Have you ever seen athletes wearing red or blue V-shaped tape on their shoulders and knees? This athletic tape relieves and reduces muscular pain and inflammation. Reducing inflammation through compression is one of the best ways to recover quickly from a bothersome injury, which is precisely what athletic tape can provide.
What Can You Use Athletic Tape For?
Taping — or athletic taping used in performance-related activities — is an injured athlete’s go-to procedure. Athletic tape is an umbrella term for a variety of taping options, including kinesiology tape, which is known for its elasticity, and athletic adhesive tape, which offers a high level of compression.
Athletic Tapes Restricts Movement
Did you know that athletic tape provides compression, effectively limiting the motion of an injured muscle or joint? Compression will also help reduce swelling, which is why you see athletes getting wrapped with athletic adhesive tape when they sprain an ankle or a knee.
It’s not advisable to play through an injury, but if your doctor says it is safe, using an athletic tape can help lessen the pain that you may feel and reduce further risk of damage.
Athletic Tapes Help Avoid Injuries
You can also use athletic tape for injury prevention, as the added level of compression and stability prevents parts of your body from twisting or bending, which can reduce the risk of sprains, strains, or breaks. It is effective for areas where an injury is common or chronic.
Use bandages to wrap around an ankle, shoulder, or wrist to prevent injuries. But when you’re in sports or other performance-related activities, athletic tape is recommended because its elasticity allows a broader range of motion than traditional bandages.
Tips on How To Use Athletic Tape
Here are some tips that you need to know when using athletic tape.
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Only Place Tape on Healthy Skin
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When applying the athletic tape, make sure that you avoid areas where you have skin conditions such as open wounds, sunburns, eczema, or fresh scars.
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Don’t Cut Off Blood Circulatio
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Compression may be the best function of athletic tapes, but be careful not to place them too tightly, as they could cut blood circulation and produce numbness. If you feel that the tape is too tight, redo the taping and use a longer strand of athletic adhesive tape.
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- Cut the Tape into Pieces When Taking it Off
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- Never rip athletic tape off in one motion when you remove it, as that will be very painful and could damage the skin. If you want a pain-free method, you have to cut the tape off into small pieces as you take it off. It takes some time, but is less painful.
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Get Affordable Athletic Tapes at Simply Medical
Playing a sport, even just for fun, can expose you to injury risks. That’s one reason you should have athletic tape on hand, and you find affordable options at Simply Medical. With Simply Medical’s user-friendly website and helpful customer service, buying athletic tape has never been this easy!