Emma is a volleyball player and a consistent user of finger tapes, for a good reason. These attributes are not peculiar to Emma alone. In fact, most of her fellow volleyball players wear tape on their fingers as well.
Why does Emma tape her fingers? Is finger taping only specific to volleyballers? Why should anyone else tape their fingers? The answers to all these questions lie in the rest of this article.
A notable set of people use finger tapes very often; they are the athletes involved in grappling or contact sports. Volleyballers fall under this category as well. Other sports include judo, football, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, rock climbing, Jujutsu, and kickboxing.
Most of these sportsmen and women use it for protection, which can be necessary when considering the nature of their activities.
Minor injuries to our knees and elbows are commonplace to a lot of us. Finger injuries are quite rare for those not actively engaging in sports.
However, finger injuries are not uncommon for athletes like rock climbers and volleyballers. To protect themselves from the seemingly inevitable, these athletes use finger tape.
Finger taping involves applying some strips of athletic tape to the fingers, keeping them in a stable position. Some athletic tapes, like the Hampton Adams 8-pack of Black Finger Tape, are explicitly designed for the fingers. You can decipher this by looking at their length and width.
Rock climbers can wrap this around their fingers in a protective fashion to prevent their hands from cuts and rips. Rock climbers sometimes have to shove their hands in different cracks and crevices. They may also have to hold on to some dangerously jagged rock pieces to avoid losing their grip. This leads to a ridiculously high number of finger injuries.
Using finger tape can help reduce these injuries or even minimize the intensity of the injuries that they manage to sustain.
For footballers and volleyballers, their protection may come differently. These athletes constantly try to push, catch, shove and throw. It is not impossible to, under the tense environment, hyperextend or hyperflex their fingers. Their fingernails are also at so much risk from all the catching and throwing. Volleyball players can hit their fingers on a ball quite hard.
Wearing finger tape can help to remind them to keep their movements in check. It can also help them protect their fingernails from avoidable injuries. It all depends on the application technique they employ. We will discuss some of these techniques below. For now, however, what else can finger tapes do?
Another function finger tapes can perform is the provision of support. For volleyballers, this may translate to an extra layer of strength. Taping their fingers can provide them with much-needed musculoskeletal support. In this case, they often use the buddy taping technique, which would be explained extensively in a bit.
For climbers and martial artists, this support may mean increased grip strength. Using finger tape can increase the friction between their fingers and whatever surface they are trying to hold on to.
When it comes to rock climbers, this can be exceedingly important for success in their sport. Footballers, linesmen especially, also have a lot to gain from this function. This is because they are in vulnerable positions that expose them to a lot of possible injuries. A little extra support can never go amiss on the field.
Finger taping can also be used to speed up recovery, support healing fingers, and prevent aggravation of an injury. When you sprain a finger, it is usually swollen and painful. Taping the finger can help reduce pain and inflammation through some intricate mechanisms.
It can also protect the said finger from further injury by protecting it from harsh conditions. Buddy-taping the finger can help prevent it from overworking by stabilizing it with an uninjured finger.
What are the features of quality tape? What should you look out for when you want to purchase finger tape? In the next few lines, we will be using Hampton Adams BJJ finger tape as an example of what excellent finger tape should look and feel like.
Features of Hampton Adams Finger Tape
Although Hampton Adams finger tape is called BJJ tape, it is perfect for all types of grappling and hand-contact sports. Here are some of its most defining features:
- One of the best things about Hamptons Adams finger tape is that it is made specifically for the fingers. While this may sound like it means you have to purchase another tape for other parts of your body, it is definitely a pro. Being specific allows us to focus on the minor details that are only distinct to the fingers and how we can maximize our product to accommodate these details.
- Our finger tape is also made of quality hypoallergenic and medical-grade materials. Our production process is also worthy of note. The use of quality synthetic materials ensures that our tape is very comfortable on the fingers and is easy to move around in. While protecting your fingers, our BJJ tape keeps you comfortable and allows you to keep at what you love doing.
- Our tape is made of cotton, high-quality adhesive, and other latex-free materials. The absence of latex reduces the risk of infections, reactions, and rashes. Latex is a common allergen that we have eliminated in all our products.
- Our tape is very adhesive and strong and does not leave behind a sticky residue. This is very worthy of note when you consider how many tapes leave behind sticky goo on your skin after removal. Our tape keeps your skin safe and residue-free. The glue on our tape is also moisture-resistant, which means it can stay on for as long as you want to unless you are ready to. This makes it very suitable to withstand many harsh conditions that come with a lot of contact sports.
- Our tape is designed and inspired by a BJJ black belt. Hence, you can rest assured that a lack of experience is not something we are battling in our production process. We are well aware of what works and what does not when it comes to finger tapes.
- Our tape is comfortable but not elastic. This is to allow for firmness and maximum compression. Adequate compression is required for effectiveness when it comes to healing and support.
- Hampton Adams BJJ finger tape is very easy to apply and remove. Our pack of eight rolls, which is two more rolls than that of competitors, comes uncut but does not require a tape cutter. We have made our tape such that it is extremely easy to cut with your fingers and apply without stress. While on your skin, our tape will not tear in unwanted places or fray at the edges.
- Lastly, our tape is all-around strong and durable. Standing firmly behind this claim is our 60-day double money-back guarantee. If, for any reason, you are dissatisfied with our finger tape, you can return it within sixty days of purchase and get double your money back.
We have talked about the functions of finger tape and the features of a quality one. Let us move on to the application.
Applying Athletic Tape for Fingers
There are several ways of applying finger tape. The end always determines the means. This means the technique you employ depends on what you are trying to achieve by applying the tape.
When you are taping your fingers to provide support, add strength, or improve your grip, you can use the buddy taping technique. This technique involves taping an injured finger to an uninjured one. Here, the uninjured finger will serve as a sort of splint or support for the injured finger. When buddy taping, take care not to wrap your fingers too tightly, as this can affect your blood circulation. Lastly, when choosing the supporting finger, if there are two options, try both to see which is more comfortable.
Follow these steps for application:
- First of all, place a small piece of gauze between the fingers at the parts where they are likely to rub against each other. This reduces friction and, therefore, pain and irritation.
- Hold the fingers together with the gauze between them and start wrapping with the finger tape from the base. Keep wrapping until you reach the top.
- You can wrap an extra strip of finger tape separately around the joints.
- If you want to protect your fingernails as well, you can let the tape run over the tip.
When taping your fingers specifically for nail protection, follow these steps:
- Take a short strip of finger tape, approximately three inches in length.
- Start wrapping from the tip of your finger on the palm side. Pull the strip over your finger so that it covers your fingernail.
- Take another short length of tape and wrap it around the first strip to hold it in place.
Visit us at Hampton Adams to purchase all your finger tapes and other taping equipment.
