Do not tape a severely cut thumb. Instead, clean the wound, put pressure on it to stop or slow the bleeding and wrap it in a bandage (if possible) before going to the hospital for an assessment. “Buddy taping” fingers together for support and protection is common for sprain injuries, but the thumb cannot be taped to the index finger. Doing so would put the thumb in an unnatural position and risk further injury. It would also prevent the index finger from being functional.
Make sure to use shaving cream or other lubricants while shaving because it will reduce the risk of any nicks or cuts to your skin. After you finish shaving, the skin should be thoroughly cleaned to remove any oils and sweat, then dried with a clean cloth. Don’t apply any moisturizers because the tape won’t stick as well. Alcohol wipes are great for cleaning skin. The isopropyl alcohol is not only a good antiseptic, but it also gets rid of any oily or greasy residues that might prevent the tape from sticking to your skin.
Adhesive spray can be purchased at most pharmacies and all medical supply stores. Your physiotherapist or athletic therapist is also likely to have some. Avoid breathing in as you spray the adherent because it can irritate your lungs and cause coughing spasms or sneezing.
Be careful not to wrap the underlying material too tight, particularly if you have diabetes or a circulatory problem, or if the wounded thumb has been swelling or is discolored, as the bandage and underlay can become too binding. This may lead to tissue damage. Hypoallergenic underlying wraps are usually sold at the same places as athletic tape, adhesive spray and other medical and physical therapy supplies.
Apply anchors gently and with care to prevent circulatory problems. If it’s too tight, your hand/fingers will tingle, feel cooler to the touch and start to turn bluish. You may also wish to add an anchor near the end of your thumb — near the most distal joint. However, this can sometimes cause the entire scaffolding come loose and get dirty. The single anchor around the wrist often works best with the figure eight loops around the thumb. The best tape to use for the thumb is adhesive, water resistant, non-stretch (rigid), and between 25 – 50 mm in width. [7] X Research source
For more support and rigidity, make three or four loops around the base of your thumb with the athletic tape. The loops should not pull your thumb back so far that it looks like you’re hitchhiking. Remember that your thumb may be hypermobile due to stretched ligaments, so try to tape it in a neutral position.
An alternative method for providing more stability is to take lengths of two inch (50mm) tape and wrap these over the loops, in the same direction as the anchor tape. Cover from where the loop tape starts at the back of the hand to the fleshy part of the palm under the thumb. Take these strips from anchor tape to the first joint of the thumb to support the muscles that attach the thumb to the hand. Thumb taping should only be used if it is comfortable and does not cause more damage to the injury. The tape should not be too tight because this will prevent blood flow to the thumb and this will cause more damage.
When this joint is involved, make sure the taping holds the thumb closer to the rest of the hand, to avoid catching the rigid, taped distal joint and re-injuring it. There’s no need to tape the distal joint if the proximal thumb joint is sprained because you’ll have almost no mobility in your thumb. Tapping directly over the distal thumb joint is a common preventative strategy in sports such as football, rugby and basketball.
