Recently someone asked me whether my own age made me more interested in the process of aging. I don’t think that is true. I have always had a patient base that includes all ages including older people. It is the comparison between older and younger physiology that really highlights my hydrokinetic reasoning.
The human body is composed of fluid as more than half of our body weight. Obviously this water content has a big impact on our healthy functioning. Without viable interstitial space at the subcutaneous level and even deeper; without the free movement of the waters – the fluids – within the body; without some inner control on the heat levels in the tissues and the ability to self-cool; our bodies would struggle to maintain healthy stasis.
This is the basis of my hydrokinetic theory and the principles of Ku – Do – Rei: Space, Movement and Cooling. This is not a Japanese concept, in fact it is simply a biological concept. As medical science develops ever and better methods to view and to measure the body’s inner workings; we are finding new ways to treat patients, but also new ways to describe old practices.
The body is the same now as it was when I began school in the 1960s, and the same as it has been for millions of years. The body does not advance. What advances is our knowledge!
Sincerely yours,
Dr. Kenzo Kase
I travel a lot, and I meet a lot of people who have heard of Kinesio Taping. They all ask me about two things. First: Can you use Kinesio Tape for other patients besides athletes? Of course you can, I tell them, and I can always give them examples to talk about. Second: Do you have research to show what Kinesio Taping does?
The second question needs a longer answer. There is a lot of good research out there, starting
in maybe 1989 (or even earlier in Japan) and coming from all over the world. Unfortunately there
is also a lot of research that is not helpful. Many people still after all this time do not have a good understanding of how Kinesio Taping works and what it should be used for. I understand that there is a way of thinking in sports therapy where they want to enhance performance, but this is not the purpose of Kinesio Tape.
When I originally formed the Kinesio Taping Association – which became KTAI – it was always devoted to education and research. For 31 years now we have met at our International Research Symposium to share the latest studies and discoveries. In our current files we have listed more than 1,000 separate studies, articles and case reports. In fact last year’s 2015 symposium in Tokyo was our 30th anniversary, and we had fifty or more presentations, workshops and posters from all over the world.
In research it is important to ask the right questions, to work from a good hypothesis. This is why I am happy to see so many of our trained clinicians doing valuable research. This is also the reason that I am collaborating with researchers from Jean Claude Guimberteau in France, to Hans Michael Klein in Germany, to our associates in Japan, Mexico, Norway, Costa Rica and in the Philippines. I can’t even name all the places!
For the same reason, I am excited to begin working on some studies with researchers here in my local area from the University of New Mexico (UNM) medical school and athletic training programs, and from Lovelace Medical Center. UNM was one of the first research centers for the Kinesio Taping Method outside, so we are coming back to our roots. If you look up older research you will see studies by Dr. Heather Murray and work done by one of our current experts, David Garcia, while he was still
a student. It will be great to work with them again and I look forward to reporting on the studies we complete.
Sincerely yours,
Dr. Kenzo Kase
I’ve been working with patients for more than 40 years. Sometimes we start out to solve one set of
problems and we end up solving other problems we didn’t think about. This is what happened to me
with Kinesio Taping. Most of the world is now familiar with the story about how I developed Kinesio Tape and the Kinesio Taping Method: at first to treat elderly rheumatoid arthritis patients in my clinic, then later discovering many different uses and patient populations.
Just lately there have been innovations in other areas. I am working with Prof. Dr. Hans Michael Klein, a prominent cardiothoracic surgeon, researcher and educator from Germany, on Kinesio Taping to speed recovery times and provide non-pharmaceutical pain relief for post-surgical patients. This delicate work would not have been possible without building on the advances we made in the past twenty or thirty years in edema taping, and in pain relief using the innovation of EDF – epidermis, dermis, fascia – taping techniques.
It has also been important to consider the tape itself. We developed the Kinesio Tex Gold FP – which stands for fingerprint – specifically for EDF taping and some of the other advanced medical techniques that are in demand. The Performance+ Kinesio Tape will also be available by the time we go to print, for more of an everyday use.
Every advance in therapy seems to lead to product advances, while every new Kinesio Taping product opens up possibilities for new therapies. As I travel throughout the world, I am trying to keep everyone up to date on the latest research, the latest evidence, and the latest innovations in Kinesio Taping. I appreciate all the hard work from our network of more than 200 Certified Kinesio Taping Instructors and countless Kinesio Taping clinicians.
I travel widely: to Africa, to Asia, to every continent on the map. Wherever you are, maybe I will see you soon!
Sincerely yours,
Dr. Kenzo Kase
What a Year!
The year 2017 has been very exciting but also tired me out. I began the year with a thought of retiring, and for the most part I have been able to adjust how I spend my time with Kinesio, with my family, and with other commitments, like playing golf.
It has been exciting and interesting to work with such a wide range of surgeons, pain specialists and researchers both here in Albuquerque and throughout the world. None of those ventures is going to stop, but I am training people so I don’t have to be there every single day to test and to supervise and to examine results on my own.
So I’ve had a hulu dancing party in Hawaii, and a karaoke party in New Mexico, and celebrations in Rome and Japan to mark my transition. You could call it a graduation! I’m going to try and have more control over my daily schedule.
Maybe in 2018 I will have more chances to travel for fun and not just for business. Maybe in 2018 I will be able to sleep late on weekdays. Maybe in 2018 I will find answers to more questions and fewer new questions. You can call me retired, but don’t be surprised if you hear about my new projects in education and research. Even though I am trying to slow myself down, I still have a lot of ideas.
Sincerely yours,
Dr. Kenzo Kase 2017