Behind the Banter: Why We Started the Conversation with Meg & Jules

Who are the voices behind Healthy Banter? In this special episode, we're turning the microphones on ourselves.

Join us as we share our journeys into physiotherapy, women's health, and the experiences that sparked our passion for helping people move, feel, and live better. We chat about what inspired us to start Healthy Banter, the conversations we felt were missing, and our vision for creating a podcast that makes evidence-based health information approachable, practical, and enjoyable.

You'll get to know us beyond our professional roles—what drives us, what we've learned along the way, and why we're so passionate about challenging health myths, asking curious questions, and bringing expert guests together to help you make sense of your health.

Whether you're a clinician, a health enthusiast, or simply curious about the people behind the podcast, this is the perfect place to start.

Expect plenty of laughs, honest conversations, and, of course... a little healthy banter.

Looking for more Healthy Banter? Check out our website at https://www.healthybanter.com.au/ or follow us https://www.instagram.com/healthybanter.podcast/

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:07

Welcome to Healthy Banta, the podcast where women's health gets real relatable and just a little bit cheeky. We'd like to begin this podcast by acknowledging the traditional owners on the land on which we meet today. We would also like to pay respects for elders past and present.

SPEAKER_03 0:24

Hey Jules. Hey Meg, how are you? I'm well, how are you?

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Uh I'm a little bit under the weather today, but we're gonna sold through. We'll get through this. We are definitely. Um we we're doing it's just us today. But we thought we're about halfway through the year, and um, we thought it'd be a good time to pause and uh just to do a little more get to know us.

SPEAKER_03 0:50

Yeah, no guest, no gender today. Just us finding out a little bit about us.

SPEAKER_00 0:55

Talking rubbish for 45 minutes. No, only 20 minutes, don't worry.

SPEAKER_03 1:02

Hopefully, uh yeah, just we thought it'd be nice for you to find out a little bit about us, uh, why we're doing what we're doing, where we got to, where we are, how and how, maybe what makes us tick, and maybe yeah, it might help might help you feel a little bit more at home when you listen to us anyway, and it might help you understand why we're asking some of the questions we're asking.

SPEAKER_00 1:22

Yeah, yeah. Totally. And Jules is gonna start. So why are we doing what we're doing, Jules?

SPEAKER_03 1:30

Well, from my memory, you and I, we've been talking about this for quite a while. Um, yeah, we had the lovely pleasure of working together for quite a while, and I think the thing we noticed in that time was that you and I had a really similar outlook towards um how we see what we do in the in the broader picture of work, like how we um look at people and this the service and connection that we want to make with people. And I and I think from memory, we started having conversations about how we didn't worry about the people that were sitting in front of us because they were there, they were getting the information, they were with health professionals, but we were a bit concerned about the people who didn't end up in front of us. Yeah, and not that we were saying that we were, you know, the be all and end all, but people who weren't for whatever reason, whether it be financial or physical or distance, like geographical reasons, yeah, couldn't get to health professionals. And the other part of that was we were worried about the amount and volume of just uh filler and a bit of distracting information out there from social media that might not always be right.

SPEAKER_00 2:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:52

Um so we were trying to work out a way that we could connect with more people and bring more evidence-based information, but in a really relatable way to people.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

Yeah, that's your memory. Yeah, that was I think that was the crux of it. I think it was um trying trying to get more information out to more people. Um, I think in my head, I had always thought about I grew up in um a small country town. So I I think that was always in the back of my head uh with it, like trying to get you know more info out to places, like probably more geographical, um, but of course like financially as well for those patients that can't come in. Um and I think we you know we always wanted to do something together. Um, and this has been a really fun project to do together. Um, so I think we landed on the podcast.

SPEAKER_03 3:45

Well, we were talking about that when I was mentioning that similar ethos that we had. I think that's the crux of it, Meg. Like I think you and I we we've always been about um really caring for people and like not just for whatever that particular presentation was in that moment in the clinical space, but caring for the whole person and how does that like impact on their lives? And and I I'd like to think that when that comes across when you're um in a clinical space with somebody, the thing I want to remind our listeners of, and that's really important, is make sure when you're with practitioners, whoever that might be, is share that stuff with them because it can make such a difference to um the broader, bigger picture. And and sometimes something that you might think is completely unrelated or uninteresting or um irrelevant can be one of the most um critical components to helping you with whatever the problem is that you're facing at that time.

