title: Paper Tape Prevents Foot Blisters: A Randomized Prevention Trial Assessing Paper Tape in Endurance Distances II (Pre-TAPED II).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether paper tape prevents foot blisters in multistage ultramarathon runners.
  
  
  METHODS
  Multisite prospective randomized trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  The 2014 250-km (155-mile) 6-stage RacingThePlanet ultramarathons in Jordan, Gobi, Madagascar, and Atacama Deserts.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred twenty-eight participants were enrolled: 19 (15%) from the Jordan, 35 (27%) from Gobi, 21 (16%) from Madagascar, and 53 (41%) from the Atacama Desert. The mean age was 39.3 years (22-63) and body mass index was 24.2 kg/m (17.4-35.1), with 31 (22.5%) females.
  
  
  METHODS
  Paper tape was applied to a randomly selected foot before the race, either to participants' blister-prone areas or randomly selected location if there was no blister history, with untaped areas of the same foot used as the control.
  
  
  METHODS
  Development of a blister anywhere on the study foot.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred six (83%) participants developed 117 blisters, with treatment success in 98 (77%) runners. Paper tape reduced blisters by 40% (P < 0.01, 95% confidence interval, 28-52) with a number needed to treat of 1.31. Most of the study participants had 1 blister (78%), with most common locations on the toes (n = 58, 50%) and heel (n = 27, 23%), with 94 (80%) blisters occurring by the end of stage 2. Treatment success was associated with earlier stages [odds ratio (OR), 74.9, P < 0.01] and time spent running (OR, 0.66, P = 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Paper tape was found to prevent both the incidence and frequency of foot blisters in runners.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Emergency Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California; †Department of Emergency Medicine, Presence Resurrection Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois; ‡Computational Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado; §Department of Surgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah; ¶Department of Emergency Medicine, New York University, New York, New York; and ‖Department of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
authors.forename: Grant S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Lipman
authors.forename: Louis J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Sharp
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Christensen
authors.forename: Caleb
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: DiTullio
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dalton
authors.forename: Pearlly
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shangkuan
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shea
authors.forename: Brian J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Krabak
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001458:Bandages; D001768:Blister / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012420:Running / Q000293:injuries*; D016896:Treatment Outcome