
Introduction to Taping and Bracing Acute Care Lab Spring ‘10 Krzyzanowicz
Why this class? • Taping is a major part of the athletic trainers’ skill set • Not the only thing! (“old school vs. new school”) • Anyone can learn how to tape • Must know you anatomy • Purpose of which the tape is applied • Taping can be fun and very creative
Basic Terms • Anatomical Position • Arms at the sides, palms facing forwards • Axial plane • Cuts you in half, top to bottom • Sagittal plane • Cuts you straight down the middle of your nose • Coronal plane • Cuts you from ear to ear entire way down
Basic Info • Distal- • Further away • Proximal- • Closer to • For each joint we will learn the proper terminology for the movement of the joint • The taping/wrapping techniques we will go over support and protect injury to • Bones • Ligament • Tendons • Muscles • Nerves • joints
Role of Taping/Bracing • To prevent injury or to facilitate and injured athletes’ return to play • Should limit abnormal or excessive movement of the injured joint
Purposes of Taping • Support the ligaments and capsule of unstable joints by limiting excessive or abnormal movement • Enhance proprioceptive feedback from the limb or joint • Support injuries to the muscle-tendon units by compressing and limiting movement • Secure protective pads, dressings or splints
Types of Tape • Non-elastic tape and cloth • Provides optimal joint support to restrict movement (basic white tape) • Elastic Tape and Wraps • Support body parts that require a great degree of movement (shoulder, hamstring, hip) • After an acute injury
Types of Tape • Elastic tape • Ace Wraps
Types of Tape • Protective devices in combo with tape/wrap • Protective splints and pads are secured using these types of tape/wraps • Help to protect or dissipateforces away from the injured area
Athletic Braces • There are hundreds of different braces. We will go over bracing at each specific joint when we cover them
Knowing the Sport • Most governing athletic associations (NCAA) regulate the degree of restriction you can provide through tape • Football player with a cast • Wrestling • Knowing what position the athlete plays can help understand what type of tape job is needed • Knowing the injury mechanism and its underlying anatomical structure is crucial to a proper tape job
How to tear tape • DO NOT use your teeth • DO NOT set the tape down after each tear • Do hold your fingers close together and pull in opposing directions • Let’s practice!
Summary • Know you anatomy as well as why and what you are taping for • Prevention, protection, etc • Understanding the rules of the sport help in determining which tape job to use • This class will be almost all hands on- don’t get frustrated at first, you will get better at taping as the semester goes on!