K-Tape for climbing?

Any climbers out there have good or bad reviews of using K-tape while climbing? Specifically on shoulders? I have been increasingly more often sublexing my shoulders while crack climbing (previous injury, nothing new) and am worried about it finally dislocating in more commiting multipitch scenarios.

So, I know k-tape works well in traditional sports and works well for shoulders in volleyball but what about climbing? Thoughts? Opinions? Complaints?

Thanks!

Here's the thing.... there isn't any evidence showing that "k-tape" offers any help to otherwise healthy athletes. There have been several studies that have attempted to find a performance benefit... but so far none of them have been able to find anything showing it helps.

The only place it has shown to actually help on a medical level is with whiplash victims - because it was used to limit the range of motion and allowed healing to take place.

Keep in mind all those olympic athletes got the tape donated to them for free, and at that level of world-class performance even a 0.01% improvement (real or placebo effected) can be the difference in making a medal. For the average climber, I don't think it would be useful.

See:
jsams.org/article/S1440-244…

jospt.org/issues/articleID.…

ortopedia.com.pl/fulltxt.ph…

For whatever reason this seems to be the new trend around the gym. I dont know what the deal is, but the folks I see using can sure toprope the hell out of all the 5.8s in there... Dummies.

Chris - awesome information. Thanks. When I was studying athletic training a few years back k-tape was new and I never learned much about it. This was definitely the kind of info I was looking for.

In my particular situation, would k-tape help support and stabalize the ligaments and tendons in my shoulder? I'm not looking for a performance increase or benefit, I'm just looking to keep my shoulder from dislocating.

Patrick - yes.... for altering range of motion or keeping things in place - it's much like an ace bandage, with options. Easier to put exactly where needed. It does work for those purposes. That's a legit use for the stuff.

Patrick Betts wrote: When I was studying athletic training a few years back k-tape was new

Thanks Chris - that's what I was looking to use it for.

Will - new to the athletic training program at my university - therefore it wasn't taught in the core classes. You'd learn about it during practicals/internships/GA positions but not in class. That's all I meant.