Upper Limb Sports Taping: When and How to Use It

Sports taping remains one of the most commonly used interventions in sports physio, despite relatively limited evidence supporting many of its applications.

Yet physios continue to use it, and many athletes continue to request it… why? While some physios out there may avoid taping altogether, viewing it as a passive intervention with limited supporting evidence, most of us use it to varying degrees. So who’s right? Can we justify continuing to use an intervention when the evidence doesn’t really back it?

I think the answer is yes, but probably not for the reasons many of us were taught. Rather than acting primarily through mechanical support, the value of sports taping may lie in how it influences movement, confidence and symptom perception. Used with clear reasoning, it can be a valuable adjunct to rehabilitation and return to sport.

Like any clinical skill, however, effective taping takes practice. That’s where expert physio Alistair Morton comes in. In his Upper Limb Sports Taping Fundamentals Practical, Alistair demonstrates taping techniques for common upper limb sporting injuries. I’ve included a couple of snippets from the Practical throughout this blog to give you a taste of his approach.

If you want a practical run-down of upper limb sports taping techniques from an expert, watch Alistair’s full Practical HERE. With Practicals, you can be a fly on the wall and see exactly how top experts assess and treat specific conditions – so you can become a better clinician, faster. .Learn more HERE.

So why do we still use sports taping?

What if we move away from the research for a second and look at the patient experience?

Let’s shift from looking at sports tape as an external brace to considering it as a tool for symptom modification. While the exact mechanisms remain uncertain, taping may improve an athlete’s confidence and reduce apprehension when returning from injury, provide some form of proprioceptive input and facilitate participation while rehab continues.

Ultimately, the value of taping isn’t about physically holding a joint together like duct tape does a faulty pipe. Instead, it lies in whether it helps the athlete achieve meaningful participation while the underlying condition continues to be addressed. Rather than asking whether sports taping “works”, a more useful clinical question is: when is it worth using?

Deciding when to use sports taping

Taping is unlikely to change the long-term course of an injury, nor should it replace progressive rehabilitation. However, it may be worth considering when it helps an athlete do something they otherwise couldn’t; whether that’s returning to training with greater confidence, reducing symptoms enough to tolerate rehabilitation exercises, or gradually reintroducing previously provocative sporting movements.

As with many adjunctive treatments, taping may be justified if it helps an athlete engage with the interventions that are actually driving long-term improvement.

Practical examples

Anterior shoulder instability

This is a common one, especially in contact and overhead sports. Although evidence for shoulder taping remains inconsistent, many clinicians use it to help athletes feel more confident when returning to training or competition. While it’s unlikely to mechanically prevent recurrent instability, it may reduce apprehension and support a graded return to sport alongside a comprehensive rehabilitation programme.

See Alistair demonstrate his technique in this video from his Practical:

Elbow Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) injuries:

The evidence for UCL taping is even more limited. Tape is unlikely to substantially reduce the large valgus loads experienced by the UCL during activities like repetitive throwing. However, when used alongside appropriate rehabilitation and load management, it may provide symptom modification or increase an athlete’s confidence in using the elbow either during their sport or during daily activities.

See Alistair demonstrate his technique in this clip from his Practical:

Wrapping up

Sports taping isn’t about replacing rehabilitation or providing a mechanical fix so an athlete can keep playing week after week. Gone are the days where physios just give the athlete a massage, tape them up and send them out onto the field every week with a hope and a prayer. Used with clear clinical reasoning and realistic expectations, it can be a valuable adjunct that helps athletes participate while rehabilitation addresses the factors that drive long-term recovery. It should always form part of a broader management plan, rather than being relied upon as a standalone intervention.

Of course, reasoning is only the first step, taping is a skill in itself, the closest thing physios may have to an art form! If you’d like to learn how to apply these techniques confidently, watch Alistair’s full Upper Limb Sports Taping Fundamentals Practical here.