Steve Hoyles

The English Premier League is the highest-stakes football league in the world. With huge prize money, sponsorship funding and TV exposure on offer, matches can turn on split-second decisions and the physical condition of the players.

The riches awarded to winners mean elite football clubs are returning to innovative technologies like KYMIRA’s infrared fabrics to gain a crucial edge.  

KYMIRA’s infrared performance apparel is embedded with bio-infrared minerals. These minerals absorb otherwise wasted energy (up to 93%), emitted by the wearer and natural surrounding light. The energy is then converted into infrared light and reflected back into the body, causing clinically proven, naturally enhanced performance and recovery.

This cutting-edge clothing is engineered to enhance blood flow, accelerate recovery, and boost on-pitch performance.

From rehabilitation to gameplay, several Premier League teams are harnessing the effectiveness of KYMIRA, using the technology to reduce injury risk, manage existing injuries and prepare players for fixtures, backed by scientific insights and real-world success stories.

Pre-Match Preparation: Building Resilience and Mitigating Risks

In elite football, preparation doesn’t just consider the match itself. Travel demands, managing sleep and controlling inflammation are all important. This is especially true when travelling overseas for European competition.

The KYMIRA range is designed to work around the clock, with a product range that can be used for travel, leisure wear and sleep.

The expectation on strength and conditioning teams at this level isn’t that they’ll deliver players in good condition. It’s that they’ll deliver players in the kind of condition required to perform at their best for 90-120 minutes, regardless of travel arrangements beforehand.

Case Studies and Uses

Here are some real-life examples of how Premier League clubs are using KYMIRA in their organisations…

One of our inaugural Premier League clients approached KYMIRA after a cluster of hamstring injuries plagued their squad.

Recommended by the medical department, they trialled our Performance Shorts and Sleepwear to expedite rehab timelines.

The results were swift: players reported faster tissue repair and reduced soreness, prompting a broader rollout. Soon, the athletes were asking for on-field gear like additional shorts and leggings. What started off as a small order to mitigate injury was soon expanded.

Their results mirror conclusions drawn from research, where infrared garments have been shown to enhance peripheral blood flow and muscle oxygenation [1], key factors in accelerating recovery from soft-tissue
injuries.

Several studies on infrared fabrics post-exercise demonstrated measurable improvements in recovery markers and muscle discomfort, allowing athletes to return to training sooner [2].

KYMIRA and Travel Benefits

For many Premier League teams, European travel is a frequent issue to deal with.

Travel poses several challenges for elite athletes. Flights and jet lag amplify injury risks in several ways…

     
Time zone change impacts sleep, hampering recovery

Flights cause inflammation

There are extra fixtures to play

Reduced time to activate deep recovery strategies

To mitigate the negative impacts of travel, one of our Premier League clients extended their use of KYMIRA products. At the Club World Cup, one club we work with equipped their players with our travel and recovery kit,
and went on to lift the trophy!

By promoting circulation and reducing inflammation en route, KYMIRA helps maintain sharpness when it matters most.

Sleep Enhancement

Sleep is the cornerstone of recovery and preparation, and infrared offers significant efficiency improvements.

An international team we partner with emphasises maximising the 22 hours outside formal training, with sleepwear forming an important foundation of their strategy. This approach has cascaded to affiliated Premier League clubs, many of whom now kit out players with our infrared sleepwear.

Research shows that the use of infrared garments for sleeping in helps to regulate temperature, leading to better sleep quality [3]. By enhancing the sleep quality, the general recovery scores improve.

Clubs like Reading FC have been vocal advocates, sharing how KYMIRA's sleep and recovery products keep their squad sharp. Watch their players testify to the difference in this short video. Swansea City echoes this sentiment, publicly crediting our products for bridging tight turnaround times.

During the Match: Elevating Performance and Stamina

Elite-level football is a game that places huge demands on the body. Players will run approximately 10km every game, completing hundreds of high-intensity metres. Depending on their position, some players perform over 200 sprints in a single match. [4]

Our Performance shorts and leggings, worn under kits, improve oxygenation and delay fatigue.

This claim was proven by a study in which cyclists performed a test while wearing infrared garments. Researchers noted that the athletes consumed less oxygen when wearing the infrared, and their time to fatigue was increased [5]. It means players can perform at their best later in the game.

Clients spanning the English Premier League (EPL) and Scottish Premiership (SPL) report similar results: enhanced endurance, sharper recovery between sprints, and a tangible drop in strain-related injuries.

In a league where the margins between success and failure are razor-thin, these subtle boosts can tip the scales in your favour.

Post-Match Recovery: Accelerating the Reset

Recovery starts the second the final whistle is blown.

Post-game, players wear recovery layers to harness FIR's regenerative powers as soon as possible. This is especially vital amid the festive fixture pile-up, when squads face fixture congestion.

The technology gets to work instantly, unlike a massage or cryo chamber, where players will have to wait their turn. It also turns the ‘wasted’ time into productive time. Whilst players are doing media interviews and the like, if they’re wearing the KYMIRA clothing, they’ll be recovering.

Another reason Premier League teams opt for KYMIRA is that the clothing can be taken anywhere in the world. You can’t transport a sauna or cryo chamber everywhere you go, so they can’t rely on those recovery technologies. Clothing can be transportable.

You can have the whole squad dressed in KYMIRA immediately post-game, whereas you can only massage one player at a time or put one player at a time into a cryo chamber. It makes recovery a far more efficient process.

As we’ve already shown, a review of the research around infrared clothing underscores its efficacy in managing musculoskeletal conditions, from inflammation to delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), ensuring players improve the quality of their recovery in a shorter time.

It’s these advantages that help clubs to perform well across several different competitions, year after year.

KYMIRA - a Revolution Awaits in Football

As the Premier League evolves, so too does the toolkit at clubs' disposal. KYMIRA’s technology is evidence-based and proven in helping teams navigate the relentless calendar, bringing silverware along the way. 

For Premier League squads looking for the advantages, KYMIRA delivers. To learn more about KYMIRA, our technology and how we can help you, click here.

References

[1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8101933/

[2] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4993144/

[3] https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.06.13.598953v1.full

[4] https://football-observatory.com/IMG/pdf/mr68en.pdf

[5] https://celliant.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Apparel-with-Far-Infrared_web.pdf