Athletic Taping

Athletic Taping is a type of treatment which utilises woven fabric (rigid or elastic) to provide additional proprioceptive stimulus and additional support to enable participation in sports while limiting the risk of re-injury or further injury. It is often used in rehabilitation of muscle and tendon injuries. Athletes and coaches should be aware of various techniques of taping which could come in handy when the need arises during training or competition. Taping can provide additional stability while allowing flexibility unlike some bracing devices.

Ankle joints are most commonly taped to prevent lateral ankle sprain. Other common parts which may benefit from taping are knee, shoulder, wrist, Interphalangeal joints (fingers and toes), hamstring and quadriceps, foot and Achilles tendon.

You may contact me at draston@gmail.com if you are interested in organising a course for your athletes or coaches.

Here are some of the photos taken from the work of students in a taping workshop:-

To play or not to play!

It was 7.15pm and I was late for a pharmaceutical talk. John called as I was just approaching the venue. "Shucks!", I said. I needed the CME points but the player needed an urgent decision. To play or not to play!

I quickly returned to my apartment and he was already waiting there. He was walking and that was good news but he had a slight limp. I know some players who walked 'funny' after training due to a back problem and leg-length discrepancy.

A quick examination revealed a localised area of tenderness (pain upon application of pressure), muscle spasm adjacent to the junction between the medial gastrocnemius and soleus muscle. Tried a few light skills and he could not 'push-off' as required to play badminton.

He knew the consequences of injecting steroids and so he didn't ask me to do that. He had seen talented players who had muscle tears and tendon ruptures after indiscriminate injections done for the sake of competing.

"No-play!", I said. "I could give you a muscle relaxant to help relieve the spasm and you can continue with another 3 days of NSAIDS (anti-inflammatory and pain medication), but no play!". He was keen to improve his performance and insisted that he would decide the next day.

He played against a lesser known player and lost the next day. The press gave him such a bashing that I felt sorry for him. I know the player and he made the right choice to hold back and not push to win. He told me later that he just couldn't move and the pain worsened as he played. He had to play as he was required to by the coach to try. After a week he played much better in another major competition after undergoing rehabilitation and taking precautionary measures

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Getting a training partner

Here are some of my rules:-

1. Someone more motivated than I am to train regularly.
2. Punctual
3. Have the same routine or schedule for training
4. More or less the same physical condition
5. Not one of those who just chatter away and never do anything really during training except talk and oogle at others
6. Reads up about what to do and how to do it right
7. Not too pushy but not too a drag either
8. On the go and living life fully
9. Hygienic and dress moderately
10. Someone who will pay me to workout!!!

No Pain No Gain?

"Jump higher! Faster! Up! Up! Up!", shouted the soccer coach. The 14 yr old boys had never trained so hard in their lives. Their quadriceps and calf muscles had been sore over the past 1 week since the new coach came. They had breaks every 20 minutes for drinks but it was often too short to even to catch their breath.

Ahmad wished he was still in the injured list so that he didnt have to 'suffer' so much. Suren noticed that his team mate was lagging behind and offered him some encouragement. "Cheer up!", he said. "At least you are booked in the massage therapist list this evening", he quipped.

"No pain No gain, men!", the coach shouted again. "When you are done with this training you'd thank me when your fitness surpasses your opponents this season", he added. The physiotherapist Zul watch in disbelief as he would have to work harder to stretch and relieve those stiffened sinews over the next few days.

Exercise 5 times a day....

"Exercise 5 times a week for at least 30 minutes", said the researcher presenting the paper. "If you lose 10% of your body weight... you will reduce the cardiovascular risk factors". Easier said then done. During every medical conference on Diabetes, Hypertension and Heart Disease, the same sentences are repeated over and over again. But does anyone really know what it means to "exercise 5 times a week, at least 30 minutes each session"? Most of those patients hardly could walk two flights of stairs without 'huffing and puffing' and are at the risk of having a cardiac event (or heart attack) if they exercised more than a brisk walk.

We need to look at the guidelines for safe participation of such patients with coronary arterial disease or metabolic syndrome given by the American College of Sports Medicine. Such patients probably need to be adequately assessed physically before embarking on such vigourous exercise. They would probably benefit from a heart rate monitor and learn how to gauge the difficulty level of physical activity with Perceived Exertion (Borg's scale). We would also need to look into the type of medication that they are taking to ensure that they prepare for possible complications like hypoglycaemia and fractures from falls for elderly patients.

An athlete's day...

Fancy waking up at 6am while picking up his favourite CD to energise his day. The pain in his calf and hamstring muscles is screaming for some attention but he just did not have another 15 minutes to catch up with the much needed recovery. A quick check on the Polar Heart Rate monitor indicated that he probably still lacked recovery from the hard training over the past few days. He just couldnt wait for the weekend.

"Guys, breakfast at 6.30am and review your training log!" He was busy burying his head in the workbooks the previous night as Ms Tan (lecturer) insisted that the assisnments were complete before the week was up. The athlete had to have a quick look through the training log and started down the common bath.

The 10 minute shower was a real blessing as the powerful gush of warm water numbed the pain while allowing the pleasant blood circulation through the sinews and muscles. All the clothes had to go into the laundry to be collected after training. Had to clean up to ensure that the 5' by 4' area alloted to the athlete was spick and span in case of a surprise visit by a VIP. The cotton training jerseys have slightly faded but they were still the best in the market.

Breakfast was quick and 2 glasses of juice and water was gulped up in the process to ensure that he does not develop cramps during training. He wished he didnt have replacement classes so that he could have gone for relaxation massage earlier.

The assistant coach checked to ensure that everyone was injury free and had their specific skill training for the day after the warming up run and stretching. The sprints after that was always interesting as he would work hard to ensure that he could beat others who were supposed to be faster than him. He could last longer as he has had several years of training on endurance and speed with his previous coach in the state team.

The chief coach then called for a short briefing on the days agenda to point out the purpose of the various drills during training. He was keen on trying out new tactics with the forwards and defenders. It was often tough to follow the pace of the coach but each athlete was expected to keep trying. Drink breaks were allowed in between to ensure that the athletes were well hydrated. 2 hours was up and the chief coach had a brief chat with his assistant followed by a discussion with the team. Training was up to the mark but there was more to be done. There would be another session of training in the pool in the evening followed by a session with the team psychologist at night.