SPEAKER_00 4:52

Absolutely. Yeah, I think we we'd all be guilty of this. Like you as a as you know, walking into somewhere an appointment as a patient, you um you box it into, you know, if you're at the GP, it's like you're just here for like one one little part and that's what you're giving them. Or you know, if you're at the hairdresser you're doing, you know, like it's it's it's very it's a singular focus. Silo singular focus. And and I think when you're share sharing that a little bit more, it opens up you know, connection and um and that side of things. And that in our space, it really helps, I think, to be able to connect with with patients and then um see them through like a rehab process.

SPEAKER_03 5:33

And I think especially when you reflect back exactly on that and you think of particularly um the hypermobility um episode that we popped out there where people might just think that they're hypermobile, but forget to mention all the other stuff that's going on, which actually helps in that diagnostic phase.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

Yeah, absolutely. Like um, I think you know, we I mean we tend to then delve a little bit further because we want to know about you know the the bow habits and that sort of thing because it all links, it all links in, whereas it can seem, you know, if you're shoulders dislocating, you might not think you want to talk about the bowels as well. It seems very separate.

SPEAKER_03 6:14

And speaking of bowels, you you would talk about bowels a little bit, Vegan, because you're you're actually a women's health physio. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 6:21

How often do you talk about bowels?

SPEAKER_00 6:24

Most days I'm in the clinic, we talk about bowel movements, butter movements. Um, but yes, I do do women's health physio and just general musculoskeletal physio as well. So I do a combo of those, uh, which I really love doing.

SPEAKER_03 6:39

How did you end up there? What what for you? I actually don't think I know the answer to this question. For you, why women's health? What what led you down that?

SPEAKER_00 6:45

Women's health, I always had an interest in it. I remember even um I started working when I started working as a new grad, I worked in Sydney for a bit and I I always just had an interest in that area. I I felt like we could make a really big difference in that area because it's probably an area that is less commonly, you know, spoken about openly and easily amongst um friends and and or colleagues and uh in groups of people because it is, you know, you're talking um about your um it can be sexual function, um, bowel and bladder issues. So it's you know, they're topics that probably, you know, there's they're getting a lot more airtime now, I think, which is great. Um but you know, looking at sort of our um parents' generation, like it just wasn't spoken about. So it's you know, it links in with with that and with menopause, obviously, where which is getting uh uh like heaps more airtime now. But I think even we can make really like just with our education to patients in that space, we it can make such a huge difference in that space. So that's sort of why I delved into it.

SPEAKER_03 7:59

Yeah, great. We're definitely we're going to be having a couple of women's specific pelvic health uh episodes coming up.

SPEAKER_00 8:06

Yes, yeah, yeah, we're gonna delve into that, which would be great.

SPEAKER_03 8:08

Tapping into your expertise there quite a bit.

SPEAKER_00 8:11

It does bridge that gap a little bit between the medical world and physio world, which is nice. Like it's a really rewarding um area, which I'm sure you would know a lot about too, because your area is cancer rehab.

SPEAKER_01 8:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:29

But how did you get into that?

SPEAKER_03 8:32

Oh well, prior to that, I was actually a sports physio. So I've done a I've had a big career shift. So I went from traveling with international and national sporting teams to now doing cancer rehab. But I think for me, uh I I had an episode back when I was in my 30s, I had a cancer diagnosis and uh had to get through that. And I realized going through that, that even as a physio, I didn't quite know how to put myself back together. And there were, there wasn't really anyone around helping people put themselves back together from a physiotherapy point, from a physical health point of view at that time. And so, yeah, so that's I started up after as I was getting back to work. It it actually, cancer rehab, I love because it brings in all of the skill sets that throughout my career I've established. Um, and it's that perfect, it's that perfect mix of all the skills that I'd acquired during the lifetime of my career. Um and to be able, again, a little bit like women's health, it it's that that blend, a lot of blend with the medical team. Yeah, it would be. Yeah, there's a lot of people.

