Charles Odonkor, MD, MA

Dr. Odonkor (triple-O) is fellowship trained and double-board certified in Interventional Pain and Physiatry. He completed pain fellowship at Harvard Medical School, the Massachusetts General Hospital and residency and patient safety and health systems design fellowship at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. As an alumnus of Yale School of Medicine, he is excited to return to Yale to bring his expertise in advanced pain intervention techniques, regenerative medicine and neuromodulation to alleviate chronic pain.

Philosophy of care

Dr. Odonkor believes in doing the right thing each time for each patient and holds the view that mutual respect and trust is at the heart of any therapeutic alliance between patient and physician. He incorporates his understanding of the neuroscience of changes in the brain in chronic pain states in his clinical practice to help each person work towards restorative wellness. Treating complex chronic pain conditions requires a proactive approach with personal commitment to dietary and lifestyle changes, forming new life affirming habits, a can-do spirit and positive reframing.

Dr. Odonkor further utilizes interdisciplinary collaborative partnerships with surgeons, allied health professionals and clinicians to help mobility-limited patients achieve functional restoration. He combines expert training, cutting edge technology and compassionate care to help patients achieve realistic goals.

Areas of Expertise include:

Advanced pain therapies: spinal cord stimulation, peripheral nerve stimulation, sacral nerve stimulation, restorative stimulation, interspinous spacers, cryoblation, radiofrequency neurotomy, basivertebral and medial branch ablation

Therapeutic injections: ganglion impar block, paravertebral blocks, interscalene blocks, pudendal nerve blocks, cluneal nerve block, occipital nerve block, femoral/obturator nerve blocks, saphenous nerve block, epidural injections, peripheral joints- shoulders, knees and hips, sacroiliac joint, cervical, thoracic and lumbar facet injections, botox/chemodenervation

Regenerative medicine: prolotherapy, platelet rich plasma therapy, nerve hydrodissection

Therapeutic modalities: shockwave therapy, pulsed electromagnetic field therapy, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation

Medico-legal consulting for work-related injury, sports injuries and motor vehicle accidents, medical cannabinoids

Special conditions treated: tail bone pain, arachnoiditis, fascial disorders, connective tissue disorder, painful diabetic neuropathy, complex regional pain syndrome CRPS 1 and 2, inflammatory conditions, nonoperative scoliosis, multifidus atrophy, whiplash syndrome, chemotherapy induced neuropathy, radiation plexopathy, chronic postsurgical pain syndrome

He has expertise in clinical trials and runs a research lab with a focus on wearable devices that involve biosensors that, for a patient with a chronic back pain, for example, track changes in range of motion, gait speed, physical activity, and other measures of function. He is involved in medical trainee education and gives several regional, national and international lectures on various topics in chronic pain science and interventional pain techniques.

Dr. Odonkor is an assistant professor of orthopedics and rehabilitation at Yale School of Medicine.