Dr.Jan-Paul van Wingerden graduated as physical therapist in 1988 with a cum laude
paper on the application of artificial intelligence (AI) for clinical assessment protocols.
From 1988 he worked as research assistant at the departments of Biomedical
Technology (Prof.dr.ir. C.J. Snijders) and Anatomy (Prof. dr. J. Voogd) until 1996. During
this period he became acquainted with anatomical dissection, biomechanics,
measurement techniques, study design, data analysis, statistics and software
development (Quickbasic an Delphi).
In 1996 he cooperated in the founding of the rehabilitation centre: the Spine & Joint
Centre (SJC). First as head of therapy, writing therapy protocols and developing
database and application software which has been successfully used for over 20 years.
From 2001 till present he is director of the SJC. The SJC provides diagnostics and
treatment for chronic pain patients, especially, neck-, back and pelvic pain. The specific
approach of the organisation is unique in Europe. Based on the results of more than
10000 patients the protocol can be considered very successful.
In 2009 Jan-Paul wrote his PhD thesis entitled: Functional anatomy in low back
rehabilitation, balance in the bio-psychosocial model. This thesis is a plea for re-
appreciation of functional anatomy in rehabilitation of chronic pain.
In 2014 he wrote (regrettably only in Dutch) the book: ‘Rugpijn en andere onbegrepen
klachten’ (translated: ‘backpain and other misunderstood complaints’)
Teaching is one of the author’s passions. At both graduate and postgraduate level he has
taught courses on computer science, biomechanics, ergonomics, dissection-room
anatomy, anatomy in vivo and functional anatomy, and therapeutic interventions in the
Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland. He is a frequent speaker on conferences and
symposia.