Significant advances in wound dressing technology have resulted in a myriad of dressing choices for wound-care clinicians, providing more than just an inert wound cover. The establishment of a moist wound environment under modern wound dressings and the optimisation of the healing response are now the goals expected of these dressings. However, the use of wound dressings, particularly traditional dressings such as gauze, frequently results in wound and peri-wound tissue damage that impairs the wound healing response, counteracting any of the dressings' healing benefits. Therefore, in order to maximise the healing benefits wounds covered by today's wound dressings must minimise tissue disturbance (physical as well as chemical). This review aims to consider the ways traditional, as well as modern, wound dressings may disturb wounds, summarising the potential areas of wound disturbance, and suggesting how best to address this aspect of the use of wound dressings to treat acute as well as chronic wounds.