Journal profile · CLINICAL NEUROLOGY
Pain and Therapy
ISSN 2193-8237 · eISSN 2193-651X · Springer Healthcare · ENGLAND · 4 issues per year · Founded 2012
Pain and Therapy: CAS Zone 2 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 4.4; fully open access; APC about USD 7,675; median 64 days to acceptance (100 articles, last 24 months); 111 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Pain and Therapy is published by Springer Healthcare and is in Zone 2 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Anesthesia and Pain Management, Pain Mechanisms and Treatments and Pain Management and Opioid Use, together about 32.7% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Aims and Scope Pain and Therapy is an international, open access, peer-reviewed, rapid publication journal dedicated to the publication of high-quality clinical (all phases), observational, real-world, and health outcomes research around the discovery, development, and use of pain therapies and pain-related devices. Studies relating to diagnosis, pharmacoeconomics, public health, quality of life, and patient care, management, and education are also encouraged. Areas of focus include, but are not limited to, acute pain, cancer pain, chronic pain, headache and migraine, neuropathic pain, opioids, palliative care and pain ethics, pain and related therapies in the perioperative period, as well as rheumatic pain and fibromyalgia. The journal is of interest to a broad audience of pharmaceutical and healthcare professionals and publishes original research, reviews, case reports, trial protocols, short communications such as commentaries and editorials, and letters. The journal is read by a global audience and receives submissions from around the world. Pain and Therapy will consider all scientifically sound research be it positive, confirmatory or negative data. Submissions are welcomed whether they relate to an international and/or a country-specific audience, something that is crucially important when researchers are trying to target more specific patient populations. This inclusive approach allows the journal to assist in the dissemination of all scientifically and ethically sound research. Rapid Publication The journal aims for a 2-week peer review, and 3-4 weeks from acceptance to online. Please note that for any steps outside of our standard publication processes, such as multiple rounds of peer review or article proofs, or non-standard copyright requests, this may delay publication beyond these timelines. Personal Service The journal’s dedicated in-house editorial team offer a personal “concierge service” meaning that authors will always have a personal point of contact able to update them on the status of their manuscript. The editorial team check all manuscripts to ensure that they conform to the journal's submission guidelines. This supports the publication of ethically sound and transparent research. We also encourage pre-submission enquiries and are always happy to provide a confidential assessment of manuscripts. Digital Features and Plain Language Summaries The journal also provides the option to include various types of digital features including a
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): CLINICAL NEUROLOGY
Editor-in-chief Andrea TrescotPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 3 in mainland China (about 4%); most named United States 29, Italy 12, Germany 7, Mainland China 3, United Kingdom 3 (73 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Anesthesia and Pain ManagementMedicine12%
- Pain Mechanisms and TreatmentsMedicine10.4%
- Pain Management and Opioid UseMedicine10.4%
- Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitationMedicine8.7%
- Spine and Intervertebral Disc PathologyMedicine7%
- Pain Management and TreatmentMedicine6.7%
- Migraine and Headache StudiesMedicine6.4%
- Opioid Use Disorder TreatmentMedicine5.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Clinical Neurology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Clinical Neurology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Clinical Neurology | 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
EmbaseCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS, Semantic Scholar
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
- 4.4LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 4.4Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 5.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.92LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.47LetPub ·
- h-index
- 57OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 411OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 6.59OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 2.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 106LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 1,200,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 873 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 78 | 78 | 31 |
| 2025 | 111 | 111 | 646 |
| 2024 | 127 | 127 | 1,404 |
| 2023 | 93 | 93 | 1,057 |
| 2022 | 122 | 122 | 1,703 |
| 2021 | 117 | 117 | 4,049 |
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
64 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 47 days – 86 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 22 days (100 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 91 days
- Sample
- 100 articles with submission and acceptance dates (226 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 6 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 28 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 6 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 | EUR 5,950 / USD 7,675 / GBP 5,120 | Yes | CC BY-NC | |
| OpenAlex | USD 7,400 / EUR 5,750 / GBP 4,900 | — | — | |
| LetPub | EUR 5,500 / USD 6,850 / GBP 4,700 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | GBP 5,120 / EUR 5,950 / USD 7,675 | — | — |
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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteLicense & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- License & copyright Copyright
Pain and Therapy is published under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial License, which allows users to read, copy, distribute, and make derivative works for non-commercial purposes from the material, as long as the author of the original work is cited. The author assigns the exclusive right to any commercial use of the article to Springer. For more information about the Creative Commons…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Pain and Therapy, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review Process
Upon submission, manuscripts are assessed by the editorial team to ensure they fit within the aims and scope of the journal and are also checked for plagiarism. All suitable submissions are then subject to a comprehensive single-blind peer review. Reviewers are selected based on their relevant expertise and publication history in the subject area. The journal has an extensive pool of editorial and…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
We encourage posting of preprints of primary research manuscripts on preprint servers, authors’ or institutional websites, and open communications between researchers whether on community preprint servers or preprint commenting platforms. Posting of preprints is not considered prior publication and will not jeopardize consideration in our journals. Authors should disclose details of preprint posti…
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
- Springer Healthcare
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- 4 issues per year
- Founded
- 2012
- ISSN
- 2193-8237
- Electronic ISSN
- 2193-651X
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 15, Issue 4 (August 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- 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 Pain and Therapy
What CAS zone is Pain and Therapy in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Pain and Therapy is in Zone 2 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Clinical Neurology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Pain and Therapy?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.4; CiteScore 6.6, h-index 57.
How long does peer review take at Pain and Therapy?
Based on the dates recorded on 100 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 64 days (interquartile range 47–86 days); authors report an average review time of about 6 weeks. 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 Pain and Therapy based?
Of the 73 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 3 (about 4%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (29), Italy (12) and Germany (7). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Pain and Therapy?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Pain and Therapy is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Embase and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Pain and Therapy open access, and what is the APC?
Pain and Therapy is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 7,675.
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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .