Shoulder taping doesn''t reduce injury in footballers

Melbourne, July 31 (ANI): Shoulder taping will not help football players avoid a dislocated shoulder, a new study has claimed.

Researchers from the Orthopaedic Research Institute at St George's Hospital in Sydney came to the conclusion after testing the impact of shoulder taping on players without a history of injury to that joint, reports ABC Online.

The study has been published in the latest British Journal of Sports Medicine.

"You see a lot of AFL (Australian Football League) players with strapping around their shoulders and it is never clear whether it has any benefit," said senior author Professor George Murrell.

"Trainers and physiotherapists think by strapping the shoulder it is more stable," he said.

"If you are going to tape a shoulder it should make it tighter, but we found there was no difference," says Murrell.

The study also tested whether the taping improved players' awareness of their shoulder joint's position and found again the taping had no impact. (ANI)