Journal profile · ORTHOPEDICS-REHABILITATION
Journal of Physiotherapy
ISSN 1836-9553 · eISSN 1836-9561 · Australian Physiotherapy Association · AUSTRALIA · Founded 2010
Journal of Physiotherapy: CAS Zone 1 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 9.2; fully open access; APC about USD 3,450; median 17 days to acceptance (89 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 115 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Physiotherapy is published by Australian Physiotherapy Association and is in Zone 1 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation, Stroke Rehabilitation and Recovery and Cerebral Palsy and Movement Disorders, together about 29.7% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Official Journal of the Australian Physiotherapy AssociationJournal of Physiotherapy is the official journal of the Australian Physiotherapy Association. The journal's mission is to publish the highest quality research with the most important impact for global physiotherapy practice (also known as physical therapy). Our vision is to lead the field in assisting clinicians to access, understand and implement research evidence that will positively impact person-centred care.In January 2008 Journal of Physiotherapy became the first physiotherapy journal to conform to the ICMJE requirement wherein randomised trials are registered with a recognised Trial Registry.The journal prioritises systematic reviews and reports of clinical trials, economic analyses, experimental studies, qualitative studies, epidemiological studies, and observational studies.In January 2014 the journal became the first core physiotherapy / physical therapy journal to make Editorials and peer-reviewed original research freely-available.In 2016 the APA extended their support of excellence in physiotherapy practice by sponsoring Open Access publication of all Journal of Physiotherapy content. All past, present and future journal articles are therefore freely accessible. There are no author fees for publication.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): ORTHOPEDICS-REHABILITATION
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Australia 19, Brazil 4, Canada 3, United States 2, Hong Kong, China 1 (34 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitationMedicine13.8%
- Stroke Rehabilitation and RecoveryMedicine9.6%
- Cerebral Palsy and Movement DisordersMedicine6.3%
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) ResearchMedicine6.1%
- Balance, Gait, and Falls PreventionHealth Professions6%
- Spine and Intervertebral Disc PathologyMedicine4.3%
- Respiratory Support and MechanismsMedicine4.2%
- Shoulder Injury and TreatmentMedicine3.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Rehabilitation | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Rehabilitation | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Rehabilitation | Zone 1 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
PubMedPublisher website
Other: Crossref
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
- 9.2LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 9.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 6.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.41LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.45LetPub ·
- h-index
- 61LetPub ·
- h-index
- 95OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 540OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.19OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 20.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 27LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,526 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 65 | 65 | 11 |
| 2025 | 115 | 115 | 178 |
| 2024 | 116 | 116 | 459 |
| 2023 | 94 | 94 | 741 |
| 2022 | 86 | 86 | 1,161 |
| 2021 | 99 | 99 | 1,685 |
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 PubMed · to
17 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 9 days – 64 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 27 days (88 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 61 days
- Sample
- 89 articles with submission and acceptance dates (162 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)
- over 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 14%Publisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewLetPub
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 accessOpenAlex
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,450 / EUR 3,230 / GBP 2,760 / JPY 427,900 | — | — | |
| LetPub | No APC | Yes | — |
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)
Article types accepted3, with length limits
- correspondenceCorrespondence to Journal of Physiotherapy should be uploaded via the Elsevier Editorial System. Correspondence is reviewed by the Journal Editor and may be edi…main text ≤ 500 words
- editorialThe Editorial Board is committed to publishing excellent research and will consider these types of papers, which can be accessed via the link provided.main text ≤ 2,000 words · references ≤ 20
- systematic reviewlegends) depends on the type of study: •Systematic reviews: up to 5000 words •Clinical trials, experimental and qualitative studies: upmain text ≤ 5,000 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI in scientific writing
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Author contributions
For transparency, we encourage corresponding authors to provide co-author contributions to the manuscript using the relevant CRediT roles. The CRediT taxonomy includes 14 different roles describing each contributor's specific contribution to the scholarly output. The roles are: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Methodology; Project administratio…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of interest
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential competing interests include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. Authors must disclose any interests in two places:…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' (see more information on this). An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement.Author rightsAs an author you (or your employer or institution) have certain rig…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Please visit our Open Access page for more information about open access publishing in this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
This journal operates a single anonymized review process. All contributions will be initially assessed by the editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are then typically sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the paper. The Editor is responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles. The Editor'…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint references
Where a preprint has subsequently become available as a peer-reviewed publication, the formal publication should be used as the reference. If there are preprints that are central to your work or that cover crucial developments in the topic, but are not yet formally published, these may be referenced. Preprints should be clearly marked as such, for example by including the word preprint, or the nam…
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
- Australian Physiotherapy Association
- Country or region
- AUSTRALIA
- Language
- English
- Founded
- 2010
- ISSN
- 1836-9553
- Electronic ISSN
- 1836-9561
- Society / sponsor
- Australian Physiotherapy Association
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Physiotherapy
What CAS zone is Journal of Physiotherapy in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Physiotherapy is in Zone 1 of Medicine, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Orthopedics / Rehabilitation; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Physiotherapy?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 9.2; CiteScore 6.6, h-index 95.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Physiotherapy?
Based on the dates recorded on 89 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 17 days (interquartile range 9–64 days); authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 14%. 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Physiotherapy based?
Of the 34 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Australia (19), Brazil (4) and Canada (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Physiotherapy?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Physiotherapy is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists PubMed; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Physiotherapy open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Physiotherapy is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,450.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; 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: .