It isn’t uncommon for people to want to stay active and healthy, engaging in sports or going to the gym is an important part of many people’s lifestyle. Yet engaging in certain activities sometimes comes with a risk of injury, with one of the most common areas of injury being the wrist. So let’s find out how wrist taping can help with these problems.
Sports, Wrist Injuries, and Wrist Taping
According to the Journal of Orthapaedic Surgery and Research approximately 25% of all sports-related injuries involve the hand or wrist. These injuries vary depending on the sport but have been found to be more common in adolescents rather than adults.
Another article on ScienceDirect discusses the epidemiology of hand and wrist injuries in sports and mentions that these injuries are common in different types of sports such as American football, hockey, gymnastics, racquet sports (tennis, badminton, table tennis, etc.), and golf. The types of injuries also vary, ranging from trauma fractures to stress and overuse injuries.
Benefits of Wrist Taping
With the prevalence of wrist and hand injuries in sporting activities, it is important to take preventative measures and avoid injury. Using specialized tapes and wraps can help with this, and assist your wrists and hands too depending on the sports activity you’re engaging in.
- Treating Sprains – Sprains such as “jammed finger” are the most common hand and wrist injuries. Using specialized tape such as KT tape or athletic tape to wrap and stabilize the affected area may assist in a speedier recovery.
- Injury Prevention – Using specialized tape such as Kinesiology Tape for injury prevention has become a common practice. Utilizing tape helps stabilize joints and provide extra support, which is not just true for athletes.
A study published in 2021, researched the effects of wrist taping combined with stabilization exercises on pregnant women suffering from wrist pain and found that “wrist stabilization exercise combined with taping is effective in reducing the degree of pain and disability…”.
- Assists Pain Reduction – More serious injuries such as De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis often cause pain and discomfort to the individual, but studies such as this one, conducted by the İzmir Tepecik Training and Research Hospital, Clinic of Orthopaedics and Traumatology found that “kinesiologic taping is a cheap, effective, and easy to implement treatment method with no complications, and thus a good alternative in the conservative treatment of de Quervain’s tenosynovitis.”
Using special tapes to assist treatment reduces pain in multiple ways. Special tapes apply pressure to the affected areas, but they also increase circulation and decrease inflammation allowing for better blood flow.
Our Thoughts On Wrist Taping
A popular technique for preventing hand and wrist injuries is wrist taping. Regardless of the sport, hand and wrist injuries account for about 25% of all sports-related injuries. By stabilizing joints and adding extra support, wrist taping can help treat sprains, such as “jammed finger,” and prevent further injuries. Based on a few studies, pregnant women and athletes both saw significant pain reduction when wrist stability exercises and tape were combined. It also serves as an inexpensive, efficient, and simple treatment option for more severe ailments like De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis by reducing pain.
If you want to know more about sports and athletic taping, read our articles “Taping: A Beginners Guide” and “The Types of Sports Medicine Tapes: Bandages & Their Properties” or learn more from our blog here.
Disclaimer
GulfPhysio.com and all of its content are for informational purposes only. All information is believed to be accurate at the time of posting and should NOT be construed as professional medical advice. Please seek a medical professional in the event of pain or injury.