SPEAKER_00 9:47

Part of those bigger teams.

SPEAKER_03 9:48

Um correct. There's a big medical component to it, and you definitely, as a cancer rehab physio, I'm part of my job is I'm trying to help gather around these beautiful people who are who have been um, you know, their worlds have turned upside down because they've had a cancer diagnosis, helping them establish a team around themselves to get all the education and all the um tools that they need in their kit to not only um get through their treatment, the medical treatment that they're on, but to make sure that during that they're able to um live the best quality of life they can, and so that then afterwards it's not like, which is which is what happened for me, trying to pull yourself back together from just being so deconditioned and so unwell, trying to keep sustain some wellness throughout the whole process. So it's not such a big difference. Um and trying to help them move forward.

SPEAKER_00 10:45

When do your patients come to see you? Do they come when they're during their treatment? Do they come when they're first diagnosed? Do they come post-treatment? Like what do you do you get a mix?

SPEAKER_03 10:54

That, yeah, it's a mix, and that's a really good question. It basically depends on how they end up with me. So there are a lot of um in the breast cancer, well, because I see people with all different types of cancers. I'm not one cancer specific. Um the people who I see who have had a breast cancer diagnosis, generally they're coming to me because somebody on their team has said, we're concerned you've had this many red flags about potentially, say, lymphedema, or they're having to go to radiotherapy, but they haven't got the arm range to be able to lie in the machine that they need to receive their radiotherapy. So there's often in the breast cancer world, there's a specific reason that a medical practitioner has sent that person to me. Yeah. Um, in the blood cancer space, so hematological cancer space, I find those patients amazing because a lot of the time they are finding me themselves. They're looking to make life better because for them, um, chemotherapy, for example, or immunotherapy is the biol and end all, and it's really hard on their bodies. And so they're fine, they just can't function very well. So I'm getting a mass of people who are potentially uh health literate or very well educated, knowing oh, I probably need to stay on this from the get-go. So they'll come early in their diagnostic um journey. Yeah. Uh, but then I have other people who will come as they're falling apart, or as I said, other people who will come because they've been flagged somehow that there's something that needs to be fixed up or addressed for them to continue participating in their treatment. Yeah. And the other group that I get are people who, like I alluded to a little bit earlier, get to the end of their treatment who haven't done anything, sort of the whole world stops because they're focusing on treatment and they're so deconditioned and so far from either returning back to work or just participating in normal everyday life, that someone, either themselves or someone in their family will call to say, Hey, I think this person needs a hand. Yeah. Um, it's a complete, a complete mix. Yeah. Which interesting. Yeah. Look, if you have a cancer diagnosis, that's actually really helpful to go and see a um, you know, a cancer rehab physiotherapist or a an exercise physiologist who has an interest in cancer to keep yourself moving. Yes. Uh it's really one of the most important things. And I think with all the topics we've been talking about, that's something that keeps coming through. The more we can keep our muscle mass and the more we can keep moving and the more we can keep our range of motion, the better life is for us all.

SPEAKER_00 13:26

Yeah, yeah. That that um longevity is you know, like and the exercise and movement is a big, big part of that, um, which comes up time and time again. More like any injury, you know, like you you don't want to stop completely. It's rare, well it's pretty rare that a patient comes through our doors and we'd be saying, stop completely, unless it was, you know, we were concerned about red flags, fractures, you know, that sort of thing. It's um, but the general kind of like, you know, musculoskeletal injury or um or similar, it's you know, movement, motion is lotion.

SPEAKER_01 14:02

Yeah, I love that. Motion is lotion.

SPEAKER_03 14:08

Yeah, yeah, that's really good. And and listen, we've both got mums who I know we talk about quite a little bit as well. How has watching your mum navigate her life impacted on you and what you do and how you move? Because you're very, you're very active. You're a runner. Was that something you got from your mum?

