Dr. Drew Timmermans

Dr. Drew Timmermans Naturopathic Doctor striving to address the root causes of chronic pain

Regenerative Performance is a comprehensive guide to preventing and recovering from injury, eliminating pain and maximizing athletic performance

04/09/2026

The Stoplight Model is a framework designed to guide individuals with chronic pain or recovering from injuries on how to exercise safely. It categorizes exercise responses into three colors: Green Light (tolerable discomfort, indicating safe to proceed), Yellow Light (mild pain increase, caution advised), and Red Light (intolerable pain, indicating the need to stop or modify the exercise). This model helps in making informed decisions about exercise intensity and modifications, aiming to optimize recovery and performance without exacerbating pain.

🟢 Green Light: Indicates exercises causing tolerable discomfort, suggesting it's safe to proceed without modification.

🟡 Yellow Light: Points to a mild increase in pain, advising caution and possibly necessitating adjustments to the exercise routine.

🔴 Red Light: Represents intolerable pain, signaling the need to stop or significantly alter the activity to prevent further harm.

Using this stoplight model can help you navigate if/when you should be adjusting your exercise.

04/08/2026

Not sure what can be done to improve your baseline level of health?

Here are 12 things to consider:

1️⃣ Pick heavy things up then put them back down again
2️⃣ Drink water
3️⃣ Eat more foods found in nature
4️⃣ Laugh with friends
6️⃣ Get more sunlight
7️⃣ Breathe mainly through your nose
8️⃣ Spend more time in nature
9️⃣ Deepen your spiritual relationship with God
🔟 Sleep as much as you can
🕚 Foster your closest and most intimate relationships
🕛 Love yourself

04/07/2026

Nerve hydrodissection uses a precisely guided needle and fluid pressure to open the tight fascial planes around an irritated nerve. Rather than temporarily numbing the area, the goal is to mechanically separate the nerve from tissues that are compressing or trapping it along a meaningful segment of its course. This technique can be applied to common nerve entrapments such as carpal tunnel syndrome and can incorporate injectates like D5W, PRP, stem cells, platelet lysate, or A*M.

04/07/2026

True healing often involves a holistic approach that extends beyond temporary solutions like specific procedures or therapies. It encompasses daily efforts in maintaining a balanced diet, engaging in regular exercise, ensuring quality sleep, and nurturing emotional well-being. These lifestyle choices play a crucial role in long-term health and recovery, addressing not just the symptoms but the underlying causes of health issues. By focusing on these foundational aspects of health, individuals can foster more sustainable and profound healing.

Yes, procedures can be helpful at dramatically getting you out of pain and reclaiming your life, but you can’t rely on those forever.

04/06/2026

Orthobiologic treatments using PRP and autologous stem cell therapy aim to restart stalled healing for nagging issues like low back discomfort, golfer’s elbow, and some non-surgical rotator cuff tears by triggering the body to recognize the area as a fresh injury and attempt to repair it again.

04/06/2026

Exercise can be hard with chronic pain, which just means that you need to learn what works for you and doesn’t work for you. This is where a properly trained strength coach, personal trainer, or physical therapist can be a crucial member of your healthcare team.

04/02/2026

Sometimes in order to heal from chronic pain, you have to deliberately get uncomfortable.

This may mean cold exposure.

This may mean physical therapy and exercise.

This may mean cutting out toxic friends.

This may mean undergoing a PRP or stem cell procedure

This may mean addressing childhood traumas.

It could mean a wide range of things. The point is not necessarily what needs to be done, but the fact that it may need to happen.

04/01/2026

Fear avoidance is a common issue among those suffering from chronic pain. The fear of exacerbating pain can lead to inactivity, which in turn can contribute to muscle weakness, joint stiffness, and reduced overall functionality. This avoidance behavior creates a cycle where fear leads to inactivity, which then leads to more pain, perpetuating the chronic pain experience.

Annie O'Connor's Stop Light model is a helpful tool in managing this fear, which is what we use with our patients. It uses the metaphor of traffic lights to help patients gauge their pain levels during exercise and determine appropriate actions:

1. Green Light: Indicates safe pain levels. Minor discomfort or pain that eases with continued movement falls into this category. It suggests that it is okay to continue with the activity as planned.
2. Yellow Light: Represents caution. Pain that is more intense but still tolerable, and might increase slightly with activity, suggests the need to modify the exercise. Slowing down, reducing intensity, or altering the activity might be necessary while monitoring how the pain responds.
3. Red Light: Signifies stop. Severe pain or pain that sharply increases with activity requires immediate cessation. This level of pain indicates that the activity might be harmful, and it is crucial to stop and consult with a healthcare provider.

By utilizing this model, patients can better understand and manage their pain during exercise, ensuring that they are not avoiding beneficial activities out of fear. Working closely with a healthcare provider, patients can learn to differentiate between pain that signals harm and pain that is part of the healing process, ultimately leading to improved outcomes and a path toward pain resolution.

04/01/2026

Platelets in plasma act as the body’s first responders after injury. They detect damaged tissue and release growth factors over short and long timeframes, launching the initial stage of the healing response.

This is why PRP injections can be helpful for chronic pain.

03/31/2026

Nerve hydrodissection uses ultrasound-guided injection to treat compressed nerves such as the median nerve in carpal tunnel syndrome. A needle is placed around the nerve and fluid is injected to temporarily, mechanically decompress it from surrounding tissues. The solution bathes the nerve to support better function and its own healing process.

03/31/2026

When one approach doesn’t work, there is often a different approach that looks at the problem from a different angle that will work.

While nerve flossing has become popular over the last few years, this isn’t the only way to help with nerve related issues such as fascial entrapments. In fact, we find that nerve flossing may not even be the best approach for most people.

As most nerve issues are entrapment issues, manual decompression will usually work better than nerve flossing. This is simply putting the body into a position that opens up the space around the nerve. A good example is flexing the head forward and slightly leaning the neck away from the side that the pain radiates down the arm. This maneuver opens up the foramen that is likely causing the impingement.

03/30/2026

In 2018 I underwent a bone marrow stem cell procedure for my low back, and went on to have 95% pain relief (which meant I got my life back) for 4.5 years, until I injured myself again in the gym.

The power of this medicine is truly remarkable.

Address

201 W Guadalupe Road Suite 301
Gilbert, AZ
85233

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+14805084226

Website

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Our Story

Regenerative Performance is an integrative medical practice that helps high achieving people perform at their peak by utilizing unique and innovative approaches designed to improve cognitive and athletic performance, attain desired body composition and aesthetics and help the body to regenerate to heal from injuries and eliminate pain.

Regenerative Performance has 5 main facets: 1) Regenerative Medicine, including prolotherapy, PRP and Stem Cell Therapy 2) Cognitive Enhancement, for those looking to improve their mental capacity and fortitude 3) Sports Performance, for everyone from Weekend Warriors to Professional Athletes 4) Axis Performance, specifically designed for people who have hormone imbalances 5) Aesthetics, including PRP facials and customized regiments to prevent and reverse the signs of aging

Dr. Timmermans and his team have a deep passion for helping people regain what they have lost, whether that’s the ability to play sports, run around with their grandkids, or build their business as an entrepreneur.