Can diabetic patients undergo taping after being injured during exercise?

Sports taping is very popular in the field of sports. By taping, the injured part can be supported and the healing of the injury can be accelerated. Early taping can also allow athletes to return to training or competition as soon as possible.

Before taping, be sure to determine whether there is a history of allergy to the patch. Then, we need to clarify what the purpose of taping is? We can use SUPPORT to evaluate the purpose of taping.

SUPPORT Purpose of taping

• Swelling: When injured, tissues become inflamed and swollen. By taping and using appropriate pads to apply pressure, the accumulation of body fluids in the injured area (such as edema) can be reduced, accelerating tissue repair.

• Undue stress: For injured muscles or joints, we can use taping to disperse the pressure and prevent excessive pressure from causing the injured area to deteriorate faster.

• Protection: The injured area may have bruises, blisters, abrasions, cuts and other problems. The use of gaskets or lubricants can assist in protection.

• Pain: Taping is used to support the injured part and control the range of motion of the joint to reduce pain.

• Optimal: Adjust muscles or joints to maintain an ideal range of motion, achieve appropriate local compression, accelerate recovery, and avoid further injury.

• Rehabilitation: Different taping techniques are used at different stages (acute, subacute, recovery, return to play) to restore joint range of motion, maintain soft tissue elasticity, strengthen muscle strength, and maintain ligament stability.

• Therapeutic care: Taping itself is a form of treatment, and it can also be assisted by instruments (ultrasound, electrotherapy, etc.) or manual treatment to accelerate the recovery of the injured part.

PRECAUTION Precautions after taping

• Premature: Taping is not a panacea, and rest is still needed after injury. Many people return to training too early after seeing improvement after taping, which can easily lead to worsening of the condition or injury to the compensatory part.

• Range of motion: After taping, remember to assess the range of motion. In addition to limiting the range of motion of the injured part, it is still necessary to maintain an appropriate passive range of motion of the joint. Too strict restrictions will delay healing, while insufficient restrictions may cause secondary damage.

• Expert: If there are serious injuries, such as fractures, joint dislocations, muscle and ligament ruptures, etc., which are beyond the scope of what taping can handle, you should seek help from a medical expert. In some countries, taping requires a doctor's prescription.

• Circulation: After the bandage is completed, it is necessary to evaluate whether the peripheral blood circulation is normal, especially when using elastic bandages for pressure, and regular checks are necessary.

• Allergies: If skin allergies occur after applying the tape, such as redness and blisters at the mildest, or itching all over the body at the worst, remove the tape immediately and use other methods to treat the injured area.

• Undue dependency on taping: Some patients or athletes may become psychologically overly dependent on taping or become so accustomed to preventive taping that they perform poorly without it. If the joint is immobilized for too long, it may affect the range of motion of the joint, and additional physical therapy intervention may be required.

• Tendons, muscles and body prominence: Some areas, such as the elbows or heels, should be taped carefully to avoid pressure points or friction.

• Ice: Do not apply ice to the area to be taped. Ice compress will slightly reduce the volume of tissue, and the tape will become relatively too tight. Moreover, ice compress will affect skin sensation and blood circulation, which is not conducive to post-taping evaluation.

• Only: Only good taping materials and techniques can achieve high-quality taping.

• Nerve: Before taping, you should first assess whether there are any neurological problems! If new nerve sensory abnormalities appear after taping, be especially careful to determine whether this is caused by injury or an effect of the taping.

Special groups

Can diabetic patients undergo taping after being injured during exercise? Theoretically, yes. The precautions before and after taping are basically inseparable from the above points. However, special attention should be paid to the fact that diabetics are more likely to have peripheral vascular disease due to blood sugar problems. When taping the peripheral limbs (e.g. ankles), be careful not to over-compress and cause poor blood circulation. If there is a neurological disease, taping may affect the skin sensitivity and proprioception, so special attention should be paid.

This article is from: Dr. Ye Junjuan's blog

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