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Ancient warriors had armor. We get tape.
We all need a little support sometimes. And whether you're a serious athlete, a weekend warrior, or just trying to stay in shape, athletic tapes can come in handy. Athletic tape provides support to spots that sprain easily during exercise, like your ankles. Some trainers use tape as a preventive measure, others only after an injury has occurred.
Designed to be tough, athletic tape comes in many widths and varieties. Adhesive, nonadhesive, cotton, moisture-resistant, elastic -- these are all attributes that help define the right athletic tape for your situation. Usually applied just before activity and taken off just after, athletic tapes help you exercise at your top potential 365 days a year.
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Taping Can Be Tricky
Think of all the appliances and remote controls around your house held together with tape. Is taping up your body any different? Not really. The body is like an imperfect, fallible machine that needs tape once in a while when it can't stop and has to keep working.
Taping up your body is not as simple as taping broken glasses together -- there are a number of special techniques. You are best off seeking the advice of a seasoned trainer or healthcare provider.
Take Your Pick
There are three basic categories of athletic tape: pre-wrap tape, adhesive tape, and elastic adhesive tape.
- You apply pre-wrap tape under adhesive tape to protect your skin from any irritation that can occur by placing skin in direct contact with other tapes.
- Pre-wrap or underwrap tape should be thin, light, breathable and non-adhesive.
- Non-elastic adhesive tape is used to tape up injuries.
- Elastic adhesive tape is woven with elastic and is used for certain methods of taping.
- The main purpose of adhesive tape is to push fluids that can collect around an injured area upwards to prevent swelling and provide compression and stability.
- Tape also restricts movement to prevent further injury.
- When used correctly, adhesive tape can also pull the skin away from the injured area to encourage increased circulation of fluids and blood in the injured area.
- Tape is not meant to take the place of medical advice, braces, or other support devices. Most athletes use tape just before a game and remove the tape immediately afterward to receive proper medical attention.
- Consult a physical therapist, doctor, or coach on proper taping technique.
Shopping for Tape
- Athletic tape is available at pharmacies and sporting goods stores.
- Coaches, athletic trainers, and physical therapists are good people to ask for advice regarding tape and taping as they have the most experience experimenting with the variety of products on the market.
- A high-quality tape should not leave excessive adhesive residue on your skin upon removal.
- Depending on the part of the body that needs to be taped, you may need tape of a particular durability, elasticity and strength.
- Consider waterproof tape if you plan to come in contact with water frequently.
- When shopping, consider whether or not you prefer easily-tearable tape. If your injury makes it difficult for you to tape yourself, you may want to get tape that can be torn by hand rather than tape that requires scissors.
- Natural fibers are preferred, as they allow for more breathability.
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Reasons To Use Tape
- Athletic tape is used to stabilize and compress injured tissues.
- Tape is considered a temporary method of stabilization and compression and is not intended for long-term use.
- The method of taping is as important as the tape itself.
- Do some research on which method fits your needs and your injury best.
What Does Using Tape Do?
- Athletic tape acts in a number of ways depending on your taping method and purpose.
- Tape can restrict movement of the injured limb to prevent further injury.
- Compression resulting from tape wrapped around the injured area prevents swelling but can also reduce circulation to the injured site, which can hinder healing.
- Tape can also adhere to the skin and pull it away from the muscle to create space for fluids and blood to reach the injury.
How to Tape Up an Injury
- Always seek the advice of a professional before taping up an injury on your own. There are many taping techniques and your particular injury will most likely need a taping technique that is tailored to treat it.
- To reduce hair loss and pain when removing tape, try shaving hair in the injured area before taping.
- Be sure the skin is clean and dry. Applying athletic tape to damp skin will affect its adhesive qualities and may cause skin rashes or irritation.
Wrapping with Non-Elastic Tape
- Using non-elastic tape, begin wrapping a swollen ankle by winding the tape around your ankle, beginning at mid calf and winding the tape around your leg down to your ankle.
- Start on the non-injured side and move up toward the injured side.
- In the event of damage to a muscle (versus ligaments or joints) stretch the skin that covers the damaged muscle by stretching the affected muscle.
