How to Strap a Wrist – For such a delicate joint, your wrist can be subject to an excessive amount of force. Discover how to correctly strap your wrist to prevent injury and relieve pain.

You use your hands everyday – even for things you don’t think about, like falling. When people fall they often automatically throw out their hand to break the fall. Sometimes, the impact can be too much for the wrist to handle.

If you bend your wrist back too far you can stretch, and sometimes, painfully tear the ligaments around the joint. When a wrist injury strikes, it’s important to know how to strap a wrist.

Falling onto an outstretched hand is the most common cause of wrist injuries. In sports like cycling, skateboarding or snowboarding where you fall onto a hard surface, the risk of wrist injuries is especially high.

Some other common causes of wrist injuries include:

• Poor lifting or punching technique while weight lifting or boxing
• Repetitive strain or overuse when performing manual wrist work like hammering, using a screw driver or simply typing
• A strong blow that twists the wrist and the surrounding ligaments

When the correct techniques are followed, wrist strapping can:

• Help your wrist injury heal
• Facilitate an earlier return to sport or activity following an injury
• Reduce the likelihood of you aggravating an injury
• Prevent wrist injuries

a. Apply one anchor strip around your forearm and one around your palm using Elastoplast’s Elastic Adhesive Bandage.
b. Apply two strips of Elastoplast Rigid Strapping Tape between each anchor in an X formation:
i. On the palm side of your wrist to help prevent hyperextension.
ii. On the back of your wrist to help to prevent hyperflexion.
c. Apply more rigid tape in a figure eight. Place a strip of tape over your palm anchor, go through your thumb and index finger to the back of your hand, and continue around the bottom of your hand to your wrist.
d. Cover the area below your thumb with more rigid tape
e. Using Elastoplast’s Elastic Adhesive Bandage, finish with three last figure eights to completely cover all the rigid tape.

You need someone to help you.
Hold your arm out in front with your palm facing down and gently let your hand hang downwards.

Ask your helper to:

a. Cut a single length of Elastoplast’s Kinesio Tape in half short ways with rounded corners.
b. Holding the ends of one strip with both hands, stretch out the middle.
c. Apply the middle over the top of your wrist joint and gently secure the ends under each side.
d. Repeat step (a, b and c) but apply the tape on the underside of your wrist.
e. Anchor another single strip of kinesio tape on the top of your hand, gently stretch the strip towards your shoulder and secure it on the forearm just near your elbow. Smooth the middle of the strip onto your arm.

For further information regarding Elastoplast products, please contact us via email on anz.consumerservices@beiersdorf.com. Carefully read the instructions for use given in our products’ packages.