By: Dr. Arnan Sisson, PT

April 5, 2021

After all these years of dealing with aches/pains, especially ones that have been around for 30-40+ years. I’ve learned one thing, simple usually works!

With that said, it may be awfully hard to figure out which simple strategy to use for a particular ache or pain. But once it’s found, the key is to stick to just that and only a few other effective treatments. This is what really gets my clients off the 5-6 Tylenol, back to hour long walks, and enjoying their favorite chair again.

I was talking to a client recently, and we chatted about an amazingly simple but powerful strategy to reduce aches/pains. It is particularly good at dealing with chronic pain because it takes stress off the body each and every day. Once you can do that, you not only reduce the pain but also keep it away while your as active as you’d like to be.

This strategy is called the “Timer Strategy,” pretty catchy huh? And while the name may be pretty boring it definitely delivers. Below I’ll lay out the simple steps to implement it in your daily life.

1. First think about which position throughout the day is the most stressful for your neck, back, etc. This could be all that time you spend in your recliner, long trips to visit family, working in your office space, or even when you’re doing lots of grass cutting to name a few.
2. Get a very cheap and simple timer or use your phone timer to give you a 30 minute window. At the end of that window the timer will go off.
3. When that buzzer goes off, you’ll change the position your in. That means if you’re sitting in the recliner, get up for a minute or two walk. If your cutting grass, you’ll get off and walk for a few minutes as well. If your standing around your garden doing work, then you’ll take a rest in a chair with lumbar support for a few minutes.

The reasons why this boring little strategy works so well for so many different problems is that it simply gets you out of the painful/stressful position for the joint that’s hurting. It does it so frequently, that it can begin to make that body part feel better after a few weeks.

So, try that out today, and if you want to hash out even stronger ways to take off stress to the body then feel free to give me a ring at (804) 493-3256 or click here to set up a free 20 minute phone consultation. During the call we can go over your specific case, figure out your stressors, and brainstorm the best ways to get you back to living an active pain free life again.