Bite-sized conversation with Harry Dale from PhysioFocus

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.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
We are here with Harry Dale from PhysioFocus, and we just were having a chat about being dads.
I'm a very new dad with a six and a half week old at home. Harry has a two month old today.
And gee whiz, isn't it interesting trying to get dads involved in their health?
Some dads are super active.
Some dads, you just don't see them because they don't need to come in for years and years. Yeah.

(00:20):
Tell us about being a dad, interacting with dads at your clinic, maybe.
What's sort of a day like for you, Harry? Yeah, I think, I guess the biggest
thing for me as a very new dad is the massive curveball as far as to lifestyle
and particularly about the time you prioritize to your own health.
So, you know, the challenge that I'm navigating at the moment is how do I get
back into doing some exercise and trying to make sure I get back into the lifestyle

(00:43):
habits that are a little bit easier when I didn't have someone to depend on,
which to be honest, I'm trying to navigate at the moment.
But I like the idea of things that are quick and easy, going
for a jog straight out the the door so you don't have any other prep time or
not feeling something can around work so we're lucky working in a physio
clinic with a gym i can try and do a quick little workout here
and there and maybe it looks like 20 or 30 minutes rather than an hour so that

(01:03):
i'm able to get home quick enough to be helpful but yeah it's definitely a challenge
definitely one that i wasn't thinking too proactively about beforehand because
i find kids are heavy right like your kid gets very heavy very quickly and yes
you get a certain amount of exercise carrying a bassinet yet pushing a pram I'm sure.
But if I didn't have a gym on the public park near where I live,

(01:23):
it would be very hard to get to the gym.
I can take the kid for a walk in the pram and do a couple of pushups,
a couple of stretches while they're asleep, but it's really hard.
And that's why we often see a lot of dads with back injuries or deconditioned
a few years down the track.
Absolutely. Well, I think it just comes down to trying to find a balance, right?
Of how much time can I take for myself versus how much time can I give to my

(01:43):
kid and my partner to try and support them?
And there's a level of guilt, I think everyone feels about trying to go away
and look after themselves, particularly in these crazy early stages where you're
trying to work out what to do.
But I think as you alluded to, it's just every little bit helps.
I think we just got to accept the fact that things aren't going to be perfect
and they're not going to, maybe your workout's not going to look like what it
did before you had the little bub.

(02:04):
And if you are doing a few pushups here and a bit of a jog there,
I think that's a win to be honest with you.
And I'm sure things will settle down as you get, as the public gets a little
bit older and you get a little bit more of a routine.
But you're right. definitely I think lifestyle habits
are easy to change to fall into bad habits
and then it's it's something that's a little bit harder to
get back into a positive habit so I think you just got to continually keep trying

(02:26):
to reframe what you need and what works for you because definitely I can even
see in my own my own life at the moment I buggered my back up straight after
having the because you just sleep deprived and not looking after yourself so
it's yeah learn by making those those mistakes, try and work it out after that.
I think being a dad now, and don't get me wrong, I'm seven weeks in,

(02:47):
I'm by no means an expert, but having that experience helps me see what the
dads I treated are going through.
It helps me understand why they're in the position they're in.
So tell me about where you work at PhysioFocus. Yeah. What's a day like for
you? What sort of things are you treating? What's your reason of interest?
General physiotherapy clinic. So it's relatively widespread.

(03:07):
We treat back pain, neck pain, chronic pain conditions.
We also treat a lot of sporting injuries. So we do a lot of post-op,
ACLs, shoulder reconstructions, rotator cuff injuries, ankle sprains, that kind of thing.
I think we do the active rehab and education really, really well.
We've got a big sports rehab clinic in Carringbar, where we have a full gym
that's manned by physios and exercise physiologists all the time for people

(03:30):
to come in and complete their rehab space.
And then we've got, you know, 11 beds up at the Guy Meir Clinic where we can... 11 beds?
11 beds, yeah. So they're large clinics and we've got another smaller clinic in Cronulla as well.
So, yeah, I guess it's a broad spectrum. We don't treat hands or women's health,
but pretty much everything else we're across. Nice.
Well, let's enjoy the party. But I'm sure if any dads are looking for help and

(03:52):
healthcare, you'd be very happy to sit in. absolutely 100%.