SPEAKER_00 14:29

No, no, no, it wasn't. Sorry, mum, but I don't think I've ever seen my mum run. Um uh no, it wasn't not really like it's not something I grew up watching, but what I probably did, like probably what it is though, like um like mum and dad played sport um and we saw that a lot growing up. And they didn't, mum and dad never stopped stopped moving, like in terms of like gardening and cleaning, and they were I like I rarely saw my parents kind of sit down um to relax, you know, that that kind of thing. So they were constantly moving, but it wasn't through like organized exercise, yeah. Um oh like they played mum played tennis, but yeah, there was um definitely not not running. No, I started running when I was 17, I just really didn't stop. Really?

SPEAKER_03 15:15

You because you love it, don't you?

SPEAKER_00 15:16

You really love your I love running.

SPEAKER_03 15:18

And is that is that because of how does it fit hang on, is that because of how it makes you feel, how or how the head space that it gives you, or is it also or is it the physicality of it for you?

SPEAKER_00 15:34

Like what what I think it's all like an element of all of those. Like I think I think initially I liked it because you like I've always loved ex exercise. It's never been for for me, it's never been a chore, like which I know you know that's a great benefit. Like I just it it never has been. Like I've I've enjoyed sports, I've I was good at them, um and then sort of took up running. I think I liked it because I could do it anywhere. And then I think as I've gotten older and done more with it, I've definitely it's like the mental headspace, like um and the feeling. Like, and I know runners will that are listening will know what I'm saying, but you just you feel like you're on a high all day. Like it's just it it just gives you that endorphin release that you get from it is um it's sort of addictive, I think. So I think it it's become more of that, and it it and then the physical side of it, yeah, like it's fun to sort of see how much you can push it um and see what your body can handle, I guess.

SPEAKER_03 16:35

Did you run while you were pregnant? Like what do you do? What did you do there?

SPEAKER_00 16:38

Yeah, I did. Um I couldn't not all the way through though. So I think I ran maybe up to about 20 weeks before my pelvis sort of was sort of let me know that it wasn't um it wasn't gonna cope anymore. And then subsequent ones probably I stopped earlier than that um because my body I didn't feel like my body uh could tolerate the load.

SPEAKER_03 16:59

Yeah, okay. So did you was there something else you replaced that with or what did you do Pilates?

SPEAKER_00 17:05

I did Pilates um and did more like strength-based things up like again up until I could. I um and walked. I did a lot of walking and podcast listening. Yeah. But yeah, what about you? What's your what what's your go-to? I know you do some tap. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:26

Um I'm on a little bit of a pause for my tap at the moment. Um tap dancing too, everyone. Oh, what tap dancing? Yes. Well, a little pause at the moment, just because I have uh hurt my back a little bit, so I'm on a bit of a pause. But um what I I love tap dancing. I danced when I was younger. That was my always my exercise. I was a dancer. Um, as in not classical, I was a jazz and tap dancer. And then actually, after I was unwell with my cancer, um I would really just wanted to do something that I loved again. And so I coerced um a beautiful mum from school who had a dance studio and coerced her into starting up an adult um dance class that included tap. And so even though I'm not there at the moment, that adult tap class is still running. So that was back in 2010, she started that up. I love it because I knew so. I was only 35 when I got my cancer, and that pushed me into uh I I sort of skipped the I just went from normal functioning to postmenopause. So, like when we were talking to Sonia Davison about menopause. Yeah, uh yeah, I was a medically induced menopause at 35. So as a physio, I knew that I had to look out for my um my bones. Yeah, and I just went, oh, I love tap dancing. That's like a no-brainer, obvious choice. Because I'm not I've never been a runner. And I've I so admire you. I've always admired runners. I love I I love the idea of running, but I've never my body just it's not been that thing for me. But tap dancing, oh my gosh, I just lose myself and I love it and I laugh, I just laugh so much, and um yeah, it's great. And my other thing that I did at the same time was skipping. I love skipping, just losing myself in that. And I guess probably a little bit like your um runners endorphin thing that really keeps you that I yeah, I used it like as a hit program, like a one minute on, one minute off. And um, yeah, amazing. I loved it so much. So I'm sort of missing that a little bit at the moment with my back, but I'm going to get back there. Um, that's my aim.

SPEAKER_00 19:43

That's your goal.

