This long form episode is an extract from a lecture given by Kevin Hunt in February 2025 to a group of medics involved in treating persistent pain. The lecture explores the pain pathway, the common misconceptions and mythologies around diagnosis and mechanism of injury. How stored data forms and influences our actions and reactions and how buckets and hexagons hold the key to managing the complexity of health and wellbeing for our current and future selves. Above all he asks those on the frontline of treating chronic back pain to consider the weight of their words, how their narrative can turn an acute event into a chronic one and calls for them to First, Do No Harm.

Source

Book - Pain: The Ultimate Mentor https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pain-Ultimate-Mentor-Kevin-Hunt-ebook/dp/B0C21LJV9T

In this episode, physiotherapist Kevin Hunt discusses The Purpose of Pain and why hurt and harm are not the same thing. He asks us to question what the role of pain is when it comes to looking after our health and wellbeing and why sometimes these important signals can become fearful triggers if we don't pay attention to their true purpose in the first instance.

Sources:

Article - Do you know what your pain system is trying to tell you? https://spinalphysio.co.uk/do-you-know-what-your-pain-is-trying-to-tell-you/

Book - Pain- The ultimate Mentor by Kevin Hunt https://ultimatementor.co.uk/

In this episode Physiotherapist and author Kevin Hunt discusses how the brain learns and how it makes associations directly and indirectly. He explores why these circuits of information known as "neurotags" can be helpful and unhelpful. How they influence our view of the world and impact on the choices we make. Such choices have consequences for the health and wellbeing of our current and future self. He compares the understanding of how we learn basic information like colour to complex connections and narratives around pain and how all this ties in with our capacity and the Health Hexagon.

Sources

Read the book - Pain: The Ultimate Mentor

Blog post - What tomatoes can teach us about pain.

This excerpt from Kevin Hunt's "The Funny Thing About Whiskey" uses the analogy of comedy to explain pain management. Hunt argues that, like a comedian eliciting an instinctive laugh before critical thought sets in, pain often involves a reflexive response before conscious analysis. He explains how past experiences and individual differences shape our reactions, impacting both how we find humour and how we perceive pain. The author draws parallels between overcoming negative associations with alcohol (like Jack Daniels) and retraining one's response to painful stimuli. Ultimately, the text advocates for using critical thinking to manage pain and alter ingrained negative reactions.

Original article: https://spinalphysio.co.uk/the-funny-thing-about-whisky/

Further Reading: https://www.ultimatementor.co.uk/

This episode discusses a blog post from Spinal Physio exploring the "bucket" analogy to explain health, wellbeing and pain management. It describes the body's capacity to tolerate stress as a bucket that fills with activities and empties with recovery methods. Pain arises when the "bucket" overflows, exceeding the body's capacity.

The author proposes a "health hexagon" framework—incorporating physical load, cognitive load, emotional load, spiritual offloading, sleep, and diet—to understand and manage this capacity. The text ultimately advocates for an approach, balancing stressors to prevent overflow and improve overall well-being, rather than solely focusing on medication or treatment of symptoms. This approach views pain as a signal of imbalance, not simply a problem to be fixed.

This blog post, "Knock Knock," by Kevin Hunt, discusses the negative impact of constant notifications and interruptions on mental and physical wellbeing, likening it to the smoking of our time. These blog posts discuss the importance of managing stress and maintaining work-life balance for overall health and wellbeing. The author uses analogies, such as a demanding toddler representing overwhelming emails to illustrate how prioritising self-care can prevent burnout and chronic pain. He emphasises the concept of the "Health Hexagon," encompassing factors like sleep, diet, and exercise, as crucial for long-term health. Hunt argues that these micro-stressors contribute to chronic pain and hinder relaxation, advocating for mindful disconnection from technology to improve overall health. The post promotes his book, "Pain: The Ultimate Mentor," suggesting it offers solutions for managing pain and enhancing wellbeing.

This episode discusses an article from Spinal Physio debunking five common myths about back pain. The author, Kevin Hunt, a physiotherapist, argues that bending and twisting aren't inherently harmful, slipped discs are a misnomer, muscle pulls are often misdiagnosed sprains, sleep posture isn't a primary cause, and pelvic misalignment is usually overstated. He emphasises the importance of challenging the tendency to attribute pain to single events. The podcast also explores the Health Hexagon as a tool to mange back pain from his book, Pain: The Ultimate Mentor, which explores these ideas further.

It's time to change the way you think about back pain.

The conversation is based on an excerpt from Kevin Hunt's essay, arguing that prioritising one's own wellbeing over accepting appointments, even from high-profile individuals like Elon Musk, is crucial for long-term health and success.

Hunt’s rationale centres on his "Health Hexagon" philosophy, which focuses on six key areas for health. He argues that sacrificing his dedicated time for exercise – which costs him financially – is a strategic investment in his long-term health and independence, benefiting not only his current self and his future self but also his family. This commitment to self-care, he claims, allows him to maintain his work-life balance and ethical practice, preventing burnout and ensuring he can continue helping others. He promotes his book, Pain: The Ultimate Mentor, as a resource for readers interested in this philosophy.