Shoulder Strapping Techniques

Athletes with shoulder injuries typically are taped prior to competition.

Taping or strapping the shoulder joint helps to increase the support of the joint and reduce the amount of stress placed on it during activity. Strapping helps to facilitate healing and prevents further injury, because it keeps the shoulder stabilized. It's most typically done on athletes who have previously injured their shoulders and are still attempting to participate in their practice sessions or competitions.

Preparation

Combine a variety of shoulder strapping techniques in a way based on the shoulder condition you're dealing with. Strapping techniques include anchors, straight lines, shoulder crosses, rotational lines and front crosses. Have your subject sit up tall with their hand on their hip and elbow flaring out to the side for all of the shoulder straps.

Anchors

To complete the two anchors on which you will build all of the other tape jobs, place one strip of tape around the upper arm at the bicep and one strip from the shoulder blade up over the shoulder to the chest.

Straight Lines and Shoulder Crosses

To complete straight lines, tape from the upper arm anchor at the bicep up and pull toward the shoulder until it connects to the second anchor at the shoulder. To complete shoulder crosses, start the tape on the upper arm anchor but to the side at the back of the arm. Pull the tape up and diagonally so that it crosses over the straight line strips and attaches at the second anchor at the front of the shoulder. Make a second strip that starts to the front of the upper arm anchor and diagonally crosses towards the back, attaching to the second anchor at the back of the shoulder.

Rotational Lines and Front Crosses

To complete rotational lines, begin a strip at the very back of the upper arm anchor and pull it right over the top of the shoulder until it ends up at the front of the chest at the end of the second anchor. Front crosses feature two strips which cross over the very front of your shoulder joint. One strip begins at the front of your upper arm anchor and crosses up towards the back of your arm, inserting up at the back of the second anchor. The second strip begins towards the back of the upper arm anchor and crosses towards the front, inserting at the chest on the second anchor.

Considerations

Tape anchors firmly, but not tight, so they don't adversely affect blood flow. Depending on how much support someone needs, you can add one to three straight line strips, one to two shoulder crosses, one to three rotational lines and one to two front crosses. Finish off the job with another set of three to six straight line strips.

References

• Physio Advisor: Shoulder Taping
• Sports Injury Clinic: Strapping and Taping for Sports Injuries