CELLIANT-Powered KT Tape: The Next Generation of Recovery

KT Tape PRO Oxygen Kinesiology Tape, powered by CELLIANT infrared technology

When kinesiology tape was originally invented in the 1970s as part of the Kinesio Taping Method, its initial use was limited to professional therapeutic spaces such as chiropractic or athletic rehabilitation programs. Upon its founding in 2008, KT Tape introduced a revolutionary new wave of kinesiology tape and recovery products that changed the sports medicine industry. By distributing KT products to major retailers, specialty sports stores and medical distributors worldwide, KT Tape brought athletic tape into the mainstream and made it directly available to athletes and fitness enthusiasts

WHAT DOES KT TAPE DO?

KT Tape is a therapeutic fitness tape designed to support athletes of all levels during sports and exercise. It works by lifting the skin to temporarily increase local blood flow, reducing muscle inflammation.* Unlike other athletic tapes that restrict movement, KT Tape is stretchable, so you maintain your body’s full range of motion while wearing it.
KT Tape offers a range of kinesio tape products to meet a wide spectrum of needs from general everyday wear, light and moderate exercise, to extreme exercise. Each variation is designed to support both the “prehab” and rehab components of movement, helping you prepare your body for a workout, perform your best throughout, and recover from physical fatigue.

ABOUT KT TAPE WITH CELLIANT

As the category leader of kinesiology tape, KT Tape is committed to staying ahead of the curve when it comes to sports performance and recovery products. While considering avenues for the next generation of recovery products, the KT Tape team discovered infrared (IR) light therapy. The exploration of infrared applications led KT Tape to CELLIANT® and the successful partnership to follow.


CELLIANT infrared technology is a blend of IR-generating bioceramic minerals that, when incorporated into textiles, captures body heat and converts it into infrared energy, reflecting it back to your body for the muscles and tissues to absorb. This process increases local circulation and improves cellular oxygenation, supporting performance, thermoregulation and faster recovery.


While KT Tape learned more about the associated wellness benefits of full-spectrum infrared, it became clear that a partnership between KT Tape and CELLIANT was a natural fit and could add value within the sports and recovery spaces. From there, the collaboration between KT Tape, the experts in kinesiology tape, and CELLIANT, the experts in full-spectrum infrared, was born. KT Tape has just launched its first tape with infrared technology, PRO Oxygen™, for the absolute best in performance, support and recovery. It features ultra-breathable synthetic fabric and high-strength, water-resistant adhesive that is long-lasting. The CELLIANT bioceramic mineral powder is printed directly on the tape surface.


While CELLIANT can also be embedded into fibers, yarns and fabrics, incorporating CELLIANT® as a printed coating has several advantages:

  • CELLIANT print can be easily integrated into most supply chains
  • There are few product limitations with CELLIANT print, as it can be applied to most fabrics
  • Applying CELLIANT to a product's surface allows for maximum potency, as it has direct contact with the wearer's skin

The key differentiator of the PRO Oxygen line compared to KT’s other athletic tapes is the added CELLIANT-derived benefit of improved cellular oxygenation.

What are the Benefits of Improved Cellular Oxygenation?

Infrared energy improves cellular oxygenation by increasing local circulation. Blood flow is the way that our body transports oxygen to the cells, so with improved local circulation comes increased availability of this oxygen. Oxygen is breathed in through the air and then, once in the lungs, it is transferred to the blood. The circulatory system then moves that oxygen to the cells throughout the body. The cells use the oxygen to break down the food energy that they store into a form that is usable by the body to power muscles.

CELLIANT is clinically demonstrated to increase tissue oxygen levels by an average of 7%1 and up to 8.4%2 in our TcPO2 clinical trials. Increasing TcPO2 can have a measurable effect on a person’s strength, endurance and stamina – in short, the more oxygen you can provide your cells, the better.

An Ideal Ingredient Brand Partnership

Our collaboration with KT Tape is a perfect case study for what a successful ingredient branding partnership looks like. Ingredient brands like CELLIANT can help differentiate a brand’s products, offering advantages such as:
  • Added value and credibility that has already been established, such as CELLIANT’s proven track record of working with world-class brands
  • The incorporation of science-backed technology within your product lines without having to spearhead lengthy research and development
  • Bolstering your corporate vision, ethics and purpose when you partner with a like-minded company
When KT Tape discovered CELLIANT, they were looking for an innovation differentiator. And they found it: CELLIANT-powered KT Tape products have the same core benefits that KT customers know and love, plus the added performance and recovery benefits of infrared technology. The resulting premium product is sold at a slightly higher price point than KT Tape’s other fitness tapes, but for customers who are seeking maximum performance and recovery benefits, the uptick in price is a no-brainer. Retailers also recognize the added value that CELLIANT brings to the product line. KT Tape’s seamless incorporation and marketing of CELLIANT as an ingredient in their PRO Oxygen kinesiology tape allows for price justification with no pushback from consumers.

Product Review: KT Tape PRO Oxygen

Like all KT kinesiology tapes, KT Tape PRO Oxygen’s elasticity allows for a range of motion that rigid tapes do not and helps to lift the skin for a temporary increase in local blood flow. KT Tape PRO Oxygen has the added benefit of being powered by CELLIANT infrared technology. CELLIANT harnesses and converts body heat into full-spectrum infrared energy. This infrared energy is reflected back to the body for the muscles and tissues to absorb, improving cellular oxygenation and increasing local circulation. Thus, this premium kinesiology tape is super-charged to support muscles through physical activity. Compared to KT Tape’s other fitness tapes, PRO Oxygen is best-in-class when it comes to breathability, adhesive strength and performance duration.

Amplifying Muscle Potential with Infrared Energy

CELLIANT infrared technology can be seamlessly incorporated into performance and recovery products such as kinesiology tape, athletic apparel, outdoor gear, wetsuits, infrared socks and more, delivering a range of wellness benefits such as improved cellular oxygenation, increased local circulation and thermoregulation. CELLIANT can be embedded directly into fibers, yarns and fabrics, or applied as a printed coating, depending on your supply chain and product development needs. If you are interested in discussing how CELLIANT infrared technology can help differentiate your brand’s products, fill out the form below to get in touch with our team.

GET IN TOUCH

*Suggested by academic hypothesis, not clinically proven.

1Coyle, M., & Gordon, I. (2012). Transcutaneous Partial Pressure of Oxygen (tcPO2) as a Primary Endpoint to Assess the Efficacy of CELLIANT® as a Vasoactive Material. https://celliant.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Transcutaneous-Partial_web.pdf
2Gordon, I., Hamblin, M. R., Lavery, L., Thein, M., & Watson, J. (2018). Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing the Effects of Far-Infrared Emitting Ceramic Fabric Shirts and Control Polyester Shirts on Transcutaneous PO2. https://celliant.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Randomized-Controlled-Trial_web-1.pdf

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Carly Fokos

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