Fibromyalgia & Compression Wear
Fibromyalgia is a condition experienced by many, causing widespread chronic pain as well as fatigue and even cognitive issues. Aside from a multitude of factors, one of the ways in which sufferers can experience particularly bad days is through the clothing they wear. Some find they need to avoid fabrics like Denim while others need to avoid fabrics that struggle to cope with temperature changes.
Understanding Fibromyalgia & Clothing Sensitivity
According to the paindoctor.com, one way to manage the chronic pain that comes with Fibromyalgia is to carefully select the garments you wear. One of the suggestions is to try out compression clothing, something we specialise in, here at Vivendi Apparel. While compression wear may not be the best option for every single case, there have been notable numbers of fibromyalgia patients who have experienced some form of pain relief while wearing compression clothing. So how does compression wear help?
How Can Compression Wear Help?
Here at Vivendi Apparel, we’re lucky enough to boast an incredible network of ambassadors. One of those ambassadors, is Georgia Gardner. Georgia is 21 years old and lives in Cornwall with her stunning gelding Junior, who she’s owed for 7 years. Georgia was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in 2019 along with ME, otherwise known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. We decided to speak with Georgia about her experiences with fibromyalgia and the benefits she’s seen with our compression wear.
Jenni: Hey Georgia, thank you so much for speaking with us. You’ve had a really tough battle over the last few years. Could you tell us a little more about what you’ve been through?
Georgia: In 2018 I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and myalgic encephalomyelitis (also known as ME or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome). Then in 2019 I was diagnosed with stage 2 endometriosis, which I have since found has progressed to stage 4 after my last surgery in December 2020. I have also struggled with my mental health over the years, so I have become a huge advocate of mental health and chronic illness/disabilities within the riding world.
J: You’re incredibly strong and resilient to go through what you do. How does the fibromyalgia in particular effect your riding?
G: Having fibromyalgia and ME makes riding sometimes difficult, I tire out easily and I struggle with strength within my back and knees, my shoulders and elbows are now also starting to impair my riding. Riding with pain is difficult, especially when my hip locks up in a training session (worse when jumping!) and I have to stop and right myself again. I have found pieces of tack and bits and bobs which help to make my training much more comfortable, compression being one of them.
I try to avoid riding when I have taken pain relief as I don't like the risk of my reaction times lessening and to become drowsy, however sometimes it's unavoidable.
J: Could you tell us a little about how compression wear helps you and your riding?
G: Compression tops and leggings help to keep my joints comfortable, warm and secure so I can focus on my riding instead of my pain.
So how exactly does compression wear help? Compression garments, much like our C180 Compression Leggings, C360 Compression Leggings and of course, their counterpart base layers, can help decrease the chronic pain by helping to increase the oxygenation and blood circulation. Compression wear can also help to reduce swelling and oedema. With the additional support to muscles and joints that compression wear provides, many find this clothing helps prevent or in some cases lessen the extent of injuries - all of which can help with those suffering from Fibromyalgia.
If you'd like to follow Georgia's story, check out her Instagram account via Bandmastertales.
Check Out Our Fibromyalgia Friendly Compression Wear
If you’d like to see if our compression wear can help relieve and ease pain and fatigue for you, please do check out our C180 Compression Wear as well as our C360 Compression Wear. While our C360 Compression Wear offers a lesser level of compression, it does offer a super soft internal fleece like material. Our C180 Compression Wear, while a thinner and more lightweight material, offers a much higher level of compression.