Chronic pain patient uses voice movement therapy to cope with pain

Anna created The Tomato Playlist to help pace herself with chronic pain. The list helps her to know when she has to sit down.

“This is loosely inspired by the Pomodoro Technique™, where you do tasks in blocks of time. Its name is based on the kitchen timer on the picture. I knew if I set a timer to go off when I should stop doing something I’d just get frustrated, so I came up with the Tomato Playlist. This is a set of songs I choose that last the length of time that my body has proven to be OK with. What I mean by that is if I’m moving that long the additional pain I experience is not too bad. I turn on the playlist and when it ends I know I need to sit down (this is also clearly inspired by musical chairs). VMT is a major part of my pain management program. When I started doing it, I wasn’t looking to improve my health but months later, after much pain and surgery, I realised I hadn’t needed a massage or trigger point injections to get any stubborn muscles to relax in 11 months. That was all due to VMT”, she explained.

For the playlist, the patient tries to choose an upbeat song to start with, then goes to fun and happy songs, ending with relaxing and slow songs.

“I’m using them often so I have four I can rotate through. The beauty of this technique is that I can add more songs as my body can tolerate more movement. I can also make ones for the amount of time I can sit up without pain consequences, which is useful for sitting up hobbies”, she described.

The first Tomato Playlist (Pomodoro™ is trademarked) is as it shows:

“Don’t Stop Me Now” – Queen
“Happy” – Pharrell Williams
“Shut Up and Dance” – Walk the Moon
“Mustang Sally” – Wilson Pickett (’cause you gotta slow mustang down)

This is another:

“My Legs” – Dragonette
“Roar” – Katy Perry
“Good To Be Alive (Hallelujah)” – Andy Grammer
“Relax, Take it Easy” – Mika

This one has a theme of not letting life get you down.

“Get This Party Started” – Pink
“Shake it Off” – Taylor Swift
“Wings” – Little Mix
“Take it Easy” – The Eagles

And other:

“I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” – The Proclaimers
“On Top of the World” – Imagine Dragons
“Best Day of My Life” – American Authors
“Relax” – Frankie Goes To Hollywood

Adapted from: https://yhoo.it/2M5pRG8
https://yhoo.it/2VIEyCl

More info: https://takingchargeofmyhealth.com/