The Role of Hand Wraps in Protecting Hands Under Boxing Gloves

If you are just a casual boxing fan, you might have not even noticed that boxers have hand wraps on their hands, atop which boxing gloves sit. I mean, I don’t blame you, when a match starts, we see boxers with gloves already at the ready.

But they are basically a necessity and, in this article, we will talk about why and their general role in protecting one’s hands.

A Brief History of Hand Wraps

Hold your horses for a moment. Before we jump into the nitty-gritty, let’s take a moment to appreciate the rich history of hand wraps. Gotta show some respect, you know.

1. Ancient Hand Protection: Boxing has been around for millennia, and so has the need to protect the hands of those brave enough to engage in the sport. The ancient Greeks wrapped their hands with leather strips, while the Romans added a touch of brutality by embedding metal studs into their wraps. Ouch.
2. Modern Hand Wraps: Today, hand wraps have evolved into a much more user-friendly form. Made from a blend of cotton and spandex, they provide both support and flexibility, without the need for medieval torture devices.

The Science of Hand Wraps: What’s the Big Deal?

Now that you are familiar with the history of hand wraps, you might wonder what’s all the fuss around them?

The Anatomy of Your Hand

While this is not a biology class, I feel obligated to mention that your hands are not simple, blunt instruments as many portray them to be. They are quite interesting and complex in design.

To truly understand the importance of hand wraps, we need to have a basic understanding of the hand’s anatomy. Your hands are a complex network of bones, muscles, and connective tissues – a veritable marvel of engineering that allows you to perform incredible feats, like typing, picking up objects, or throwing a knockout punch.

• Bones: There are 27 bones in each hand. They’re quite delicate, and as you might have guessed, they don’t take kindly to being repeatedly slammed into solid objects.
• Muscles and Tendons: Your hands are also home to a myriad of muscles and tendons, which work together to control movement. Like the bones, these tissues aren’t designed to withstand excessive force.

I hope that with this little breakdown, you will be able to appreciate your hands just a little more.

Hand Wraps to the Rescue

So, how do hand wraps help protect your precious hands? Allow me to enlighten you:

1. Stabilize and Support: By wrapping your hands, you create a solid, unified structure that helps to distribute the force of your punches across a larger area. This reduces the risk of injury to individual bones and soft tissues.
2. Absorb Shock: Hand wraps act as a cushion, absorbing some of the impact from your punches. This not only protects your hands, but it also prevents you from inadvertently hurting your sparring partners. Everybody wins!
3. Prevent Scratches and Blisters: As an added bonus, hand wraps help to minimize friction between your hands and the inside of your gloves, preventing those pesky blisters and scratches that can seriously cramp your style.

There is also this thing when you don’t choose your boxing gloves size correctly, your hands might travel in them, even if tightly secured. This can be devastating for your hands during punches and you should change the gloves to proper size immediately, but in case you didn’t, you can be rest assured that your hand wraps have just saved you some additional pain.

Wrapping Up (Pun Intended)

As someone who broke a wrist on my left hand from a snowboard fall, I can truly appreciate a good wrist support system. In boxing especially – don’t forget, your joints are getting some serious shock impacts.

Well, now that you know how delicate and complex your hands are, I’m sure you will take proper care of them.

Don’t forget fellas, whether it’s boxing, snowboarding, or calisthenics, proper wrist support is your friend.