Journal profile · Clinical Neurology
SCHMERZ
ISSN 0932-433X · eISSN 1432-2129 · Springer Medizin · GERMANY · Bimonthly · Founded 1987
SCHMERZ: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.71; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,390; median 147 days to acceptance (30 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 64 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
SCHMERZ is published by Springer Medizin 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, Pain Management and Opioid Use and Pain Mechanisms and Treatments, together about 32.5% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Zielsetzung der Zeitschrift Der Schmerz ist ein international angesehenes Publikationsorgan und wendet sich an Ärzt*innen aller Fachgebiete sowie an Allgemeinmediziner*innen und Psycholog*innen, die mit der Behandlung von Schmerzpatient*innen oder in der Schmerzforschung beschäftigt sind. Das Ziel der Zeitschrift ist es, die Versorgung von Schmerzpatient*innen langfristig zu verbessern. Praxisorientierte Übersichtsarbeiten greifen ausgewählte Themen auf und bieten dem Leser eine Zusammenstellung aktueller Erkenntnisse aus allen Bereichen der Schmerzforschung und Symptomkontrolle bei Schmerz. Neben der Vermittlung von relevantem Hintergrundwissen liegt der Schwerpunkt dabei auf der Bewertung und wissenschaftlicher Ergebnisse unter Berücksichtigung praktischer Erfahrung. Frei eingereichte Originalien ermöglichen die Präsentation wichtiger klinischer Studien und dienen dem wissenschaftlichen Austausch. Ungewöhnliche Krankheits- bzw. Behandlungsverläufe in der Rubrik “Der interessante Fall” regen zur Optimierung diagnostischer und therapeutischer Strategien an. Beiträge der Rubrik “CME Zertifizierte Fortbildung” bieten gesicherte Ergebnisse wissenschaftlicher Forschung und machen ärztliche Erfahrung für die tägliche Praxis nutzbar. Die Rubrik orientiert sich an der Weiterbildungsordnung des Fachgebiets. Aims & Scope Der Schmerz is an internationally recognized journal and addresses all scientists, practitioners and psychologists, dealing with the treatment of pain patients or working in pain research. The aim of the journal is to enhance the treatment of pain patients in the long run. Review articles provide an overview on selected topics and offer the reader a summary of current findings from all fields of pain research, pain management and pain symptom management. Freely submitted original papers allow the presentation of important clinical studies and serve the scientific exchange. Case reports feature interesting cases and aim at optimizing diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Review articles under the rubric “Continuing Medical Education” present verified results of scientific research and their integration into daily practice. Review All articles of Der Schmerz are peer reviewed. Declaration of Helsinki All manuscripts submitted for publication presenting results from studies on probands or patients must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki. Indexed in Science Citation Index Expanded, Medline, Neuroscience Citation Index, Research Alert, EMBASE and
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Clinical Neurology
Editor-in-chief Lukas RadbruchPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Germany 29, Austria 4, France 2, United States 1, United Kingdom 1 (42 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitationMedicine13%
- Pain Management and Opioid UseMedicine12.1%
- Pain Mechanisms and TreatmentsMedicine7.4%
- Migraine and Headache StudiesMedicine5.9%
- Pain Management and Placebo EffectNeuroscience5.7%
- Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ResearchMedicine5.7%
- Biomedical and Chemical ResearchMedicine5.7%
- Pediatric Pain Management TechniquesMedicine4.1%
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 | Anesthesiology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Clinical Neurology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Anesthesiology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Clinical Neurology | 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 | Anesthesiology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Clinical Neurology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEEmbaseCurrent 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
- 0.71LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 0.8Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.5LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.26LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.38LetPub ·
- h-index
- 38LetPub ·
- h-index
- 62OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 728OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.65OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 25%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 45.04%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 33LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 375,200Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,126 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 53 | 18 | 0 |
| 2025 | 64 | 33 | 39 |
| 2024 | 80 | 40 | 90 |
| 2023 | 87 | 46 | 192 |
| 2022 | 69 | 44 | 170 |
| 2021 | 96 | 58 | 361 |
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
147 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 111 days – 228 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 36 days (64 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 192 days
- Sample
- 30 articles with submission and acceptance dates (139 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)
- 6–12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double 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
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 3,390 / EUR 2,790 / GBP 2,390 | — | — |
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 websiteAI use, Data availability, Publication ethics, Open access
- AI use Use of Large Language Models (LLM)
LLM tools cannot be authors; use of LLM tools must be documented in papers. Model summary
No LLM tool (for example ChatGPT) will be accepted as an author of a research paper. This is due to the understanding that authorship always entails responsibility and accountability for the work, and AI tools cannot assume this responsibility.Authors who use LLM tools in their research work or writing must document their use in their papers. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
Springer Nature research data policy; Data Availability Statement required for original research articles. Model summary
All original research must include a data availability statement. This statement should explain how to access data supporting the results and analysis in the article, including links/citations to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Please see our full policy here. If it is not possible to share research data publicly, for instance when individual privacy could be com…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
Simultaneous submission to more than one journal is not allowed. Model summary
Ein Manuskript darf nicht gleichzeitig bei mehr als einer Zeitschrift zur Begutachtung eingereicht werden.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Der Schmerz, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
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 Medizin
- Country or region
- GERMANY
- Language
- German
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 1987
- ISSN
- 0932-433X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1432-2129
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 40, Issue 4 (August 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about SCHMERZ
What CAS zone is SCHMERZ in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, SCHMERZ is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Anesthesiology / Clinical Neurology. 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 SCHMERZ?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 0.71; CiteScore 1.5, h-index 62.
How long does peer review take at SCHMERZ?
Based on the dates recorded on 30 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 147 days (interquartile range 111–228 days); authors report an average review time of 6–12 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.
Where are the editorial board members of SCHMERZ based?
Of the 42 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Germany (29), Austria (4) and France (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index SCHMERZ?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, SCHMERZ is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE, Embase and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is SCHMERZ open access, and what is the APC?
SCHMERZ is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,390.
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: .