How to properly wrap your hands with boxing wraps. The method of professional boxers.

Why bandage your hands?

Before you bandage your hands in boxing, you should understand why it is needed. Bandages reduce the risk of hand injury. They also increase the effectiveness of the exercises performed, which has a positive effect on the fighter’s training.

The main thing is to avoid common problems when winding:

• Folds. The resulting folds will not cause injury, but they will weaken the impact and may tear the skin.
• Squeezing. Leads to an outflow of blood, which reduces sensitivity or even hand tremors.
• Insufficient winding. This will lead to the bandage simply unwinding during training, which will require you to re-wind the bandage.

There are a lot of articles and literature on the Internet in which everything is beautifully described, but everything is checked and selected only from personal experience.

Banding at the Innovative Vascular Center

Performing a gradient bandage is a real art, which the massage therapists of our center have mastered to perfection. Correct execution of the bandage guarantees stimulation of lymph outflow from the distal to the proximal level, that is, from the hand to the shoulder. We use only special low-stretch bandages and sponge pads in areas of excess swelling and bony protrusions. We apply the bandage only after performing gentle manual and hardware lymphatic drainage.

There are a number of commonly used arm ligation techniques for lymphedema, but they all employ the principles of multi-layer packing and pressure gradient. The layers help protect the skin from irritation, distribute compression evenly over wide areas, and provide high operating pressure and low resting pressure to stimulate lymph flow and prevent constriction.

Types of bandages

Bandages have two indicators: length and elasticity.

The length of the bandages can be from 2.5 to 5 meters. This parameter depends on the physical characteristics of the person and the method of winding. The recommended length of bandages is 3 meters. This is important because a bandage that is not long enough will not be able to cover the entire hand and wrist, leaving the athlete unprotected from injury.

Elasticity, in turn, is also divided into two indicators: elastic or inelastic. The first ones adapt to the shape of the hand, and better fit the hand, becoming a “second skin”. But there is also a drawback to such bandages - if used incorrectly, the blood circulation process can be disrupted, which will negatively affect training.

Non-elastic bandages are safer in this regard. Made from cotton fabric, they cannot crush your hand. Such bandages are characterized by:

1. When wrapping, the boxer immediately feels how hard he squeezed his hand.
2. Fabric made of cotton and paper perfectly absorbs moisture, preventing damage to the gloves inside.
3. Over time, the cotton material will stretch and begin to perfectly follow the curve of the brushes, fitting it completely.

How to properly wrap your knee with an elastic bandage

Bandaging is a simple therapeutic technique performed in many areas of medicine, which is aimed at preventing thrombotic complications that are severe for the body.
The effect of compression hosiery and bandaging of the lower limb is based on the creation of different pressure on the parts of the leg. The maximum impact is on the ankle and lower leg, the knee experiences less pressure, which reaches a minimum in the upper thigh. This effect promotes blood movement from bottom to top. The muscles located under the applied bandage are in greater tone and the vascular branches located in their thickness work more intensely.

If the bandage is applied only to the knee area, it tightens the intra-articular formations and promotes their anatomical integrity during loading. The compression effect provided by the bandage allows you to avoid injuries to the knee and other joints of the lower limb.

Bandages differ in composition by the class of material from which they are made:

· Bandages of low elasticity. Such a product can be stretched no more than 69% of its length.

· Bandages of medium elasticity. The degree of elongation is 70–140%.

· High elasticity bandages. The product stretches by more than 141% of the length of the bandage.

Highly elastic bandages are applied to the knee or other joints to reduce the tension of ligament and tendon formations during intense sports activities, after injury to the ligaments and menisci, arthroscopy, and during therapeutic rehabilitation exercises.

Contraindications

There are a number of conditions in which the use of any compression stockings, including elastic bandages, is contraindicated. Such diseases include:

1. Obliteration (closing of the lumen) of arteries in diseases such as atherosclerosis, Raynaud's disease, endarteritis.
2. Diabetes mellitus with the development of trophic and vascular disorders of 2–3 degrees of severity.
3. Inflammatory, infectious lesions of the skin at the site of application of the bandage.

Knee bandaging technique

The most common and effective method of applying an elastic bandage to the knee is the turtle bandage. This bandaging method is available in two versions:

• Converging bandage.
• Expanding bandage.

With the convergent version, the first two rounds of the bandage are applied below the joint, and the second two above. The lower and upper tours alternate until they come closer to each other in the middle of the joint.

