Theraband and K-tape get used far too early, far too often and far too easily.
Not because patients need them. Because it looks like we're giving them something for free.
A band to take home. Tape on the skin. Theatre if it's done well. A tragedy if not. A way of justifying the fee while robbing Peter to pay Paul.
And it's not just a clinical issue. It's a cashflow leak.
Take a broad brush to the numbers: somewhere around 6,000–7,000 patient visits per clinic per year. Say 40% of patients leave with some band and tape.
That's perhaps £9,000–£11,000 a year on resistance bands and maybe £3,000–£5,000 on tape.
Even with my questionable arithmetic, that's £12,000–£16,000 walking out the door and costing a couple of quid per session. Not enough to notice day to day. More than enough to matter across a year.
In the sober light of day that's £15k straight to the bottom line. Or reinvested in the team. Or actually improving the patient experience. Instead it's tied up in elastic, colourful fabric and glue.
So why not really test your clinical reasoning: run a taping amnesty, resist the resistance bands and go cold turkey for a few weeks.
No bands. No tape.
If you can't move someone forward with load, tempo, control and clear intent, that's not a kit problem. It's a clinical one.
Break it down per clinician and you're looking at a couple of grand a year each. Not from big decisions. From hundreds of small, easy ones. If I handed each clinician £2,000 to spend every year, would they spend it all on tape and bands?
Thought not.