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Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Athletic Tape

Athletic Tape is a useful tool in a number of sports. Baseball and hockey players sometimes use it on their bats and hockey sticks, respectively, to improve their grips. More importantly, athletes can use athletic tape to stabilize weak or injured wrists, ankles and other body parts to prevent further injury. There are several issues to consider when using athletic tape, however. 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. The tape has many uses and a lot of athletes won't play without wearing it. It is typically applied to a muscle or joint to provide protection.

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. 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. Athletic tape can be used to help alleviate chronic pain from conditions like tendinitis and other problems to connective tissue. This 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. Sports athletes often use this tape to reinforce muscles and joints that get particularly rigorous workouts during a practice or a game. Any part of the body can be taped if it is sensitive due to a prior injury. The rigid structure of the tape can help protect the area from further damage. Certain muscles or joints may be taped if they are used extensively in the sport, such as the shin in the game of soccer.

Many athletes are so accustomed to using athletic tape that, regardless of its physical benefits, they are more confident in their activities knowing it is there. There is scant official evidence that athletic tape actually protects bones and muscles from the damage of high-impact sports, such as football. Applying tape directly to the feet and toes can help prevent blisters when running, hiking or playing a sport. The entire foot can be taped for particularly aggressive events, such as cross-country mountain hiking. Or you can just apply the tape to "hot spots" where blisters typically form, such as the heel, ball of the foot and the Achilles' tendon. It is important to apply the tape smoothly with no wrinkles, or the tape may cause the very symptom you are trying to prevent.

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