Taping is not just used to prevent injury, but also in the treatment of injury. Taping for isolation of injury is about reducing pain during exercise and preventing further injury as the athlete is rehabilitated and begins to return to play.

Many common sports injuries benefit from taping as part of the treatment. Injuries such as sprained ankles, patellofemoral syndrome, sprained knees, fingers, thumbs and wrists all benefit from taping during rehabilitation and early return to play.

The goals of taping in the treatment of injury include:

  • limit range of motion
  • provide proprioceptive feedback to stimulate muscles for stability
  • increase stability of the joint
  • shift anatomic parts into the correct position e.g. patella
  • compress soft tissue to reduce inflammation

Evaluate the role taping plays in the treatment of injury

Taping helps reduce the occurrence of re-injury as the athlete returns to play. It reduces the range of motion at the joint, provides structural support by increasing the stability of the joint and provides feedback for the athlete before pain. Taping can be used to for patellofemoral syndrome, reducing pain and helping align the patella properly. It is also used in dressing wounds, by applying pressure to reduce inflammation and bleeding, such as for a laceration on the hand sustained during an ice-hockey match.

Once again their are limitations (see preventative taping) but overall taping plays a key role in the treatment of injury.

Further reading on taping

For further reading on taping and injury prevention see Taping and bracing of the knee and ankle presented by Elizabeth A. Arendt, M.D. for the American College of Sports Medicine accessed at http://forms.acsm.org/2014ATPC/PDFs/25%20Arendt.pdf