DR. KENZO KASE
THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND
Born in Japan in the 1940s, Dr. Kenzo Kase was a sickly child, plagued by pneumonia, tuberculosis, kidney infections and allergies. His physical fragility kept him from participating in physical education classes.
Dr. Kase learned the power of a healing touch from his grandmother, a Japanese healer who used herbal remedies, acupuncture and moxibustion techniques. After graduating from chiropractic school in Chicago, he was able to combine his education in mainstream and traditional medical techniques and philosophies.
Licensed in both chiropractic care and acupuncture, Dr. Kase is able to combine a variety of styles of healing. For years, he has taken what’s now referred to as an Integrative Medicine approach. He regularly works with surgeons, physiotherapists, and natural healers, making connections between different treatment paradigms to help each concept advance.
Dr. Kase knows that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to healing. He focuses on wellness, health, and prevention through education with an emphasis on the patient-physician relationship as well as the treatment of the patient’s mental, emotional and physical ailments as a whole.
IT ALL STARTS WITH THE POWER OF A HUMAN TOUCH
In the 1970s, while treating elderly osteoarthritis patients, Dr. Kase became frustrated with the limited treatment methods available. He found he could get the patient’s joint into a position that was less painful and resembled normal use, but once they went home, they would return to their old habits and painful positioning. He wanted the treatments to extend beyond his patients’ office visits—a way to send his hands home with them.
Dr. Kase tried to tape the joint into position. However, the tape available for medical use was stiff and rigid. Patients received some benefit from the taping, but it caused skin problems, rashes and other issues. He realized that the tapes available at the time didn’t work well with his Kinesio Taping® Method.
So he invented his own. He worked with product engineers through a long process of testing different tape qualities. Eventually, they created a tape that was flexible enough to preserve range of motion but also lightweight and hypoallergenic to stay on the skin without causing a rash. The new tape imitated the thickness and resilience of human skin.
In the athletic world, Kinesio Taping® was first used with sumo wrestlers in Japan. Since then, Dr. Kase has also realized that the method’s benefits extend beyond the human species. In 1987, when his Chihuahua was attacked by a bigger dog, he applied the tape. After a few days, his dog was once again jumping around. The Kinesio Taping® Method is also extremely useful in the treatment of horses. Dr. Kase has even taped pets, tree limbs, fruit, flamingos and fish.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
January 2015 – present President, Kinesio University (Formally KTA US)
April 1984 – present Founder and Director, Society of Kinesio Taping Association International
April 2008 – present Founder and Director, Society of Kinesio Taping Therapy (SKITT)
March 2006 – present Board of Executive Council, Japan Olympic Committee
December 2005 – present Founder and Chairman, Kinesio Taping Academy
May 2003 – present Vice President, Japan Sepaktakraw Federation
March 1998 – present Emeritus President, Natural Chiropractic College
March 1983 – February 1998 President, Natural Chiropractic College
April 1980 – March 1996 Owner and Practitioner, Kase Chiropractic Clinic in Tokyo, Japan
April 1976 – July 1976 Instructor, University of New Mexico
June 1975 – September 1979 Owner and Practitioner, Kase Chiropractic Clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
EDUCATION
May 1970 – September 1974 Doctor of Chiropractic – National University of Health Sciences (NUHS) in
Chicago, Illinois, USA
April 1960 – March 1964 Business Administration / Economics – Meiji University in Tokyo, Japan
PUBLICATIONS
More than 50 clinical books, in Japanese and English, and translated into numerous other languages
Co-Author, Kinesio Taping Manuals Published by Kinesio Taping Association International including
Clinical Therapeutic Applications of the Kinesio Taping Method
Kinesio Taping for Lymphoedema and Chronic Swelling
Kinesio Taping in Pediatrics, Fundamentals and Whole Body Taping
Muscle Unit Training (MUT); Makino Publishing Co., Ltd
Dr. Kase Therapy (DKT); The Science News Co., Ltd
Kinesio Sports; Baseball Publishing Co., Ltd
Kinesio Taping in Pictures and Illustration; Idono Nihon Co., Ltd
Spine and Chiropractic; Sougeisha Co., Ltd
Effective Kinesio Taping for Lower Back and Knee Pain; Futaba Publishing Co.
Chiropractic Basic Manual Technique; Enterprise Publishing
Cryotherapy Manual; Science (Newspaper) Publishing
"I am a Physical Therapist assistant and I apply this brand to all my patients and myself. It lasts long and I like that you can cut your own size rather than precut k tape. You waste less. The fingerprint technology does make a difference. - Nikki A Amazon.com