As a freshman at Washington State University Jim Wallis saw a chance to combine an interest in medicine with his passion for sports by majoring in Physical Education with an emphasis in Athletic Training and teaching credentials for grades 7-12.

Today, with a masters degree from the University of Arizona in his back pocket, Wallis finds himself the longest tenured athletic trainer at an Oregon state-run school (19 years) with a staff which has grown from 3/4 of one position to three full time trainers, plus four graduate assistants in the health and exercise science masters program. All are certified athletic trainers responsible for the physical well-being of 350 PSU student athletes.

He’s also the foremost US expert and advocate on the Kinesio Taping Technique, which reduces the need for chemical anti-inflammatory and pain killing drugs in certain injuries and conditions, and a best-selling authorof a book he co-authored with Kinesio taping technique inventor Dr. Kenzo Kase and his son Tsuyoshi Kase (perhaps not on the New York Times best sellers list, but more than 16,200 copies isn’t bad for book on the philosophy and practice of taping) .

“We’re responsible for anything medically relating to our student athletes. We evaluate injuries and decide if there’s need for a doctor (unless doctors are present as at football and basketball games and soccer and wrestling matches), then we co-ordinate rehabilitation and decide when the athlete can return to his or her sport,” said Wallis.

For some injuries, the decision to return isn’t always clear cut. Wallis said it’s often made in conjunction with coaches and the athlete. He and his staff are the student athletes’ advocate, always trying to take the long view on injuries.

“If you’re talking about concussions or heart concerns, there’s no debate. Physicians are the final word on participation. In their absence, a certified athletic training makes the final decision. But for some other things, we may explain the long term potential for problems and let the student athlete make the decision from there,” he said.

Given the pressures by athletes who want to play and the potential for disappointment from a coach whose needs the best athletes to play, Wallis said he’s very appreciative that he’s always had administrative and coaching support for his decisions.

“The way the system is set up, the athletic trainer is the gate. At big time sports schools where coaches are making many times what trainers make and under overwhelming pressure to win, there’s the potential for conflict in the grey area...not in important potentially life altering situation...but in some of the areas which involve judgement calls,” he said.

Besides athletes being bigger and stronger than when he began his career in athletic training in 1979, Wallis said treatment modalities, surgical techniques and rehabilitation knowledge have come a long way. Today there are better techniques to reduce swelling such as electrical stimulation machines and compression pumps that reduce the amount of liquid which forms around an injury and help that liquid which does occur to leave the area faster.

Then there’s the Kinesio Taping Technique to which he was introduced in 1994 when Milan Svododa, former Phyc\sical Education Department chair, asked Wallis to substitute for him by giving the keynote address at the Japanese Society for Judo Therapists.

“Dr Svoboda had Japanese contacts which lead to that invitation and he thought the topic they wanted to hear about–Athletic Training in the US-- better suited me. While there, I was acquainted with the work of Dr. Kenzo Kase (pronounced kawsee), who developed the Kinesio Taping Technique” said Wallis.

The Kinesio Taping technique utilizes a special tape and wrapping application which reduces pain, reduces inflamation, enhances muscle function and helps facilitate joint movement.

“It’s an elastic tape which, when applied to the skin, creates tension and stimulation providing information that the body reacts to. It’s designed to mimic your skin. It acts like another layer of skin being applied,” Wallis said.

It is a “very different way to use tape. Most taping techniques are used to assist or restrict movement. This tape is less effective in the traditional sense, but it can be used for that purpose. It’s worn for three to four days, not for just a short time and then replaced as with other traditional taping,” said Wallis.

Although it doesn’t replace pain and inflamation reducing medicine, it allows therapists to use less of those drugs.

Shortly after Wallis’ 1994 speech, Dr. Kase contacted Wallis about helping him introduce the new technique and tape to the US. Wallis arranged for him to speak to an athletic trainers meeting in Portland.

One thing led to another and Wallis decided to try the taping technique with a few PSU athletes who weren’t responding well to typical treatment. He obtained positive results which couldn’t be explained by anything else. If that hadn’t happened, “I wouldn’t have become involved,” Wallis said. In 1995, there were 40 rolls of Kinesio tape used in the US, in 2007, there were 49,000 rolls used per month.

Impressed with the results of Dr. Kase’s work, Wallis also helped him introduce the technique to the Seattle Seahawks and Mariners at the invitation of their head athletic trainers. Then, Dr. Kase asked Wallis to co-author Clinical Therapy Applications for the Kinesio Taping Method (which, to date has sold 16,600 copies–not New York Best Seller quantity, but not bad for book on taping), one of several works he has authored or co-authored on the subject.

Although written in English and translated into Japanese, Wallis believes it’s used in most of the 68 countries where athletic trainers and other health professionals have adopted the technique.

Wallis has been involved in training all of the 35 or so active Kinesio method teachers in the US. Every year, he does an athletic training workshop with the Japan Athletic Training Association for Certification at Portland State. This is an outgrowth of his initial presentation in Japan. The workshop involves an average of 20-25 participants learning about athletic training and strength and conditioning.

As a student who wanted to mix medicine and sports, Wallis said he had no idea that he’d become an international expert and best selling author. “The last 10 to 11 years have been quite a ride. It’s interesting...you meet one person and you have no idea where that might go.”