Climbing Tape—Help or Hype?

You’ve seen it everywhere—fingers wrapped in tight bands of athletic tape at the gym, the crag, in every climbing photo dump. Taping is practically a badge of honor for climbers nursing finger injuries, especially those dreaded pulley strains. But here’s the truth bomb: research shows taping might not be doing as much as you think.

A 2022 systematic review by Larsson et al. looked at the actual evidence behind taping for annular pulley injuries in climbers. The results? Taping might reduce bowstringing—but it has low-to-moderate evidence for most outcomes and no significant effect on performance metrics like muscle activation or maximum voluntary contraction. So what’s actually worth your time and energy? Grip adjustments and tendon strengthening.

Close your eyes and imagine what a pianist looks like. How are they sitting? What do their shoulders look like? And what is the angle of their wrists? The intricate dance between mind and body is fundamental to the art of piano performance. Good posture and technique require more than just strong muscles; they also depend on two vital, often overlooked skills: proprioception and kinesthesia

If you live in the 21st century, chances are your phone is practically an extension of your hand. Every action you perform on your phone activates different muscles. Swiping on Tinder? You're likely overusing your abductor pollicis longus (APL) and extensor pollicis brevis (EPB). Move on to texting, and now you're adding stress to the flexor pollicis brevis (FPB), while awkwardly engaging the flexor carpi ulnaris (FCU) — especially if you don’t use a pop socket. The same scenario applies when scrolling on TikTok, Instagram, or checking emails.

Imagine struggling to grip your coffee mug, soothing your baby with aching wrists, or feeling numbness after hours on your laptop. What if the very hands you rely on—to create, work, or care for your family—suddenly became weak, painful, or stiff?