Wrapping with Elastic Tape
- Apply the elastic athletic tape to an injured muscle without stretching the tape. Stretch the injured muscle and run the tape from the beginning of the muscle (where it meets the bone) to where it ends (where it meets the bone at the other end).
- The tape should shrink in the direction that the injured muscle contracts.
- When you unstretch the damaged muscle, the tape will appear bunched up, as will the skin. This is the desired affect.
- If the injury is to a ligament or a joint (cartilage) apply the elastic athletic tape stretched rather than unstretched.
- The point here is to pull the skin away from the muscle so that blood and fluids can circulate freely between the skin and muscle and aid rehabilitation.
How to Treat Sore or Damaged Muscles When at Rest
- If you must be taped in order to participate in athletic activity, it is absolutely essential that you follow a very rigorous rehabilitation plan to get back in shape.
- When you are not taped, make sure your injury receives proper support to prevent further damage.
- Support is available in a variety of forms, from simple self-treatment by wrapping with athletic bandages to more serious therapy involving the use of an athletic support device.
- While proper treatment will vary greatly from injury to injury and person to person, in general, there are four things your injury will need from you: elevation, compression, ice, and rest.
- Immediately after activity, elevate your injured limb to reduce swelling.
- Ice the injured area. Never place ice directly on the skin. If ice is not in an ice bag, put a cloth between the ice and your skin. (Note: Be careful of artificial ice since it gets colder). Numbness is to be expected; however, do not leave on for more than 20 minutes since the opposite effect will occur if left on too long. Lack of any sensitivity, change in skin texture, blisters and/or a burning feeling suggests that you are icing too much -- remove the ice immediately and consult a physician.
- If you cannot elevate your limb, make sure the injured area receives proper compression from a support device or an athletic bandage. Do not wrap too tightly as circulation is necessary for recovery.
- Get some rest! Repetitive stress on your injury will aggravate it, make it worse, and slow recovery time.
- Use caution and common sense when using pain relievers. Pain is your body's way of communicating to you. Pain can be suggestive of anything from normal aches associated with exercise to serious injury that requires surgery.
- Relying too heavily on pain relievers disables your body's ability to communicate with you. Give yourself intervals in between pain reliever use when you don't use anything at all. This will reacquaint you with your injury.
When You Might Need an Athletic Trainer
- If you injure yourself frequently or are very active in sports, you might want to consider using the services of an athletic trainer.
- Taping should only be done by an informed coach or athletic trainer. Keep in mind that athletic trainers should work under the supervision of doctors and should never offer their services to you alone.
- Athletic trainers aid you in managing your injuries and helping you heal. Trainers should be the ones to apply tape prior to playing. Don't try to do it yourself.
- Trainers should be able to help you identify habits or behaviors that may be contributing to your injury. Together, you and your trainer should come up with conditioning programs.
- Trust is an important part of your relationship with your trainer as you rely on her or him to tell you when it is or is not safe for you to continue athletic activity. Make sure you take this into account when choosing a trainer.
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Tape Is Not Always the Answer
- Athletic tape is only a temporary measure to be used when active rehabilitation is not possible. As soon as the injured limb is able to rest, remove the athletic tape and take proper care of the injury.
- Particularly when using the non-elastic athletic taping method, carefully weigh your choices. Taping moves fluid up and away from the injured area and reduces swelling. However it also reduces circulation and inhibits repair.
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Websites, Organizations & Manufacturers
Sources & Further Reading
Books
- 1. American Medical Association.The American Medical Association: Guide to your family's symptoms. Washington, D.C.: American Pharmaceutical Association 1992.
- 2. Fauci, Anthony S. et al. Eds. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 14th ed. New York: MacGraw Hill 1998.
Find more books on health and wellness at  barnesandnoble.com.
Articles
- 1. Rahman, Shireen."Sportin' slips: how to prevent and care for sports injuries". Diabetes Forecast; Vol. 48 1/1/1995.
- 2. Schwade, Steve."Bandage wrap-up". Prevention; Vol. 46 6/1/1994.
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