Introduction
Taping is a relatively new procedure for treating joints and muscles after injuries, but also for preventing injuries. Ultimately, any joint or muscle can be taped to give it the necessary stability. Especially when fingers or hands as well as arms are heavily strained during sports, the taping method is used.
The skin can also be protected by taping. During sports such as basketball or volleyball, as well as tennis or table tennis, not only the joints of the fingers are put under a lot of strain, but also the skin of the fingers is stressed by the ball and racket contact. Taping techniques are used very successfully in these cases.
Especially as a preventive measure to protect the skin, the taping process is used to protect skin areas on fingers and joints. In volleyball and tennis, the fingers that are exposed to particularly high friction are taped. Wrists are taped to prevent overstrain or to relieve already existing overstrain.
Instructions for the fingertip
A kinesiotape is an elastic and self-adhesive tape that can be applied to any part of the body. Tapes are usually stuck over a muscle that needs to be protected or is overstressed. Often very large areas of muscles are treated, which are located at larger joints of the body.
But also large muscle plates, such as those found in the area of the back, can be relieved by a taping procedure. For fingertapping rather small adhesive strips are used. Here it is also possible to cut a kinesiotape beforehand.
When taping a finger, the elastic tape should be applied to the skin or joint area that is to be taped. It is important that the skin is dry and that the tape is not applied under tension to the affected area. The tape becomes self-adhesive by light pressure and rubbing.
A tape can remain on the affected skin area for several days or even weeks. When fingertapping, it is removed immediately after the sports unit if it was intended purely for skin relief (ball sports etc). If it has been applied to relieve finger joints and ligaments, it can remain on the affected area until the complaints have subsided. Kinesiotapes can now be bought in any sports store or can be prescribed by an orthopedist or sports physician. In some cases, the health insurance company also covers the costs.
