The Health Hexagon

What game are you playing?

Episode Blurb: S2 E2 - What Game Are You Playing? Life is a game with simple rules: finite capacity, infinite demands. But how you play that game? That's where things get complicated. In this thought-provoking episode, physiotherapist Kevin Hunt challenges you to step back and ask yourself a fundamental question: What game are you playing—and is it the one you actually want to play? Drawing on nearly 30 years of clinical experience across hospitals, private practice, professional sports, and education, Kevin reveals how we all get consumed by the "bubbles" we inhabit—whether it's academia, business, healthcare, or entertainment. These bubbles come with their own myths of what's "normal," their own illusions of success, and their own ways of filling your bucket until it overflows into pain, burnout, and exhaustion. Through compelling stories—from people smoking on walls in the drizzle to restaurant owners sprinting toward burnout—Kevin illustrates how we often confuse conventions with rules. We convince ourselves we must work seven days a week, sacrifice our health for success, or chase an illusion that was sold to us rather than one we genuinely chose. In this episode, you'll discover: * How to identify which bubble you're in and whether it's truly serving you * The difference between steadfast rules and flexible conventions in your life * Why sprinting for 7 years might not be better than pacing yourself for 15 * How managing your Health Hexagon (sleep, diet, physical load, cognitive load, emotional load, and spiritual offloading) lets you play the long game sustainably * Practical questions to ask yourself about your game and your choices This isn't just about managing pain or preventing burnout—it's about choosing to live the finite life you have with intention, balance, and purpose. Because at the end of the day, it's your life, it's your choice, and it's your game to play. Are you sitting on that wall in the rain? Or are you ready to change the rules? For deeper insights into how pain pathways, biology, and the Health Hexagon intersect, check out Kevin Hunt's book, Pain: The Ultimate Mentor, available in print, ebook, and audiobook formats.* Keywords: Health, Wellness, Burnout, Work-Life Balance, Pain Management, Self-Care, Longevity, Purpose, Mental Health, Kevin Hunt, Chronic Pain, The Health Hexagon

D.A.R.N Exercise

D.A.R.N Exercises The summer holidays are over for most and the kids are back at school. A new academic year is upon us. Over the summer break, it is easy to fall out of the usual routine, especially your fitness routine. This is not uncommon. As much as Christmas and New Year are often a catalyst to start new fitness goals, the summer break can be an opportunity to take your foot off the gas, change gear and for some, stop entirely. Exercise is hard. In fact it's D.A.R.N hard but there in lies the secret to success for your current and future self. Listen to discover how a simple thought experiment can help you take care of your 85-year-old-self. Read more: https://spinalphysio.co.uk/darn-exercise/ [https://spinalphysio.co.uk/darn-exercise/] Dive deeper into the Health Hexagon and read the book Pain: The Ultimate Mentor [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pain-Ultimate-Mr-Kevin-Hunt/dp/1739292510/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=] https://www.ultimatementor.co.uk/ [https://www.ultimatementor.co.uk/] https://spinalphysio.co.uk/ [https://spinalphysio.co.uk/] https://spinalphysio.co.uk/kevin-hunt/ [https://spinalphysio.co.uk/kevin-hunt/]

First, do no harm - A call to those treating chronic back pain

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

The purpose of pain

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/ [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/ [https://ultimatementor.co.uk/]

Neurotags and the Health Hexagon

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 [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pain-Ultimate-Mr-Kevin-Hunt/dp/1739292510/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2UVFVI7OQ05SL&keywords=pain+ultimate&qid=1695812851&sprefix=pain+ultimate%252Caps%252C101&sr=8-1] Blog post - What tomatoes can teach us about pain. [https://spinalphysio.co.uk/what-tomatoes-teach-us-about-pain/]