With a diverging bandage, the first round is applied to the center of the joint, and each subsequent one is either higher or lower than the previous one. There are several general rules for the procedure:

1. It is correct to start applying a bandage at a distance of at least 20 cm from the damaged area.
2. Each subsequent round must overlap the previous one by 70%.
3. Bandaging should be done with moderate tension on the product. Try to increase the compression closer to the middle of the joint.
4. The procedure and the applied product should not cause pain. Release the tension if this happens.
5. Flexion and extension in the joint after compression should be performed in full, but with great effort. If the bandage slips from the application site, you need to repeat the technique with greater tension on the material.

Elastic compression during the rehabilitation period

Traumatologists at the Canon Clinic most often, along with other rehabilitation procedures, prescribe knee bandaging after an injury or surgery, such as arthroscopy. During this period, dosed physical activity on the joint in the form of exercise therapy is allowed and even recommended.

After applying an elastic product, exercise on an exercise bike, walking and running on a treadmill, and gymnastic exercises recommended by the attending physician at the Canon Clinic have an excellent effect.

It is necessary to combine physical activity with additional physiotherapeutic procedures:

• Electrophoresis of anti-inflammatory drugs.
• Magnetotherapy.
• Acupuncture.
• Electromyostimulation.

Physiotherapy will promote intensive blood supply to the joint tissues, and exercises with an applied elastic product will correctly distribute the load and restore the function of the joint.

Bandaging techniques

In professional boxing, there are two main methods of wrapping bandages - classic and “cross”.

The classic method is considered simple and is more suitable for beginners. Algorithm of actions:

1. Place your thumb in the loop. This is where the winding begins.
2. Next, the bandage is wrapped around the wrist, moving to the thumb, in order to secure it in one movement.
3. After this, the bandage is wrapped around the striking surface, smoothly moving towards the inside of the hand.
4. Then the knuckles are wrapped.
5. At the end, it is recommended to wind the remaining length in a place where the brush is poorly protected.
6. Finally, the bandage is secured with Velcro or a special design.

Winding the bandage in a “cross” is considered a more advanced method, because the blows are harder and stronger due to the tighter protection of the hand. The essence of the method is to treat each joint. The algorithm of actions at the beginning and end of winding is the same as the classical method.

After the knuckles are wrapped, each finger (index, middle, etc.) is wrapped in a bandage. When wrapping, it is important that your fingers are widely spaced. Turns are made from the thumb. For additional fixation, after each turn on the fingers there is a turn in the wrist area.

Contraindications

• Tell your massage therapist and see your doctor right away if there are any signs of infection (redness of the skin, fever, new itching or tingling, rash or unexplained swelling). Banding should not be used if there is an active infection.
• If you have an open wound on your hand or arm, talk to your doctor about how to care for the wound under bandages.
• Congestive heart failure is a contraindication to active treatment with lymphatic drainage massage methods.
• Signs of thrombophlebitis or subclavian vein thrombosis should be a reason for further examination and temporary refusal to treat lymphedema.

Benefits of Bandaged Hands

Bandages will help:

1. Fix movable joints, insuring them from severe sprains.
2. Relieve muscles and ligaments.
3. Protect gloves from contamination, extending their life.
4. During active training, bandages absorb moisture.
5. Fix the assembled fist so that the blow is delivered and strong.

Professionals do not recommend using bandages without gloves. This is due to the energy that is released during the collision of the surface of the bandage with the punching bag or projectile. Subsequently, this will lead to a decrease in the protective functions of the bandages.

Why do you need a support bandage?

A scarf-type bandage allows you to immobilize an injured limb until medical attention is provided. A triangular fabric orthosis reliably fixes the injury and prevents further injury and reduces pain.

The scarf is used when installing antitumor compresses and applying medications in the form of ointments.

A homemade immobilizing device effectively fixes a dislocated shoulder, damaged elbow joint or hand. Immobilization promotes accelerated healing of the skin and soft tissues.

When is it appropriate to use a bandage:

1. Reducing mechanical load during post-traumatic rehabilitation for tendon injuries.
2. Dislocation of the joint. Immobilization of the problem area until a medical examination. Reduces pain, prevents the spread of edema and the increase of hematoma.
3. Severe bruises. Maintenance of the limb until x-ray diagnostics.
4. Sprained ligaments and tendons. Restriction of mobility stops the inflammatory process.
5. Compresses. Fixation of external agents in the damaged area.

It is allowed to apply a scarf bandage not to the entire limb, but to a separate area.