Our Ambulatory Trauma course is a fantastic introduction to encourage us to learn how to triage patients, act during an emergency setting, assess and manage musculoskeletal related emergencies, suture, splint, tape, bandage wounds, perform CPR, and much more! It helps better prepare us for potential emergency situations.

This week, we learned how to tape extremities. Ankle taping can provide support, compression, and stability for the ankle joint. It can also help reduce swelling and pain after an ankle injury. Ankle taping (as well as splinting) can help prevent damage to muscles, nerves, and blood vessels and prevent a fractured bone from moving into soft tissues. After pre-wrapping the dorsiflexed ankle, two strips of tape anchored the pre-wrap. Over 18 strips of tape were used to create tape figurations like stirrups, heel spurs, figure 8s, and heel locks to securely wrap the ankle.

Left to Right: 1) Bryan assisting Alexis, while Chris and Pete focus on taping ankles., 2) Our professor had just complimented Chris’s technique…Pete seems impressed at Chris’s quickness., 3) General Picture of Ankle Taping with arrows hinting at all the different figurations, 4) Tri-7 students mastering their Ankle Taping skills!

After successfully taping each other’s ankles, we checked for circulation, sensation, and movement of the toes to ensure that we completed the application appropriately. It’s beneficial to learn how to tape and also have my own ankle taped so I understand the both perspectives. If an individual sustains an ankle or foot injury, it’s important to treat with the P.R.I.C.E. procedure (Protect, Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate). To further stabilize the injury, one could wrap a pillow or folded blanket around the ankle and foot and tie it with cravats.

Learn more about the doctor of chiropractic program at our Florida site here!