Red blood cell flux
How much blood is moving through the tiny vessels just under the skin. Red blood cells are the body’s main way of delivering oxygen to tissue.
Method Laser Doppler Flowmetry, the clinical standard for skin blood flow
The science
Something happensunder the tape.
Far infrared, what makes True Power different, and what researchers measured. Start simple; go as deep as you want.
Peer-reviewedInternational Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 2026
01The simple version
Three answers.
If you read nothing else on this page, read this.
What is far infrared?
Energy your body already gives off as heat.
Far infrared (FIR) is part of the infrared spectrum, the invisible band of energy that every warm object, including your body, gives off as heat. According to True Power’s brand materials, it can reach up to 4 cm beneath the skin.
What makes True Power different?
No battery. No device. No drug.
Three years of development went into a thin, flexible tape with far-infrared mineral zones built in. It sits exactly where you need it, under your clothes, for multiple days, without a device or a drug.
What did researchers observe?
Red blood cell flux and skin temperature rose under the tape, at rest.
In a randomized study published in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga researchers measured higher skin temperature and red blood cell flux under the tape, at rest, at every measured interval.
How it works
From tape to measurement, in four steps.
True Power FIR tape
A proprietary mineral blend, including tourmaline and ceramic powder, is printed into Circle and Lightning Bolt zones along the tape.
Body heat + FIR interaction
The zones capture the heat your body already gives off and return it as far-infrared energy. No battery, no device, no drug.
Local physiological response
Researchers looked for a response under the tape, at the skin and in the small vessels beneath it.
Measured, not assumed
They measured red blood cell flux and skin temperature, and both increased at rest.
02The study
Measured,
not assumed.
“Infrared Kinesiology Tape Increases Skin Temperature and Red Blood Cell Flux at Rest”
International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy · University of Tennessee at Chattanooga · 2026
At a glance
- p < 0.001Significant at every measured interval
- d = 0.864A large effect
- At restExercise can’t explain the result
- UnstretchedApplied like a patch
A
How the study worked
Randomized, bilateral and IRB-approved. Tape on one side, nothing on the other, and both sides measured at the same time.
- Product tested
- Thrive "Far Infrared" kinesiology tape from TruePower (the product now sold as True Power)
- Design
- Randomized, bilateral, IRB-approved
- Comparison
- Tape on one side, nothing on the other; both sides measured at the same time
- Application
- Applied like a patch, not stretched
- Condition
- Participants at rest, so exercise can’t explain the result
B
What was measured
Skin temperature
Surface temperature at the taped site, measured separately.
C
What researchers found
Red blood cell flux
Increased
Statistically significant increases in local blood circulation at every measured interval.
- Effect
- d = 0.864, a large effect
- Significance
- p < 0.001
Skin temperature
Increased
Measured separately. Same direction at every measured interval.
- Significance
- p < 0.001
D
What this study does, and doesn’t, tell you
The study measured circulation and skin temperature at rest. It did not measure pain, inflammation, recovery time or performance.
Measured
- Red blood cell flux under the tape
- Skin temperature at the taped site
- Taped side vs. untaped side, at the same time
- Participants at rest
Not measured
- Pain
- Inflammation
- Recovery time
- Athletic performance
E
The source
Every figure on this page comes from this peer-reviewed paper.
Peer-reviewed research
“Infrared Kinesiology Tape Increases Skin Temperature and Red Blood Cell Flux at Rest”
03Technical detail
For trainers, PTs and the genuinely curious.
Reference, protocol, data and context. Open what you need.
Publication referenceCitation and DOI
Infrared Kinesiology Tape Increases Skin Temperature and Red Blood Cell Flux at Rest. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. 2026.
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Product tested: Thrive "Far Infrared" kinesiology tape from TruePower (the product now sold as True Power).
MethodologyLaser Doppler Flowmetry, protocol
Red blood cell flux was measured with Laser Doppler Flowmetry, which reads the movement of red blood cells in the skin’s microcirculation from the frequency shift of reflected laser light. Skin temperature was measured at the taped site.
Randomized, bilateral and IRB-approved. Tape on one side, nothing on the other, and both sides measured at the same time. Applied like a patch, not stretched. Participants at rest, so exercise can’t explain the result.
LimitationsScope of the evidence
Measurements were taken at rest. Increases in skin temperature and red blood cell flux are physiological observations; this study alone does not establish effects on pain, inflammation or performance.
The study measured circulation and skin temperature at rest. It did not measure pain, inflammation, recovery time or performance.