SOBRE ESTE EPISÓDIO
In this bite sized episode, we sit down with Harry Dale from PhysioFocus to discuss the unique challenges of maintaining personal health and fitness as a new dad. Harry shares his personal journey of adjusting to life as a new parent and stresses the critical importance of self-care, even amidst the extra responsibilities of parenthood.
We delve into the topics of exercise after fatherhood and how to navigate the guilt of taking time for self-care while still giving your utmost to your family. Harry draws an interesting, albeit unexpected, connection between deconditioning and long-term back injuries common among fathers as they neglect their physical health in the rush of parenting responsibilities.
The conversation moves into how being a dad himself has improved Harry’s understanding and empathy for the dads he treats in his clinic. He shares his day-to-day operations at PhysioFocus, a general physiotherapy clinic spread out across three locations, dealing with everything from back pain and neck pain to sports injuries.
The episode ends on a positive note, reminding dads that every small step towards fitness is a win and that it’s okay if their workout routines don’t look the same as they did pre-parenthood. Harry affirms his readiness to assist any dads looking for help with their healthcare and fitness needs.
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We are here with Harry Dale from PhysioFocus, and we just were having a chat about being dads.
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I'm a very new dad with a six and a half week old at home. Harry has a two month old today.
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And gee whiz, isn't it interesting trying to get dads involved in their health?
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Some dads are super active.
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Some dads, you just don't see them because they don't need to come in for years and years. Yeah.
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Tell us about being a dad, interacting with dads at your clinic, maybe.
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What's sort of a day like for you, Harry? Yeah, I think, I guess the biggest
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thing for me as a very new dad is the massive curveball as far as to lifestyle
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and particularly about the time you prioritize to your own health.
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So, you know, the challenge that I'm navigating at the moment is how do I get
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back into doing some exercise and trying to make sure I get back into the lifestyle
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habits that are a little bit easier when I didn't have someone to depend on,
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which to be honest, I'm trying to navigate at the moment.
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But I like the idea of things that are quick and easy, going
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for a jog straight out the the door so you don't have any other prep time or
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not feeling something can around work so we're lucky working in a physio
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clinic with a gym i can try and do a quick little workout here
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and there and maybe it looks like 20 or 30 minutes rather than an hour so that
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i'm able to get home quick enough to be helpful but yeah it's definitely a challenge
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definitely one that i wasn't thinking too proactively about beforehand because
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i find kids are heavy right like your kid gets very heavy very quickly and yes
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you get a certain amount of exercise carrying a bassinet yet pushing a pram I'm sure.
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But if I didn't have a gym on the public park near where I live,
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it would be very hard to get to the gym.
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I can take the kid for a walk in the pram and do a couple of pushups,
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a couple of stretches while they're asleep, but it's really hard.
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And that's why we often see a lot of dads with back injuries or deconditioned
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a few years down the track.
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Absolutely. Well, I think it just comes down to trying to find a balance, right?
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Of how much time can I take for myself versus how much time can I give to my
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kid and my partner to try and support them?
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And there's a level of guilt, I think everyone feels about trying to go away
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and look after themselves, particularly in these crazy early stages where you're
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trying to work out what to do.
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But I think as you alluded to, it's just every little bit helps.
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I think we just got to accept the fact that things aren't going to be perfect
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and they're not going to, maybe your workout's not going to look like what it
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did before you had the little bub.
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And if you are doing a few pushups here and a bit of a jog there,
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I think that's a win to be honest with you.
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And I'm sure things will settle down as you get, as the public gets a little
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bit older and you get a little bit more of a routine.
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But you're right. definitely I think lifestyle habits
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are easy to change to fall into bad habits
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and then it's it's something that's a little bit harder to
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get back into a positive habit so I think you just got to continually keep trying
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to reframe what you need and what works for you because definitely I can even
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see in my own my own life at the moment I buggered my back up straight after
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having the because you just sleep deprived and not looking after yourself so
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it's yeah learn by making those those mistakes, try and work it out after that.
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I think being a dad now, and don't get me wrong, I'm seven weeks in,
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I'm by no means an expert, but having that experience helps me see what the
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dads I treated are going through.
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It helps me understand why they're in the position they're in.
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So tell me about where you work at PhysioFocus. Yeah. What's a day like for
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you? What sort of things are you treating? What's your reason of interest?
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General physiotherapy clinic. So it's relatively widespread.
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We treat back pain, neck pain, chronic pain conditions.
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We also treat a lot of sporting injuries. So we do a lot of post-op,
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ACLs, shoulder reconstructions, rotator cuff injuries, ankle sprains, that kind of thing.
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I think we do the active rehab and education really, really well.
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We've got a big sports rehab clinic in Carringbar, where we have a full gym
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that's manned by physios and exercise physiologists all the time for people
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to come in and complete their rehab space.
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And then we've got, you know, 11 beds up at the Guy Meir Clinic where we can... 11 beds?
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11 beds, yeah. So they're large clinics and we've got another smaller clinic in Cronulla as well.
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So, yeah, I guess it's a broad spectrum. We don't treat hands or women's health,
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but pretty much everything else we're across. Nice.
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Well, let's enjoy the party. But I'm sure if any dads are looking for help and
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healthcare, you'd be very happy to sit in. absolutely 100%.