SPEAKER_03 19:44

Yeah, which is important.

SPEAKER_00 19:45

That's my goal. Was your mum a dancer? Is that what you saw? No, so where did No, no, and what did like how did your mum shape what you like in terms of this, in terms of what you do?

SPEAKER_03 19:57

Yeah, so my mum, she, my mum and dad, dad was always physically active. He was an electrician, so he was constantly up and down ladders through Joel, like through he was and a site, he was Dutch, so he was a cyclist. He would cycle lots, that's what he loved doing. Whereas mum, she sort of didn't really ever have a sport, but she loved the garden. So for her, you know, getting out mowing and doing all those sort of things. And and I think because growing up, her family didn't have a lot of money. When we were young, she wanted to give us opportunities that she didn't have. So she said, Well, you know, pick something that you think you'd like to do. And I always, I used as a little kid, I used to love dressing up so much. So she said, Do you want to try dancing? Yeah, choo-choo. That sort of fits it for me. And so that's that's how I started dancing. So I danced all the way through until um high school, like right into late high school, and played tennis at the same time. Um, but I just I just loved it so much. Like losing myself in the music was really, really great, I think. Yeah, and you know what I think, and I think um, you know, like uh we were talking about, I think it was with Sharon in their hypermobility episodes, you have to find something that you do that you love. So, like you with your running, me with my dancing or the skipping, yeah, when you love it, it's not a chore. It's just you find the time to put it into your day because it sustains you almost. And I think for people who haven't found their thing or don't know what their thing is, even if you're starting to try something, um, the thing I find helpful and what I talk to my patients a lot about is linking that to a habit that you already do. So even if it's only something little. So, for example, someone who's really deconditioned, uh post cancer treatment, who doesn't feel like exercising, I say, well, you know, even when you're say brushing your teeth, stand on one leg. Let's do it some balance training. You know, like just keep linking little things. things in your day to things you already do.

SPEAKER_00 22:02

Good way to build it up too, isn't it? When you've got that in building those habits. But yeah, I agree. I think you've you definitely have to love what you do to prioritize it. And I did, I mentioned this to my husband just earlier, um, talking about like and in his point was he's like, I don't know, he's at a gym. He's like, I don't know if I really like love that, but I love like the community and the coffee after. And I'm like, oh yeah, well that that works.

unknown 22:32

That works.

SPEAKER_03 22:34

Yeah. Yeah. It's almost like a reward for yourself or there's gonna be some reward in it somehow. Yeah. Well on that you just ran the Brisbane half marathon, did you not? I did. I did my first what was your reward in that was your reward actually doing it or was your reward the training for it? Like it was your first half marathon.

SPEAKER_00 22:53

The first half marathon that's the longest I've ever run I think it was like just being like knowing my body could do that like the accomplishment of running over the finish line and getting through that like yeah that my body could actually do it. How did you feel um how did you how did your body feel how did you feel body like I like I like I felt amazing for doing it like mentally I think my body actually I felt okay I pulled up much better than I thought. My feet were sore and my hamstrings were sore and that was about it. And the next day I was fine.

SPEAKER_03 23:26

Yeah I think if I remember correctly there's research um out there that shows that if you exercise with other people it's three that that exercise whatever it is you're doing is three times more effective uh in your body than just exercising even on your own.

SPEAKER_00 23:42

Yeah it's so fun anyone would know that does does these or does like um park runs or kind of like even you know like the um bridge to bridge and like the shorter kind of fun runs they like they're fun either there's DJs along the course you know you've got like all these people um like people holding up signs and like funny signs that make you laugh along the way and yeah it it's a great it's a great uh it's a great feeling doing it yeah you've got little kids how are you encouraging them to move like what is it that you do I mean they play s a bit of sport um and we just kind of we've probably done as families we do a lot of like um we'll go out and do a walk together or like kids will ride their bikes or scooters and we'll walk like so we we do that um quite often so we've done a bit of that and then we've just kind of introduced them to a bit of sport when they've been younger and not really you know just let them lead the way with what they want to try and we've just got one rule that if they sign up for you know a season or whatever it is they've just got to finish that out but um they can't swap within it and they can't like quit quit before the season's over. So and I think that's what we but if they get to the end of the season.

