Why Do Some Soccer Players Wear Leg Tape at Games?

The next time you're watching soccer, you may notice a common accessory being sported by some players, along with grass-stained shin guards, thigh-high compression socks, and 2000s-era prewrap headbands: kinesiology tape.

The tape can be any color, but it's commonly black or beige. And different players wear it differently, with some wrapping strips strategically around a single kneecap, others stretching it from knee to upper thigh, and others using just a few small pieces. But what is the leg tape for, exactly? We decided to investigate.

Rebecca Pudvah, DPT, CSCS, is a physical therapist and board-certified orthopedic specialist at Athletico Physical Therapy.

While the elite athletes sporting the tape don't always comment on why they rock it on the field, experts have a few ideas. Kinesiology tape is a breathable, stretchy tape that's meant to improve circulation and muscle activation, says Rebecca Pudvah, DPT, CSCS, a physical therapist and board-certified orthopedic specialist at Athletico Physical Therapy. In theory, the tape will lift your skin and encourage better circulation of the lymph system, helping to boost blood flow, reduce swelling, or remove byproducts of exercise such as lactic acid, Pudvah says.

The sensation of the tape could also help players manage pain. Your brain can only receive one stimulus from a particular part of your body at a time, Pudvah says. A pain stimulus travels to your brain much slower than a sensory stimulus, such as the pressure of a piece of kinesiology tape, she explains. In turn, your brain will likely focus on the feeling of the tape gripping your skin on, for example, your knee and ignore the aches you're feeling in the joint, she adds.

Pudvah expects to see soccer players wearing kinesiology tape on their knees or hamstrings, which are stressed from running and kicking. For example, a player with hamstring tendonitis (inflammation in the tendons at the back of the thigh) may experience [-oreness or irritation while extending their knee, Pudvah says.

"If you applied some tape to that muscle to [improve] blood flow, you could see relief," she explains. "Even the tactile feedback of just having something on you can distract you from the pain. [Kinesiology tape] would be a really good mechanism to use, especially if someone's moving around — you're not going to put a big, bulky brace on them."

Researchers haven't found much scientific evidence to support kinesiology tape's sports-performance or pain-relief benefits, and the placebo effect may be at play. But there's also not much risk to using it, Pudvah says. For elite athletes, who are always looking for even the smallest edge, a safe, low-stakes tool that makes them feel better, at least temporarily, could definitely be worth a shot.

Megan Falk is an experienced health and wellness journalist and editor whose work has been published by PS, Shape, Livestrong, Women's Health, Well+Good, mindbodygreen, Wide Open Spaces, and other outlets. She has served as an editor on Equinox's content team and at Shape, where she primarily covered exercise tips, fitness modalities, workout trends, and more.