Difference between revisions of "Buddy Tape Fingers"

Buddy taping is a useful and simple method for treating sprains, dislocations and fractures of fingers and toes.<ref name="rf1">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3942599/ </ref> Buddy taping is commonly practiced by healthcare professionals such as sports physicians, physical therapists, chiropractors and athletic trainers, but it can easily be accomplished at home by non-professionals too. If the buddy taping is done properly, it provides support, protection and helps to realign injured joints.  

#Identify the injured finger. Fingers are very susceptible to injury and even breaking when exposed to blunt trauma, such as getting them caught in doors or jammed while playing contact sports. In most cases, it's obvious which finger is injured (the one that hurts the most), but sometimes you need to examine your hand and fingers closely to better understand the injury. Signs of mild-to-moderate musculoskeletal injuries include redness, swelling, inflammation, localized pain, bruising, reduced motion, and maybe some degree of crookedness if your finger is dislocated or fractured.<ref name="rf2">https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases_conditions/hic_musculoskeletal_pain</ref>

#*Buddy taping can be used on most finger injuries, even some stress (hairline) fractures, although more serious displaced fractures usually need splinting, casting, or surgery.<ref name="rf3">http://www.emedicinehealth.com/broken_finger/page6_em.htm#broken_finger_treatment</ref>

#Decide which fingers to tape together. Once you've established which finger is injured, you need to decide which adjacent finger to buddy tape it to. In general, try to tape fingers together that are closest in length. The index finger and second finger are usually paired for buddy taping and fingers three and four are usually best taped together.<ref name="rf4">http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/treatments-therapies/sports-taping/finger-buddy-taping</ref> Your thumb, due to its location and range of motion, can't be buddy taped to the index finger, so it's often splinted or casted when severely sprained or broken. In addition, make sure the "buddy" finger is uninjured, because taping two injured fingers together may create more problems.

#Prepare your fingers for taping. Once you've decided on which two fingers to buddy tape together, prepare your finger for taping. Start by washing your hands with soap and water, and then specifically clean the fingers to be taped with alcohol wipes. The alcohol in the wipes (isopropyl alcohol) is not only a good antiseptic, but it also gets rid of any oily or greasy residues that might prevent the tape from sticking to your skin. Use a hypoallergenic or low-irritant wrap underneath the tape if you have especially sensitive skin.<ref name="rf5">http://www.physioadvisor.com.au/12504850/finger-taping-finger-tape-finger-strapping-p.htm</ref>

#Tape your fingers together. Once you've cleaned and prepared the fingers, take some non-stretch medical, surgical, or athletic tape (about an inch wide) and tape your injured finger to the uninjured one — perhaps using a figure-eight pattern for more stability. Be careful not to bind the fingers too tightly together, because you might create additional swelling and may even cut off the circulation, causing tissue death (necrosis). The taping should be secure enough that both of your fingers move together. Check that there is no numbness, throbbing, color change, or loss of sensation in either finger after the taping.<ref name="rf4" />

#*Care should be taken when removing tape to avoid injury aggravation or skin damage. Use blunt-nosed scissors to cut the tape and then remove it slowly.<ref name="rf5" />

#*Your injured finger, depending on severity, may need to be buddy-taped for up to four weeks to properly heal, so you'll likely become very experienced at re-taping it.<ref name="rf3" />

#*Signs of a localized skin infection include local swelling, redness, throbbing pain, and discharge of pus, which may emit an unpleasant odor.<ref name="rf6">http://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/medicalpubs/diseasemanagement/dermatology/common-skin-infections/</ref>

#Be vigilant for signs of necrosis. As mentioned above, necrosis is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood and oxygen. An injured finger, particularly a dislocation or fracture, may already involve damaged blood vessels, so you have to be extra careful when buddy taping not to cut off circulation to the fingers. If you unintentionally do, then your fingers will likely start to throb with achy pain and turn dark red, then dark blue.<ref name="rf7">https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000432.htm</ref> Most tissue can survive without oxygen for a couple of hours (at most), but it's important to carefully observe your fingers within 30 minutes or so of taping to make sure they are getting enough blood.

#Don't tape a severely fractured finger. Although most finger injuries respond well to buddy taping, some are beyond its scope. For example, when fingers are crushed and completely shattered (termed a comminuted fracture) or fractured such that the bones radically misalign and stick out through the skin (termed an open compound fracture), then no amount of taping is helpful and it shouldn't even be considered. Instead, with serious and unstable fractures, you need to get to an emergency department quickly for more appropriate medical care (likely an invasive surgical procedure).<ref name="rf3" /> On the other hand, small hairline (stress) fractures are stable and appropriate to tape until you can see a healthcare provider.

*Most fingers are broken from accidents with machines, falls on an outstretched hand or from sporting injuries (football and basketball, particularly).<ref name="rf8">http://www.emedicinehealth.com/broken_finger/page8_em.htm#broken_finger_prevention</ref>