Journal profile · Medicine-Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
Spine Deformity
ISSN 2212-134X · eISSN 2212-1358 · Elsevier · 6 issues per year
Spine Deformity: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.7 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,190; median 143 days to acceptance (98 articles, last 24 months); 230 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Spine Deformity is published by Elsevier 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 Scoliosis diagnosis and treatment, Spinal Fractures and Fixation Techniques and Spine and Intervertebral Disc Pathology, together about 67.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Surgery. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Spine Deformity, the official journal of the Scoliosis Research Society, is a peer-refereed publication to disseminate knowledge on basic science and clinical research into the etiology, biomechanics, treatment methods and outcomes of all types of spinal deformities. The international members of the Editorial Board provide a worldwide perspective for the journal's area of interest. The journal will enhance the mission of the Society, which is to foster the optimal care of all patients with spine deformities worldwide. Articles published in Spine Deformity are Medline indexed in PubMed. The journal publishes original articles in the form of clinical and basic research. Spine Deformity will only publish studies that have institutional review board (IRB) or similar ethics committee approval for human and animal studies and have strictly observed these guidelines. The minimum follow-up period for follow-up clinical studies is 24 months.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Medicine-Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
Editor-in-chief Rene CasteleinPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 11 in mainland China (about 6%); most named United States 115, Mainland China 11, Japan 11, United Kingdom 7, Türkiye 6 (193 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Scoliosis diagnosis and treatmentMedicine32.5%
- Spinal Fractures and Fixation TechniquesMedicine17.6%
- Spine and Intervertebral Disc PathologyMedicine17.5%
- Cervical and Thoracic MyelopathyMedicine4.5%
- Hip disorders and treatmentsMedicine2.6%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance2.3%
- Connective tissue disorders researchBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology2.2%
- Intraoperative Neuromonitoring and Anesthetic EffectsMedicine1.9%
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 | Clinical Neurology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Clinical Neurology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEPubMedEmbasePublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS, Index Medicus
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 (publisher) 2025
- 1.7Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.76LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.2LetPub ·
- h-index
- 52OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 736OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.8OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 17.6%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 23.31%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 206LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 352,900Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,602 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 272 | 84 | 135 |
| 2025 | 230 | 66 | 346 |
| 2024 | 225 | 70 | 826 |
| 2023 | 163 | 51 | 876 |
| 2022 | 184 | 42 | 1,435 |
| 2021 | 198 | 39 | 2,230 |
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
143 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 77 days – 200 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 15 days (98 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 163 days
- Sample
- 98 articles with submission and acceptance dates (558 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
- Submission to first decision
- 8 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 3,190 / EUR 2,590 / GBP 2,290 | — | — |
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)
What to prepare9 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 2,700 words
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Highlights
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Optional
Article types accepted7, with length limits
- case reportSpine Deformity will only publish studies that have institutional review board (IRB) or similar ethics committee approval for human and animal studies and have …Length not stated
- editorialDouble-blind peer review This journal follows a double-blind reviewing procedure. This means that the author will remain anonymous to the reviewers throughout p…Length not stated
- meta-analysisSpine Deformity will only publish studies that have institutional review board (IRB) or similar ethics committee approval for human and animal studies and have …Length not stated
- original articleSpine Deformity will only publish studies that have institutional review board (IRB) or similar ethics committee approval for human and animal studies and have …main text ≤ 2,700 words
- reviewSpine Deformity will only publish studies that have institutional review board (IRB) or similar ethics committee approval for human and animal studies and have …Length not stated
- review articleSpine Deformity will only publish studies that have institutional review board (IRB) or similar ethics committee approval for human and animal studies and have …main text ≤ 4,000 words
- systematic reviewSpine Deformity will only publish studies that have institutional review board (IRB) or similar ethics committee approval for human and animal studies and have …Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, Open access, Peer review, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- AI use Generative AI Images
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship
Author limit of 24 Model summary
The journal limits the number of authors to 24. The role of all authors is to be stated in a table after the title page. The order and inclusion should be decided by consensus among the authors themselves and acknowledged in writing. Individuals who contribute cases and or effort to the process but do not meet the criteria for authorship (see “Authorship principles”) should be identified as "contr…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Competing Interests
Authors are requested to disclose interests that are directly or indirectly related to the work submitted for publication. Interests within the last 3 years of beginning the work (conducting the research and preparing the work for submission) should be reported. Interests outside the 3-year time frame must be disclosed if they could reasonably be perceived as influencing the submitted work. Disclo…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability
Minimum 24-month follow-up for clinical studies and case reports Model summary
The minimum follow-up period for follow-up clinical studies and case reports is 24 months.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
IRB approval required for human and animal studies Model summary
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Spine Deformity, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Double-blind peer review
Double-blind peer review Model summary
This journal follows a double-blind reviewing procedure. This means that the author will remain anonymous to the reviewers throughout peer review. It is the responsibility of the author to anonymize the manuscript and any associated materials. Author names, affiliations and any other potentially identifying information should be removed from the manuscript text and any accompanying files (such as …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines Clinical Trial Registration
The World Health Organization (WHO) definition of a clinical trial is "any research study that prospectively assigns human participants or groups of humans to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes". The WHO defines health interventions as “A health intervention is an act performed for, with or on behalf of a person or population whose purpose is to ass…
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
- Elsevier
- Frequency
- 6 issues per year
- ISSN
- 2212-134X
- Electronic ISSN
- 2212-1358
- Society / sponsor
- Scoliosis Research Society
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 14, Issue 5 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Spine Deformity
What CAS zone is Spine Deformity in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Spine Deformity is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Clinical Neurology / Orthopedics. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Spine Deformity?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.7 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 3.4, h-index 52.
How long does peer review take at Spine Deformity?
Based on the dates recorded on 98 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 143 days (interquartile range 77–200 days). 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 Spine Deformity?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Manuscript length: ≤ 2,700 words; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Highlights: Optional; Graphical abstract: Optional; Cover letter: Optional. 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Spine Deformity based?
Of the 193 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 11 (about 6%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (115), Mainland China (11) and Japan (11). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Spine Deformity?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Spine Deformity is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE, PubMed and Embase; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Spine Deformity open access, and what is the APC?
Spine Deformity is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,190.
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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .