Athletic Tape Uses

Athletic tape is any type of tape designed to be used on the human body to support joints, bones, muscles and other structures within the body. Athletic taping can help reduce the chances of injury by supporting the body and is an important part of preparing for competition and treating injuries in many sports.

  1. Joint Support

    • One of the primary uses of athletic tape is to support joints, giving them additional rigidity and resistance to strains. Injured joints can benefit from taping since immobilization can help keep athletes from bending the joint in ways that could exacerbate the injury or cause pain. Commonly taped joints include the wrists and ankles. Tape is also used to support and immobilize fingers, especially in sports like basketball where finger injuries are common. When taping a joint, standard white athletic tape is typically used. A pre-wrap can be applied so that tape does not stick directly the skin, and then tape is wrapped around the joint. Tape jobs can be complex, consisting of many different strips and loops, or they can simply consist of one continuous length of tape that wraps around the joint several times.

    Chronic Pain

    • Athletic tape can be used to help alleviate chronic pain from conditions like tendinitis and other problems to connective tissue. For instance, the Mayo Clinic states that athletic taping is a potential treatment for plantar fasciitis, a common ailment that can cause debilitating pain in the arch of the foot and the heel. Tape can also be used to help support the patellas or kneecaps for those with knee problems.

    Hand Wrapping

    • Athletic tape can be used for wrapping hands to provide cushioning and rigidity in sports like boxing, kickboxing and mixed martial arts. Fighters often wrap their hands with tape prior to button-on gloves to help prevent injuries like broken hands. Hand wrapping with tape can also help protect against abrasions when training with punching bags.

    Kinesio Tape

    • Kinesio is a special type of athletic tape that can be applied directly to the skin without wrapping back onto itself in order to support the body. According the New York Times, the tape can be used to guide injured muscles and joints without limiting the athlete’s range of motion. This type of tape is common among elite athletes that need to compete at a high level as a way to limit the effects of injury or potential injuries without interfering with performance.