REVIEW
Circular wrist tape – How to correctly use this technique in climbing and boulderingCircular wrist tape – Korrekte Anwendung im Kletter- und Bouldersport

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orthtr.2017.09.012Get rights and content

Summary

Rock climbing with its several sub-disciplines is currently gaining in popularity and was recently selected to be part of the next Olympic summer games in Tokyo. The rapid increase in people being enthusiastic about this sport and the rising number of high-level athletes has recently slightly shifted the incidence of climbing specific injuries and we nowadays see more injuries of the wrist. A technique commonly used to treat or prevent injuries of the wrist is the circular wrist tape. As athletes regularly apply this tape inaccurately, we now aimed to clarify how to correctly use this technique by reviewing literature.

Zusammenfassung

Die Trendsportart Klettern mit ihren Unterdisziplinen Bouldern, Lead, und Speedklettern erfährt momentan weltweit einen enormen „Boom“. Nicht zuletzt deshalb wurde sie nun erstmals in das olympische Programm der nächsten olympischen Sommerspiele aufgenommen. Die explosionsartige Zunahme der begeisterten Sportler führte unlängst zu einer Verschiebung der sportartspezifischen Verletzungsmuster; da immer mehr Athleten den Sport am oberen Schwierigkeitslimit betreiben, häufen sich unlängst Verletzungen im Bereich des Handgelenkes. Eine hierfür häufig verwendete Therapieform ist das Circular Wrist Tape. Da diese Tape-Technik in den meisten Fällen aber unzulänglich verwendet wird, soll in der nun vorliegenden Arbeit Klarheit anhand einer Literaturrecherche zum Cicular wrist tape geschaffen werden.

Section snippets

Background

Climbing related injuries of the wrist and the forearm are nowadays seen more frequently than in the past with the rising number of people being enthusiastic about this sport. As more and more athletes perform the sport on a level which was reached by only a few top athletes in the past, injuries like hamate fractures or other pathologies of the wrist become more common. Besides that, modern training- and competition setups include more gymnastic elements and movements for which a variety of

Wrist taping and strength

Taping of the fingers and the wrist is often used by athletes (e.g. football players) to “increase grip strength” and to give a subjective feeling of stabilization within the wrist [12]. However, in their study published in 1997, Rettig et al. could prove that circular wrist tape, with or without additional taping of the fingers, does not increase wrist strength [12]. Contrary to the perceptions of the athletes, Takahashi et al. even showed that tight circular wrist tape can even slightly

Instability of the wrist in climbing

Patients suffering from instability feeling in the wrist or unspecific wrist pain are often diagnosed with injuries of the ligaments and capsules or even with bone marrow edema of the carpal bones or carpal fractures [8], [4]. The pain and discomfort mainly arises in radial/ulnar abducted positions of the hand or while performing an undercling (position of the hand in maximum supination) [8], [4].

During climbing or bouldering, the majority of thenar and hypothenar muscular strength is

Anatomy and biomechanics

Lately there has been confusion about proper terminology of two structures covering the nerval structures, muscles and tendons within the wrist: “flexor retinaculum of the wrist” and “transverse carpal ligament”. Besides these two terms, authors used other titles such as “flexor retinaculum carpi” or “carpal palmar ligament”. In their anatomical study from 2010, Stecco et al. therefore tried to identify differences and “define appropriate terminology” [17]. As the authors could highlight clear

Taping technique

Commonly used tapes for climbing are rigid (non-elastic) tapes like Leukoplast® hospital (BSN medical, Hamburg – Germany). Unlike finger tapes, where thin strips of tapes are used [14], wider tapes are recommended for circular wrist tape [18]. As climbers need stability within the wrist but also a high level of flexibility, we therefore recommend tape stripes of ∼2.5 cm. This width allows rise of pressure within the carpal with preserved flexibility of the wrist (Fig. 1). Due to the fact that

Conclusion

Circular wrist tape can add beneficial effects like a feeling of increased stability or “strengthening” of the wrist and the hand when performed correctly. Based on anatomical circumstances and expertise from our clinical studies, we recommend a very distal and initially tight (multiple-layer) application of the tape. In cases of discomfort under circular wrist tape, the patient should be disadvised from this supporting technique.

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