Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation · Sports Medicine

Dr. Kentaro Onishi, MD

A tendinopathy expert and two-time Olympic physician.

About Dr. Onishi

Dr. Kentaro Onishi is a board-certified physical medicine and rehabilitation and sports medicine physician who takes a non-surgical approach to evaluating and treating sports injuries. He completed his sports medicine fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, with an emphasis on diagnostic and interventional ultrasound, and most recently spent eight years as the director of a sports medicine fellowship, where he also served as team physician for an NCAA Division I team. A two-time Olympic physician, he led the International Olympic Committee’s Venue Ultrasound Program at the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games in 2021.

His primary clinical and research interest is tendinopathy. He is the author of “Tendinopathy: From Basic Science to Clinical Management,” the #1 New Release in Orthopedics on Amazon in 2021, has given more than 100 presentations globally and published over 60 peer-reviewed papers on cutting-edge regenerative sports medicine topics — including ultrasound-guided ligament repair, percutaneous tenotomy, therapeutic arterial embolization for tendons, meniscus injuries and ACL injuries. He uses comprehensive regenerative strategies including dextrose-based prolotherapy, nerve and soft-tissue hydrodissection, TENEX/TENJET percutaneous needle tenotomy, platelet-rich plasma (PRP), and medicinal signaling cells (MSCs) from bone marrow and adipose tissue.

Dr. Onishi specializes in treating complex patients and has been the “last resort” for many of them. An avid sub-three-hour marathon runner himself, he enjoys the challenge of helping patients with complex, refractory diagnoses and is an expert in the timely return to sport, activity and work — for everyone from the elite Olympic athlete to the recreational weekend warrior. For his compassionate care he was awarded “Excellence in Patient Experience by Specialty” in 2021, earning the highest patient satisfaction among more than 500 physicians in his specialty. Born and raised in Japan, he first arrived in Northern California as a high-school exchange student; he completed his undergraduate work at Pepperdine University, medical school at Western University of Health Sciences, and was Chief Resident at U.C. Irvine before his Mayo Clinic fellowship and a faculty appointment as Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh — working directly under the mentorship of Dr. Freddie Fu, the legendary orthopedic surgeon. He is excited to be back in the Bay Area to give back to the community that once helped him when he did not speak a word of English.

Board certifications

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Sports Medicine

Education & training

B.A., Pepperdine University
Medical School, Western University of Health Sciences
Residency & Chief Residency, University of California, Irvine
Sports Medicine Fellowship, Mayo Clinic
Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh

Specialties & focus

Tendinopathy
Diagnostic & interventional musculoskeletal ultrasound
TENEX / TENJET percutaneous needle tenotomy
Dextrose-based prolotherapy
Nerve & soft-tissue hydrodissection
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP)
Medicinal signaling cells (MSCs) — bone marrow & adipose
Ultrasound-guided ligament repair

Recognition & affiliations

Two-time Olympic physician; led the IOC Venue Ultrasound Program, Tokyo 2021
Author, “Tendinopathy: From Basic Science to Clinical Management” — #1 New Release in Orthopedics on Amazon (2021)
60+ peer-reviewed publications · 100+ presentations worldwide
“Excellence in Patient Experience by Specialty” (2021)