Journal profile · Rehabilitation
Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation
ISSN 1053-8127 · eISSN 1878-6324 · SAGE Publications (formerly IOS Press) · NETHERLANDS · Quarterly · Founded 1991
Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.59; subscription journal; APC about USD 4,150; review over 12 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: easy; 219 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation is published by SAGE Publications (formerly IOS Press) and is in Zone 4 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation, Spine and Intervertebral Disc Pathology and Scoliosis diagnosis and treatment, together about 39.2% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Metapress is an independent digital news organization dedicated to covering the intersection of technology, business, science, and global culture.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Rehabilitation
Editor-in-chief Remko SoerPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitationMedicine22%
- Spine and Intervertebral Disc PathologyMedicine11%
- Scoliosis diagnosis and treatmentMedicine6.2%
- Myofascial pain diagnosis and treatmentBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.1%
- Shoulder Injury and TreatmentMedicine5.1%
- Sports injuries and preventionMedicine5%
- Occupational Health and PerformanceHealth Professions3.9%
- Lower Extremity Biomechanics and PathologiesEngineering3.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Rehabilitation | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Rehabilitation | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Rehabilitation | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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
- 1.59LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 1.6Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.5LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.45LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.77LetPub ·
- h-index
- 25LetPub ·
- h-index
- 63OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 929OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.49OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 6.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 2.84%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 230LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,000 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 159 | 12 | 20 |
| 2025 | 219 | 24 | 305 |
| 2024 | 126 | 49 | 428 |
| 2023 | 143 | 51 | 644 |
| 2022 | 123 | 37 | 921 |
| 2021 | 225 | 57 | 1,820 |
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- over 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
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
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,150 / GBP 3,043 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 500 / GBP 400 | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Submission fee
- USD 500
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 prepare6 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- Vancouver
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted8
- case reportResearch articles should present novel work within the scope of the journal which represents an important advancement in knowledge or understanding. Research ar…Length not stated
- case reportsCase reports explain the diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of an individual case which has not been previously published in the medical literature.Length not stated
- research articleResearch articles should present novel work within the scope of the journal which represents an important advancement in knowledge or understanding. Research ar…Length not stated
- research articlesResearch articles should present novel work within the scope of the journal which represents an important advancement in knowledge or understanding.Length not stated
- reviewResearch articles should present novel work within the scope of the journal which represents an important advancement in knowledge or understanding. Research ar…Length not stated
- review articleResearch articles should present novel work within the scope of the journal which represents an important advancement in knowledge or understanding. Research ar…Length not stated
- review articlesReview articles should be authoritative and topical and provide comprehensive and balanced coverage of a timely and/or controversial issue.Length not stated
- systematic reviewResearch articles should present novel work within the scope of the journal which represents an important advancement in knowledge or understanding. Research ar…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Data availability, Publication ethics, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- Authorship Authorship
Please view our authorship policies, which includes information on criteria for authorship, who should be the corresponding author and more. Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability
The Journal is committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research, and has the following research data sharing policy. For more information, including FAQs please visit the Sage Research Data policy pages. Subject to appropriate ethical and legal considerations, authors are encouraged to: Share your research data in a relevant public data repository Include a data ava…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Ethical considerations
Please include your ethics approval statements under this heading, even if you have already included ethics approval information in your methods section. If ethical approval was not required, you need to explicitly state this. All papers reporting studies involving human participants, human data or human tissue must state that the relevant Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board approved th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Publishing fees and open access
When an article is accepted for publication, authors are required to pay a publication fee of $500/£400. Waivers are available for corresponding authors from low-income countries as identified by Research4Life. A waiver request for the publication fee should be submitted before the initial submission of an article. Figures submitted in color will be published in color in the online version of the …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review policy
The following summary describes the peer review process for this journal: Identity transparency: Single-anonymized Reviewer interacts with: Editor Review information published: None Your manuscript will undergo an initial evaluation. If it does not conform to the requirements laid out in these guidelines, it will be returned to you for amendments prior to peer review. Manuscripts may be desk rejec…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism Plagiarism
The journal and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. Please read Sage's complete policy on plagiarism and the actions we may take.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Editorial Guidelines, Corrections Policy, Feedback & Editorial Contact Policy, Diversity & Inclusion Statement, Diversity in Our Team Model summary
The journal will consider submissions of manuscripts that have been posted on preprint servers. Please enter the preprint DOI in the designated field when submitting your manuscript. We advise that you inform the Journal Editorial office about your posted preprint at submission. Note that you should not post an updated version of your manuscript on a preprint server while it is being peer reviewed…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines Reporting guidelines
Your manuscript must follow the relevant EQUATOR Network reporting guidelines, depending on the type of study. The EQUATOR wizard can help identify the appropriate guideline. You will need to upload the appropriate checklist with your submission. Other resources can be found at NLM’s Research Reporting Guidelines and Initiatives.
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
- SAGE Publications (formerly IOS Press)
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1991
- ISSN
- 1053-8127
- Electronic ISSN
- 1878-6324
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation
What CAS zone is Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Orthopedics / Rehabilitation. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.59; CiteScore 3.5, h-index 63.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation?
Authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. 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 Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Reference style: Vancouver; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; 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.
Which databases index Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation is a subscription journal. APC about USD 4,150.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .