Boxers often wrap or tape their hands for protection before donning their gloves. Taping up to support a sore wrist requires a different procedure, however. Instead of a light, supportive wrap or a thin layer of flexible tape, a sore wrist needs thorough support from a heavy application of old-fashioned cotton zinc-oxide athletic tape. A good tape job limits the wrist's range of motion, yet leaves the fingers and thumb free to form a proper fist inside the boxing glove.
Step 1
Wrap a single strip of tape on the forearm, just below the wrist. Wrap another single strip around the palm of the hand, about 1/2-inch below the fingers. These strips are the anchor points for the wrist wrap.
Step 2
Start a strip of tape on the back, or dorsal, side of the forearm anchor strip, on the outside of the pisiform bone — the small, knobby bone on the outside of the wrist. Run the tape across the back of the hand and cut it at the thumb joint. Start another strip of tape on the dorsal side of the forearm anchor below the thumb and run it across the back of the hand. Cut this strip on the side of the hand, just below the pinky, to form an X pattern of tape on the back of the hand.
Step 3
Tape a similar X pattern across the palm of the hand. Run one strip of tape from the side of the wrist below the thumb to the anchor strip below the pinky. Run a second strip of tape from the outside of the wrist near the pisiform bone to the palm anchor above the thumb joint.
Step 4
Apply three strips of tape directly along the back of the hand. Start the first strip on the back of the forearm anchor, near the pisiform, and run it directly up the hand to the anchor just below the fingers. Move toward the inside of the wrist and apply a second strip of tape that overlaps half the width of the first strip. Finish with a third strip that runs in line with the index finger and overlaps the second strip of tape by half.
Step 5
Apply a similar series of straight strips along the palm of the hand. Start the first strip on the forearm anchor, along the outside of the hand, and cut it just below the pinky. The second strip should overlap half the width of the first. Run the third strip from the forearm anchor, along the inside of the thumb pad, and cut it just below the index finger.
Step 6
Wrap a single strip of tape around the bottom of the tape job, directly over the forearm anchor. Wrap another single strip of tape around the palm anchor.
Posted in: Boxing