About

Jan Dommerholt, PT, MPS, FAAPM
President and Owner

Jan Dommerholt, PT, MPS, FAAPM, is an accomplished and experienced Dutch-trained physical therapist. In addition to his physical therapy education, he has studied at New York University where he completed a course of study in Performing Artists Disorders (NYU Human Performance Analysis Laboratory). He completed a Master of Professional Studies with a concentration in biomechanical trauma and he is in the final stages of a doctorate in physical therapy at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences. Mr. Dommerholt is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pain Management and a member of many medical and physical therapy professional organizations.

Mr. Dommerholt is a recognized expert in the physical therapy diagnosis and treatment of persons with myofascial pain syndrome, chronic pain syndromes, and whiplash associated disorders. Read “Treating the Trigger” (PDF), a 2008 interview with Mr. Dommerholt published in Advance magazine.

He has published many articles and more than twenty book chapters on myofascial pain, chronic pain conditions, fibromyalgia, complex regional pain syndrome, and whiplash. Together with Dr. Jay Shah, MD, a clinician and researcher at the National Institutes of Health, he has contributed a chapter to Bonica’s Pain Management book, which is one of the most prestigious textbooks on pain management. Partial list of pertinent publications »

Mr. Dommerholt has also specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of musicians with musculoskeletal problems. As a former clarinetist and saxophonist, Mr. Dommerholt has combined his interests in music and physical therapy. His final thesis in his physical therapy education was titled Musica et Medicina and focused on medical problems of wind instrumentalists. Since, he has authored several articles on performing arts physical therapy and contributed chapters to most leading medical textbooks on performing arts medicine. Overview of Mr. Dommerholt’s performing arts publications »

Mr. Dommerholt has studied physical therapy approaches for persons with craniomandibular pain and completed an advanced internship with Dr. Mariano Rocabado in Santiago, Chile. He has contributed a book chapter (pdf) to a four-volume dental and orthodontic textbook, which was released in Spain in 2006.

Mr. Dommerholt has studied dry needling techniques in Europe, the United States, and Canada and has incorporated these techniques into his manual therapy practice. He has written several articles about dry needling.

Together with Dr. David Simons, the co-author of the Trigger Point Manuals, Mr. Dommerholt, prepares a literature review column on myofascial pain syndrome for the Journal of Musculoskeletal Pain. Mr. Bill Cohen, president of Haworth Press has granted us permission to feature the review columns on this site. Free copies of the Journal of Musculoskeletal Pain are available from Haworth Press, 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY  13904.

Mr. Dommerholt has taught many courses and lectured at conferences throughout the United States, Europe, South America, and the Middle East while maintaining an active clinical practice. He is the only physical therapist in the US who teaches trigger point dry needling courses to physicians, dentists, physical therapists, and others.

Mr. Dommerholt is on the editorial board of the Journal of Musculoskeletal Pain (editor Dr. I. Jon Russell), the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies (Dr. Leon Chaitow), the Journal of Manual and Manipulative Therapy (editor Dr. Chad Cook), and Cuestiones de Fisioterapia. He is a frequent reviewer of submitted articles for several journals, including Physical Therapy, the Journal of Musculoskeletal Pain, the Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, the Clinical Journal of Pain, the American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, the Journal of Alternative and Complimentary Therapies, etc. In addition, Mr. Dommerholt is an expert witness for the Maryland State Board of Physical Therapy Examiners.

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