Fibromyalgia can make your skin sensitive to the clothes you wear. For some people with this condition, the simple scraping of fabric against the skin can set off burning sensations or sharp, stabbing pains. This reaction is known as mechanical allodynia.
Bras, waistbands, ties on bathrobes, or anything that places pressure on your skin can trigger fibromyalgia pain. The pain may be generalized (all over) or be limited to areas around your tender points. Embroidered Ribbons
This article discusses fibromyalgia pain from clothing and other stimuli. It also suggests ways to minimize the pain triggered by the clothes that you wear.
Unless you want to wear long, flowy dresses all the time, you've got to find ways to spare your waist from the pressure caused by waistbands. There are several ways to do this:
An underwire bra may support you nicely, but if you have fibromyalgia, it may cause more grief than gratification. Here are some alternatives to consider:
Consider getting a bra fitting. Many women either underestimate or overestimate their cup size. Both cause trigger pain if a bra is too tight (and places excessive pressure on the skin) or too loose (and rubs back and forth against the skin).
While many people with fibromyalgia have chronically cold feet and will buy long heavy socks to keep them warm, it is important to remember that tender points are often centered around the inner knee.
Placing pressure on these points, particularly with elastic socks, can end up triggering pain in the same way as a tight waistband.
There are several ways to overcome this:
The texture and weight of a fabric can make a big difference if you have fibromyalgia. Heavy wools may look fashionable and keep you warm, but, over the course of a day, can drive you mad with their abrasive texture.
Some of the better fabric options include:
Look for shirts with the tags printed on the fabric instead of sewn in. If there are tags, cut them off and trim any loose edges.
If you have fibromyalgia, the clothes you wear may be contributing to your pain. You can help make your clothing more comfortable by wearing pants with a looser waistband, shopping for a well-fitting bra without underwires, and selecting socks made out of a thinner fabric that doesn't put pressure on your sensitive points. It's also a good idea to stick to softer fabrics like cotton and silk.
Lastly, if you're in the privacy of your own home, take off everything that's not comfortable and find something that is. More is often less when it comes to dressing for fibromyalgia.
Lolignier S, Eijkelkamp N, Wood JN. Mechanical allodynia. Pflugers Arch. 2015;467(1):133-9. doi:10.1007/s00424-014-1532-0
Rowe PC, Underhill RA, Friedman KJ, et al. Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome diagnosis and management in young people: a primer. Front Pediatr. 2017;5:121. doi:10.3389/fped.2017.00121
Larson AA, Pardo JV, Pasley JD. Review of overlap between thermoregulation and pain modulation in fibromyalgia. Clin J Pain. 2014;30(6):544-55. doi:10.1097/AJP.0b013e3182a0e383
By Adrienne Dellwo Adrienne Dellwo is an experienced journalist who was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and has written extensively on the topic.
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