Hobrough is cautious about people attempting to apply the tape themselves and the perception that it is a panacea. ''People have become so evangelical. I don't believe this will repair your problems.'' It is a rehab tool, not rehab, he says.

Speaking from Japan, Kase has a more expansive view of his tape's benefits. Space, flow and cooling are, he explains, his basic concepts. He believes the source of many joint and muscle pains lies in the thin layer of skin between the epidermis and the dermis. Conventional therapies compress these areas. ''I needed to create something to lift these layers.'' The tape, he claims, opens the space between the epidermis and dermis, enabling a better flow of blood and lymphatic fluids. Through this flow, the body loses excessive heat that can damage it.

Academics are sceptical about this theory, which is unproven in mainstream science. ''We need to be very cautious about the extent of the claims,'' says John Brewer, a professor of sport at the University of Bedfordshire. ''Some perhaps aren't yet supported by science and I am struggling to see where the science is going to come from. Many of the muscles involved in exercise are deep muscles. Placing strips of tape on the skin is going to have little effect on supporting these muscles within the body. We need osteopaths and physios to do proper, peer-reviewed studies to show it really does work.''

Brewer also points out that it might be dangerous if the tape encourages people to exercise while injured.

A randomised double-blind clinical trial in 2008 found kinesio tape produced an immediate improvement in range of motion when treating shoulder pain, compared with a sham tape. A study of whiplash patients found kinesio tape provided pain relief and an improved range of motion but warned the changes ''may not be clinically meaningful''. This year, a meta-analysis concluded ''there was little quality evidence'' to support the use of kinesio tape over other types of elastic taping, although it may have ''a small beneficial role in improving strength'' and the ''range of motion in certain injured cohorts''.