Journal profile · Rehabilitation
Physical Therapy
ISSN 0031-9023 · eISSN 1538-6724 · Oxford University Press · UNITED STATES · Monthly · Founded 1964
Physical Therapy: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.19; hybrid open access; APC about USD 4,035; median 189 days to acceptance (93 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 152 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Physical Therapy is published by Oxford University Press 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 Occupational Therapy Practice and Research, Educational Robotics and Engineering and Human auditory perception and evaluation, together about 33.7% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Interested in submitting to PTJ: Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation? Discover the benefits of publishing with the journal alongside helpful journal information and submission resources. Learn more
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Rehabilitation
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 3 (3 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Occupational Therapy Practice and ResearchHealth Professions12.3%
- Educational Robotics and EngineeringComputer Science10.9%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering10.5%
- Musculoskeletal Disorders and RehabilitationMedicine9.5%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance8.8%
- Cerebral Palsy and Movement DisordersMedicine5.5%
- Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitationMedicine4.8%
- Medical Case Reports and StudiesMedicine4.2%
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 | Rehabilitation | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Rehabilitation | Zone 2 |
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
- 3.19LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 6.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.5LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.13LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.6LetPub ·
- h-index
- 134LetPub ·
- h-index
- 271OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 5,158OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.18OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 9.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 26.75%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 126LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 21,553 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 102 | 30 | 26 |
| 2025 | 152 | 69 | 343 |
| 2024 | 183 | 119 | 1,019 |
| 2023 | 182 | 140 | 1,726 |
| 2022 | 183 | 154 | 2,664 |
| 2021 | 303 | 259 | 6,884 |
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
189 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 135 days – 261 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 60 days (17 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 327 days
- Sample
- 93 articles with submission and acceptance dates (292 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)
- 4–8 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
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
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 4,035 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
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 websiteOpen access
- Open access Open Access at PTJ
Open access articles are available to anyone to read, with or without a subscription log-in. Check out the latest physical therapy and rehabilitation open access articles today! Browse
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
- Oxford University Press
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1964
- ISSN
- 0031-9023
- Electronic ISSN
- 1538-6724
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 106, Issue 9 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Physical Therapy
What CAS zone is Physical Therapy in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Physical Therapy is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Rehabilitation / Orthopedics. 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 Physical Therapy?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.19; CiteScore 6.5, h-index 271.
How long does peer review take at Physical Therapy?
Based on the dates recorded on 93 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 189 days (interquartile range 135–261 days); authors report an average review time of 4–8 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Physical Therapy based?
Of the 3 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Physical Therapy?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Physical Therapy is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Physical Therapy open access, and what is the APC?
Physical Therapy is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 4,035.
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: .