42 TYR AGE GROUP SWIMMER OF THE MONTH: Emma Blackwood

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