135. Staying Open to New Experiences with Sports Medicine Physician Yuka Tsukahara

135. Staying Open to New Experiences with Sports Medicine Physician Yuka Tsukahara

Introducing Yuka Tsukahara

Today I’m talking to sports medicine physician Dr. Yuka Tsukahara about staying open to new experiences.

Her Career Journey

Yuka earned her MD at Nayoua City University while she continued to run hurdles, competing in the 2008 trials for the Beijing Olympic Games. Interested in sports medicine, she went on to complete her residency in orthopedic surgery. Yuka also earned her PhD in sport science from Waseda University. She is currently an orthopedic sports medicine physician in Tokyo and a professor at the Tokyo Women’s College of Physical Education. She was the International Visiting Fellow for the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine in 2019 and served as the Athlete Village Lead Physician for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympics Games.

Staying Open to New Experiences

Throughout her career, Yuka has not been afraid to do and study new things. When she wanted to understand why the Japanese women’s national team sprinters were underperforming on the international stage, she applied for and received a grant that led her to PhD. Yuka is balancing teaching, research, and her clinical work while collaborating across the globe to learn how to close the gender gap in sports medicine.

Inside this episode:

  • Yuka describes her educational journey, from wanting to be a marine biologist as a child to figuring out what type of doctor to become. Ultimately, she was driven to understand why some athletes stay healthy while others become injured, prompting her to become an orthopedic sports medicine physician.
  • She talks about her experiences in America as a visiting scholar with AMSSM and the number of incredible women she met practicing sports medicine in the US. This opened new doors for her research shining a light on the gender gap in sports medicine.
  • Yuka completed the International Olympic Committee course and earned a diploma in sports medicine, opening up doors to become a physician for the Athlete Villiage at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She describes how rewarding it was to work with athletes from all over, some of whom were able to access proper health care for the first time in years.
  • One of Yuka’s strengths is meeting new people and making connections. Sometimes, it’s as simple as reading an email from a new person and knowing instantly from the tone if they’re someone you’d like to follow up with.
  • She describes the changes in expectations she faced when she became a mother and lost out on opportunities to be on the sidelines. Yuka’s research is helping to bring data into the conversation on discrimination.

Resources

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