Journal profile · ORTHOPEDICS
JOR Spine
ISSN 2572-1143 · Wiley · United States
JOR Spine: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.86; fully open access; APC about USD 2,730; median 141 days to acceptance (94 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 21% (journal website); 134 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
JOR Spine is published by Wiley and is in Zone 3 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Spine and Intervertebral Disc Pathology, Cervical and Thoracic Myelopathy and Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation, together about 56.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Surgery. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
JOR Spine was established by the Orthopaedic Research Society to serve the spine research community by offering a platform focusing on basic and translational orthopaedic research of the spine. The Journal will provide a peer reviewed, open access forum for the publication of the premier studies focused on the biological basis of development, growth, aging and degeneration, biomechanical and novel imaging methods, mechano-biology, biomaterial applications, and pre-clinical and clinical studies based on novel preventative and regenerative approaches.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): ORTHOPEDICS
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 17%); most named Mainland China 1, United Kingdom 1, Germany 1, Canada 1, Australia 1 (6 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Spine and Intervertebral Disc PathologyMedicine33.7%
- Cervical and Thoracic MyelopathyMedicine12.9%
- Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitationMedicine10.1%
- Medical Imaging and AnalysisEngineering7.8%
- Scoliosis diagnosis and treatmentMedicine5.4%
- Osteoarthritis Treatment and MechanismsMedicine3.3%
- Spondyloarthritis Studies and TreatmentsMedicine3.3%
- Spinal Fractures and Fixation TechniquesMedicine3.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of SciencePubMedEmbaseCASCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 3.86LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.9Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.1LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 5.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 5.1Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.97LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.12LetPub ·
- h-index
- 39OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 209OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.7OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 12.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 122LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 8Publisher website ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 124Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 213,670Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 613 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 68 | 68 | 36 |
| 2025 | 134 | 134 | 470 |
| 2024 | 87 | 87 | 563 |
| 2023 | 76 | 76 | 914 |
| 2022 | 53 | 53 | 917 |
| 2021 | 52 | 52 | 1,260 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
141 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 99 days – 189 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 25 days (94 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 180 days
- Sample
- 94 articles with submission and acceptance dates (219 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 10 weeksLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 21%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 21%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 7 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 7 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 145 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 22 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 10 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | USD 2,730 / GBP 2,100 / EUR 2,510 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,480 / EUR 2,280 / GBP 1,910 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 2,250 / GBP 1,734 / EUR 2,065 | Yes | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Submission fee
- USD 50
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Reference style
- AMA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Graphical abstract
- Required
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted5
- editorialsTypes of Articles Include: Research Article Short Communications Review (Proposal required for unsolicited reviews; query with abstract and outline). Perspectiv…Length not stated
- perspectiveTypes of Articles Include: Research Article Short Communications Review (Proposal required for unsolicited reviews; query with abstract and outline). Perspectiv…Length not stated
- research articleTypes of Articles Include: Research Article Short Communications Review (Proposal required for unsolicited reviews; query with abstract and outline). Perspectiv…Length not stated
- reviewTypes of Articles Include: Research Article Short Communications Review (Proposal required for unsolicited reviews; query with abstract and outline). Perspectiv…Length not stated
- short communicationsTypes of Articles Include: Research Article Short Communications Review (Proposal required for unsolicited reviews; query with abstract and outline). Perspectiv…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- AI use
AI use must be disclosed: describe use and verification in Methods if involved in the study; include an AI disclosure statement if used in manuscript preparation. Model summary
AI is a powerful tool and can advance science, but it must be used ethically. For submissions, follow Wiley’s AI Guidelines. If AI was involved in your study, describe its use and verification in the Methods section. If AI was used in manuscript preparation, include an AI disclosure statement detailing affected sections and output verification.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship
Author contributions: CRediT taxonomy required at submission and published with the article. Model summary
CRediT taxonomy required at submission (Wiley’sCRediT information page) Published with article
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest
Conflict of interest: full disclosure required from all authors, financial and non-financial; statement mandatory even if none; special statement required for ARB member authors. Model summary
Full disclosure required from all authors Includes financial + non-financial relationships Statement mandatory even if none Articles with Advisory Review Board (ARB) members as authors must include this in the Conflict-of-Interest statement
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability
Data & transparency: data sharing encouraged (not mandatory); authors responsible for data integrity; datasets and DOIs must be cited; compliance with data-use rules required. Model summary
Data sharing encouraged (not mandatory) Authors responsible for data integrity Must cite datasets + DOIs Compliance with data-use rules required
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
Human studies: informed consent mandatory, explicit consent for patient data/images, ethics approval required, following Declaration of Helsinki, US Federal Policy, and EMA GCP guidelines. Model summary
Informed consent mandatory; Wiley’sstandard patient consent form available for use Patient data/images need explicit consent Ethics approval required Declaration of Helsinki US Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects European Medicines Agency Guidelines for Good Clinical Practice
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright 6. Copyright and Licensing
- Upon acceptance, all authors must complete the licensing agreement through Wiley Author Licensing Service (WALS): - For Open Access: Choose among Creative Commons licenses, including: Creative Commons Attribution License Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial-NoDerivs License - If research is grant-funded, authors can publish under a CC-BY…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access 5. Open Access Fees
Information on the Article Publication Charge for publishing in the journal is availablehere. If a paper is accepted for publication, the author identified as the formal corresponding author will receive an email prompting them to login to Author Services, where via the Wiley Author Licensing Service (WALS), they will be able to complete the license agreement on behalf of all authors on the paper.…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review: single anonymized model, ≥2 reviewers plus editor; editor screens for quality before review; safeguards for editor-authored papers. Model summary
Manuscripts assessed for quality, originality, and relevance. Acceptance based on: Quality and originality of research. Excellence in writing and organization. Potential impact on orthopaedic research. Single anonymized peer review model ≥2 reviewers + editor Editor screens for quality before review Safeguards for editor-authored papers Wiley’s Peer Review Policy
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Preprints allowed; must be disclosed in cover letter and linked to final article after publication. Model summary
Preprints allowed Must disclose in cover letter Link to final article after publication
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines
Clinical trials: prospective registration required; registry name and ID in abstract; explain if retrospective. Model summary
Prospective registration required Include registry name + ID in abstract Explain if retrospective registration
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Country or region
- United States
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2572-1143
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 9, Issue 3 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about JOR Spine
What CAS zone is JOR Spine in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, JOR Spine is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Orthopedics. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of JOR Spine?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.86; CiteScore 5.1, h-index 39.
How long does peer review take at JOR Spine?
Based on the dates recorded on 94 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 141 days (interquartile range 99–189 days); authors report an average review time of about 10 weeks; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 21% (2025). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of JOR Spine?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Reference style: AMA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Graphical abstract: Required; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of JOR Spine based?
Of the 6 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 17%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (1), United Kingdom (1) and Germany (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index JOR Spine?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, JOR Spine is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, CAS and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is JOR Spine open access, and what is the APC?
JOR Spine is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,730.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .