Athletic tapes are used in a lot of sports and not just for its primary purpose. Athletes use them basically to stabilize any injured or weakened part of the human body. Ankles and wrists are only a few areas that get beat up during play. In rather unorthodox ways, these tapes are also used on hockey sticks, baseball bats, and other equipment mainly to improve a player’s grip.
Types of Athletic Tape
You get to pick the type of tape you use depending on the need or specific purpose you intend to use it for. When you buy these tapes you may be asked whether you want an adhesive one or not. The brand of tape you use has nothing to do with the way the tape performs.
Adhesive tapes are usually the ones you get if you intend to use it to strengthen your grip on a particular piece of sporting equipment. If you intend to use an adhesive tape for protection and support of any body part, make sure that you are wrapping it on an area that is hair free. Not only will this type of tape be painful to remove, the absence of human hair on the skin will make the tape a lot easier to take off.
Material Used
These tapes are usually made of cotton, which basically allows your skin to breathe. As it stabilizes the joint or other affected area it also allows air to enter. This eventually prevents any form of moisture from building up. It also keeps out any bacteria that may cause an infection to the present injury.
However, do take note that even though these cotton tapes can last a while they will still require periodic replacement. If you are treating an injury and won’t be moving around that much, you will only replace the cotton tape every two days. However, if you intend to use it while engaging in any form of physical activity you will have to replace the tape about every two hours.
Uses of Athletic Tape
Athletic tapes are used to treat or prevent many forms of sports injuries. It is primarily used to wrap critical joints that are utilized in major movements in any sport. Ankles and knees are usually wrapped in cotton tape as an added protection during play. Knees or ankles don’t necessarily have to be injured but you can wrap them to prevent new injuries.
Most of the parts that may require wrapping or taping are the parts of the body that are prone to injury, such as your knee caps, Achilles tendon, hands, and elbows. Take note that the parts of your body that requires taping will need to be wrapped properly. Other than utilizing basic taping methods and athletic tape, you will also need elastic adhesive bandages to keep the tape in place. The body part that needs taping will depend on the sport an athlete engages.
Integral Part of a Player’s Preparation
Taping is an integral part of any player’s preparation before the start of a game or sporting event. Before wrapping, players use pre-wrap on the area where the tape will be placed. After that the actual tape, adhesive or not, will be wrapped on specific key areas of the body.
The tightness of the wrap will be checked and the tapes used for support should remain snug. They shouldn’t be so tight that it cuts off any sort of blood circulation. Once the support tapes are in place the rest of the joint or other part of the body will be taped. This will act as a form of protective sleeve for the player as the game ensues.
Known Issues
Since the brand of tape is never an issue, you can just buy any brand of athletic tape you can find in stores anywhere. If there is one issue purchasers will have, it would have to be the price in which these articles are sold. If you’re supplying for an entire team then it would be better to purchase your supplies in bulk so as to get a discount.