Highlights • This is the first study confirming bandaging effects on wrist kinematics in boxing. • Adding tape to bandage significantly reduces wrist motion on impact in boxing. • Greater effect with tape on wrist motion occurs in straight than bent arm shots. • Use of tape with bandage should be considered as standard practice when boxing. Objectives To investigate the effects of bandaging techniques on wrist motion on impact during different shot types in elite male boxers. Design Repeated-measures study. Setting Field Experiment Participants Two shot types, straight and bent arm, were assessed with 18 elite male boxers wearing either bandage only or bandage plus tape. Main Outcomes Measures Wrist motions and time to peak wrist angles, on impact, were measured with an electromagnetic tracking system. Results Wrist motion on impact occurred concurrently in flexion and ulnar deviation for both shot types. For both motions, significant (p < 0.001) effects for bandaging techniques (Eta2 = 0.580-0.729) and shot types (Eta2 = 0.165-0.280) were observed. For straight and bent arm shots, wrist motion on impact occurred within 50% and 40% respectively of total active wrist motion for bandage only compared to within 20% and 15% for bandage plus tape. Time to peak wrist angle on impact increased significantly (p < 0.001) for both shot types when adding tape to bandage. Conclusions Adding tape provided an additional 25-30% reduction in wrist motion compared to bandage only, with a 1.2-1.4 increase in time to peak wrist angle, on impact for both shot types. This information could assist various individuals and organisations towards better hand-wrist protection.
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