1. Taping Basics in Basketball
Understand first off, there is no conclusive evidence that taping a knee reduces the risk of initial or further injury but it is an excellent method to reduce pain and enable the player to exercise. First you want to shave the knee and apply support tape to reduce skin irritation. Then bend the knee at a 30 degree angle and apply tape in a figure-8 wrapping motion above and below the knee. You do not want to place any tape directly over the knee because this can limit the knees range of motion and could cause further injury. Finally, you may also put an elastic bandage or sleeve over the knee to keep the tape in place.
2. Grade the Injury
To decide if taping a knee for basketball is the correct course of action, you need to grade the severity of the knee problem. A grade 1 injury is when there is only limited pain after a person engages in physical activity. When there is pain in the knees before and after exercise but not during, this is a grade 2 injury. If the pain limits what the athlete can do on the basketball court, this is a grade 3 injury. Finally, a grade 4 injury is when there is pain performing everyday activities like climbing stairs.
3. Jumper's Knee
The type of taping method you use in basketball will depend on the injury history of the individual player. A frequent knee problem in basketball is patellar tendinopathy or jumper's knee in which the player's knee experiences pain because the patella tendon has begun to degenerate due to the physical stressors in basketball. To tape for this knee problem, you should wrap 1 1/2 to 2 two inch elastic tape three or four times just below the kneecap. It may be necessary to shave the leg or put support tape in place before applying the elastic tape.
Understand first off, there is no conclusive evidence that taping a knee reduces the risk of initial or further injury but it is an excellent method to reduce pain and enable the player to exercise. First you want to shave the knee and apply support tape to reduce skin irritation. Then bend the knee at a 30 degree angle and apply tape in a figure-8 wrapping motion above and below the knee. You do not want to place any tape directly over the knee because this can limit the knees range of motion and could cause further injury. Finally, you may also put an elastic bandage or sleeve over the knee to keep the tape in place.
2. Grade the Injury
To decide if taping a knee for basketball is the correct course of action, you need to grade the severity of the knee problem. A grade 1 injury is when there is only limited pain after a person engages in physical activity. When there is pain in the knees before and after exercise but not during, this is a grade 2 injury. If the pain limits what the athlete can do on the basketball court, this is a grade 3 injury. Finally, a grade 4 injury is when there is pain performing everyday activities like climbing stairs.
3. Jumper's Knee
The type of taping method you use in basketball will depend on the injury history of the individual player. A frequent knee problem in basketball is patellar tendinopathy or jumper's knee in which the player's knee experiences pain because the patella tendon has begun to degenerate due to the physical stressors in basketball. To tape for this knee problem, you should wrap 1 1/2 to 2 two inch elastic tape three or four times just below the kneecap. It may be necessary to shave the leg or put support tape in place before applying the elastic tape.
