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Exercises For Shoulder Pain.Com |
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Shoulder Taping
What is Shouder Taping?
Taping is the process of applying strips of adhesive material to the area surrounding a joint. This is done for a variety of reasons including both prevention, as well as cure.
High competition sports cause sports people to push their bodies regularly beyond the limits. Certain sports can demand repeated movements that pull the ligaments and muscles beyond the range they were built for. A good example, is the tennis serve, which puts tremendous pressure on the rotator cuff muscles of the shoulder, and the bursae.
Taping can force the joints not to overextend beyond what is harmful for them. Also, as the body receives feedback on which movements are being restricted, the tapes can be removed after the muscles have been 'trained'. Taping is also used extensively to aid in recovery, where further movement to an already damaged ligament may make the problem worse.
Think of taping as the side wheels on a bicycle you used to use as a kid to help you get your balance. The wheels don't allow you to fall, and at the same time, they provide you with feedback that gently suggests improvement, and soon, you can grow out of them.
How to Tape a Shoulder
When the shoulder is taped, the focus is usually on stabilizing the Acromioclavicular joint which is the junction between the tip of the shoulder and the collarbone. Taping is also used to stabilise the Rotator Cuff Muscles.
It is difficult, if not impossible to properly apply a shoulder tape all by yourself. A typical shoulder taping requires several large strips of tape in various positions. Here is a sample step by step shoulder taping procedure:
1. Take a strip of tape, and paste it vertically from your back to the front of your chest, ensuring that it covers the bony point/tip of your shoulder, which is the AC joint. Keep the tension in the tape to a medium level. Not loose, and not too tight either. Follow this up with another strip just next to it, to reinforce the first one.
2. Next, take another strip, and paste it perpendicular to the first one, starting at the shoulder, down your arm, around the elbow, and back up to where it started. Again, make this somewhat taut, but not too much.
3. The next strip circles your arm over the second tape around the biceps, which must be kept tight while they are being circled around. This allows the biceps to contract without causing discomfort.
4. Finally, strip away all the tape below the 3rd strip, down to the elbow. That part was necessary only until the 3rd strip was in place.
When to see a Physical Therapist
It's important to remember that though a shoulder taping can help, a professional can apply it much better, after examining the specific issue that you are facing. Also, if there is tremendous pain, you should definitely get it checked out.
These are not problems that you can handle yourself. It is imperative that you get to a doctor, or a physical therapist immediately. If your problems still continue even after applying the tape, and you feel that it's not helping, you need to go to a therapist as soon as you can.
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