Jocelyn Zaragoza

English 2010

04/25/2019

Authors Note

My disciplinary focus for my project was sports medicine. The discipline that I developed

my questions and did my research on is athletic training. I want to go into the field of athletic

training, so I have already taken classes on the topic, so I had knowledge on it before I started

my research. My understanding of the conventions in writing helped me write and finish my

paper. I chose the style of my paper based on similar styles that I found while I was researching

resources to support my ideas in my paper. I thought that if the papers looked the same it would

show that I knew what I was talking about in my paper to make it stronger. I chose to follow

disciplinary conventions of athletic trainers that they use in their papers because I wanted to try

to make my paper look like theirs so that I could start learning to write like them for the future.

Taping vs Bracing

Introduction

Sports medicine is the field of study that I have found and based my question on, more

specifically I got my question based on the profession of athletic training. Sports medicine is a

branch of medicine that deals with physical fitness and the treatment and prevention of injuries

related to sports and exercise. Athletic trainers are certified and licensed health care professionals

who practice in the field of sports medicine. In sports medicine they use different types of

treatments based on the type of injury, some other these treatments are taping, bracing, electric
stimulation, and physical therapy. Each one has a specific purpose and treats different injuries.

Athletic trainers most commonly use both tape and braces to help treat and prevent injury or

reinjury of an athlete's ankle. Athletic tape is directly applied to the skin in order to maintain a

stable position of bones and muscles during athletic activity. An ankle brace is a garment that is

worn around the ankle to protect it or for immobilization while allowing it to heal from sprains

and other minor injuries. Ankle braces are used to immobilize the joint while providing heat and

compression to the bones. Therefore, my question is which is better to prevent ankle injuries or

re injury taping or bracing and why?

Research

I did some research to see what professionals had to say on the subject and if there is an

opinion on which is better or if medically one is better than another. In the article “Current

Practices and Attitudes in the Use of Ankle Taping and Bracing in the College and High School

Setting.” by Janet Simon, the article talked about a study that she conducted that asked athletic

trainers to see which one of the two they recommend to their athletes when they got hurt. The

study concluded with the results of some recommended they use a brace when the injury first

happened, but most of the trainers wanted or required their athletes to tape their ankles. In

another article that I read called “Do Ankle Bracing and Taping Work? By Mark A. Merrick, in

this article is about if bracing and taping work based on the purpose they were made for or not.

In the conclusion is says that these both are good for restricting range of motion and doesn’t alter

your performance, basically stating that both do the same thing when it comes to preventing

inversion and injury to your ankle. It also makes the point that bracing is more restrictive longer

than taping and bracing cost less to have through a sport season, but at the end of the day taping
is still the most popular choice when it comes to which one athlete choose. In another article that

I read entitled “Influence of Ankle Strapping, Taping, and Nine Braces: A Stress Roentgenologic

Comparison” by Peter H. Vaes, William Duquet, Fank Handelberg, Pierre-Paul Casteleyn, Rene

Van Tiggelen, and Pierre Opdecam, there was a study on what athletic brace or what kind of

athletic tape is best and which one is better for an ankle. There conclusions came out to be

unclear on if there is a better kind of tape or brace, but they noticed that whichever one they used

they basically had the same effect of treating the specific injury.

Independent Research (Survey)

I conducted a survey with a couple of athletes that I know. The survey consisted of them

answering questions about if they have had an ankle injury, if they used tape or a brace to help

treat it, and they were then asked if they were told to use that specific treatment by a doctor or if

they used it based on comfort. Based on the surveys that I have received some have been told

by a doctor to use a brace, but most prefer tape because it fits better in their shoes and is not so

bulky, but others choose to use tape because their injury only affected them while they were

playing their sport so they wanted the short term treatment. So, the results from the survey have

showed that it really comes down to comfort.

Comparing Research

Comparing the conclusions, I have come to with my research and the survey that I did I

would say that the results basically were the same, bracing and taping are basically used the

same way, and are both effective. Yes, in certain cases one is probably a better choice than the

other but I don't believe that it will hurt you if you chose the other and although one is used in

situations more than the other doesn’t mean you couldn’t use the other for the same situation.
The athletes basically use them based on comfort and how much mobility they want in their

ankle. For example, when playing their sport most athletes like to use tape for less mobility and

less opportunity to get injured. But this doesn’t mean some athletes don't use braces as well when

playing their sports. In the research I read some athletic trainers recommended their athletes were

braces but they didn’t object of them using tape when playing their sport. Based on all the

information I read bracing is more of the longer-term treatment of the two and taping is the short

term, one time use treatment. But both are effective treatments is used and worn the right way.

Conclusions

In conclusion based on the research I did and the survey I did I wouldn’t say one was

better than the other, yes, they both have pros and cons for certain situations they both are

effective in preventing injuries. Based on my own experience I liked taping my ankles when I

played soccer but I liked wearing my brace when I would walk around and do normal day to day

things because, I was able to adjust the tightness of the brace to my comfort but with tape it has

to be tight to work effectively. There was even times when I noticed myself and team mates

taping their ankles just because it make your ankle feel more stable and stronger, do there is less

of a chance of you twisting your ankle or if you fell during the game and someone stepped on

you there wouldn’t be any season ending injuries.

 Annotated Bibliography

1. Merrick, Mark A. “Do Ankle Bracing and Taping Work?” Athletic Therapy Today, vol.

5, no. 6, Nov. 2000, p. 40. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1123/att.5.6.40.

● The author of this article has a PhD and is also an athletic trainer, so he is a

professional is this field of study and on this topic. He is trying to figure out if

they even work to prevent recurrence of an injury and if they do which one if they

better option. He makes this argument that taping limits the range of motion in the

ankle more than bracing, but throughout he has both pros and cons for both sides,

so he never really comes to a conclusion on which is better but they do work.

2. Simon, Janet E., et al. “Current Practices and Attitudes in the Use of Ankle Taping and

Bracing in the College and High School Setting.” International Journal of Athletic

Therapy & Training, vol. 22, no. 4, July 2017, pp. 34–42. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1123/ijatt.2016-0068

● I know that the authors of this article are professionals is this field of study

because they all have PhDs and they all are athletic trainers, so they know a lot

about taping and bracing. They did a study to see what athletic trainers preferred

and recommended to their athletes between taping and bracing. They concluded

that some recommended the use a brace when the injury first happened most of

the trainers wanted or required their athletes to tape their ankles.

3. Vaes, Peter H., et al. “Influence of Ankle Strapping, Taping, and Nine Braces: A Stress

Roentgenologic Comparison.” Journal of Sport Rehabilitation, vol. 7, no. 3, Aug. 1998,

p. 157. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1123/jsr.7.3.157.

● Within the article it talks about the authors and that they are with a academic

hospital and the physical therapy department there. This article really talks about

tape and bracing. Like what they are and why they use them, they think there

hasn't been enough research on their effectiveness which they found very

surprising because this is one of the most commonly used treatment for injuries in

this field.