SPEAKER_03 25:00

Yeah if they get to the end of the season it's not what they like.

SPEAKER_00 25:02

Yeah we that's fine like we we you know like they they stop and then they might try something else and they might have some time off.

SPEAKER_01 25:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:09

What about you? What did you do?

SPEAKER_03 25:10

Your kids are now older obviously um old it's not what I meant it's just a fact it's okay uh but my kids are all in their twenties now my kids are young adults my young adults you're young adults um but what did you do with your kids did you like take encouragement yeah yeah very similar even like I can remember our if we lived sort of it's sort of like Cul-de-sacy where we were there was this beautiful little round little park and most afternoons just the kids and I like if we were at home we'd we'd do that little walk every Saturday we'd pull out the prams or the backpacks or you know depending on what babies and stuff we had and we'd do the kangaroo point walk with the kids. Yeah um you know and for them it was seeing the lizards the little you know water trees that are all along the rocks yes yeah there's plenty of those up an adventure and I guess the other massive thing for us is we've always been near the beach so my husband's a surfer um I think the kids were surfing as long as as soon as they could walk or earlier because he would put them on the board with him and we were always at the beach we've um spent a lot of time at the beach uh all of all of our kids did for a little while for better or for worse gymnastics yeah which was which I think is really good yeah I love gymnastics for the fact that they learn um they gain some strength they learn how to move and they learn how to I know this is a silly thing but how to land safely like that's a really important thing and yeah it's and and body awareness I think was a big was a big thing and it helped with their proprioception and that sense of um you know again motion is lotion moving is important and um strength strength is is really important part of your life yeah to say you can do the things you want to do.

SPEAKER_00 27:18

Let's do a rapid fire though before we finish oh yeah let's do a rapid fire I feel we're gonna do a rapid fire for people who have made it this far into us talking about ourselves well done you well done thanks for hanging out thank you for committing to to uh learning a little bit more about we've enjoyed it thoroughly Jules coffee or tea yes tea Megan coffee or tea coffee hands down who drinks tea no I'm only kidding I drink tea at night just just in the morning it's it's gotta be coffee okay Megan early riser or night owl early riser 100% what about you no night owl I think we know this from our texts it's like Jules will text me 11 pm I will text her at 5 a.m and somewhere we'll respond in the middle we'll be you go next uh one thing on your bedside table right now oh um my kindle I'm really enjoying getting back into reading again at night yeah what about you oh exactly I my Kindle always and then I've got about like four um books piled up under that and what about what's the song that gets you moving without fail?

SPEAKER_03 28:35

I don't know I don't know I don't know if there's even one song I I think for me it's anything that's just upbeat like a an a really upbeat good rhythm to the song will we'll get my little feet tapping and start a tapping like happy you're like happy feet the movie that's what I imagine it like yeah that's probably me what about you have you got a song or have you got like a particular song I I don't think I have a particular song but I God I'm a sucker for pit bull and any of his songs um really I would never pick that well there you go that'll usually get me moving or any mainstream pop.

SPEAKER_02 29:25

I just I have it on silent usually now we might hear some more pit bull in our socials it's out now we saved the best to last I might cut this all right we will catch you guys in a couple of weeks hope you enjoyed thanks so much for spending time with us guys we'll talk to you soon bye and that's a wrap for today's episode of HealthyBanter we hope you're leaving with something useful and maybe something worth sharing with a friend because that's what we're all about women supporting women one honest chat at a time.

SPEAKER_03 30:13

If you loved hanging out with us make sure to share follow or subscribe on Instagram YouTube Spotify or just head to healthybanter.com.au so you never miss an episode. Take the advice that helps, ditch the guilt and keep cheering for yourself. We'll see you next week for more stories, more science and even more banter Healthy Banda is hosted, produced and edited by Megan Jewels. Our main music theme is composed by Ada Akbal. Healthy Banda is not a licensed health service it is not a substitute for professional health advice treatment or assessment. The advice given in this episode is general in nature but if you are in need of individual advice or consultation please see a healthcare professional. If you are struggling call Lifeline on 1314