Journal profile · Sport Sciences
Sports Medicine
ISSN 0112-1642 · eISSN 1179-2035 · Springer International Publishing · NEW ZEALAND · Monthly · Founded 1984
Sports Medicine: CAS Zone 1 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 10.92; hybrid open access; APC about USD 5,790; review 6–12 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: fairly hard; 213 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Sports Medicine is published by Springer International Publishing 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 Sports Performance and Training, Sports injuries and prevention and Cardiovascular and exercise physiology, together about 38.6% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Sports Medicine focuses on definitive and comprehensive review articles that interpret and evaluate the current literature to provide the rationale for and application of research findings in the sports medicine and exercise field. Major topics covered by reviews published in the journal include: Sports medicine and sports science, including performance research. The medical syndromes associated with sport and exercise. The practical role that clinical medicine plays in sport, through injury prevention and treatment. The medical use of exercise for rehabilitation and health. The application of physiological and biomechanical principles to specific sports. Sports Medicine also publishes: Leading/current opinion articles providing overviews of contentious or emerging issues. High-quality original research articles.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Sport Sciences
Editor-in-chief Steve McMillanPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 11, United Kingdom 6, New Zealand 6, Australia 5, Germany 3 (41 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Sports Performance and TrainingMedicine15.3%
- Sports injuries and preventionMedicine13.9%
- Cardiovascular and exercise physiologyMedicine9.5%
- Muscle metabolism and nutritionBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology8.2%
- Exercise and Physiological ResponsesMedicine6.9%
- Lower Extremity Biomechanics and PathologiesEngineering3.9%
- Cardiovascular Effects of ExerciseMedicine3.8%
- Physical Activity and HealthMedicine3.5%
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 | Sport Sciences | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: yes
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Sport Sciences | 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 | Sport Sciences | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: yes
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINECAB AbstractsPublisher 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
- 10.92LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 11Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 13.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 20.4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 4.07LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 4.58LetPub ·
- h-index
- 159LetPub ·
- h-index
- 321OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 3,506OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 8.99OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 65.69%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 170LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 5,800,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,649 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 210 | 129 | 178 |
| 2025 | 213 | 157 | 1,479 |
| 2024 | 179 | 126 | 3,755 |
| 2023 | 182 | 139 | 5,900 |
| 2022 | 176 | 113 | 8,215 |
| 2021 | 277 | 130 | 13,496 |
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
Too few articlesOnly 3 articles from the last 24 months carry both submission and acceptance dates, too few for a median
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)
- Fairly hardLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 31 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 5,790 / EUR 4,490 / GBP 3,890 | — | — |
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 prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted10
- editorialInternal Review by Editorial Staff: The journal editor will perform an initial appraisal of each manuscript. When submitting your paper, please include a coveri…Length not stated
- letter to the editorPlease note: There is no limit on the number of tables, figures or references that can accompany an article. Information that is relevant but not critical to un…Length not stated
- opinionPlease note: There is no limit on the number of tables, figures or references that can accompany an article. Information that is relevant but not critical to un…Length not stated
- original articlePlease note: There is no limit on the number of tables, figures or references that can accompany an article. Information that is relevant but not critical to un…Length not stated
- original researchPlease note: There is no limit on the number of tables, figures or references that can accompany an article. Information that is relevant but not critical to un…Length not stated
- original research articlePlease note: There is no limit on the number of tables, figures or references that can accompany an article. Information that is relevant but not critical to un…Length not stated
- perspectivePlease note: There is no limit on the number of tables, figures or references that can accompany an article. Information that is relevant but not critical to un…Length not stated
- reviewPlease note: There is no limit on the number of tables, figures or references that can accompany an article. Information that is relevant but not critical to un…Length not stated
- review articlePlease note: There is no limit on the number of tables, figures or references that can accompany an article. Information that is relevant but not critical to un…Length not stated
- systematic reviewPlease note: There is no limit on the number of tables, figures or references that can accompany an article. Information that is relevant but not critical to un…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, 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 Principles
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosures and declarations
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
Data availability statement required for all original research 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 ·- License & copyright Copyright
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
Open Choice copyright remains with author Model summary
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Sports Medicine, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
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
- Springer International Publishing
- Country or region
- NEW ZEALAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1984
- ISSN
- 0112-1642
- Electronic ISSN
- 1179-2035
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 56, Issue 9 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Sports Medicine
What CAS zone is Sports Medicine in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Sports Medicine is in Zone 1 of Medicine, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Sport Sciences; 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 Sports Medicine?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 10.92; CiteScore 20.4, h-index 321.
How long does peer review take at Sports Medicine?
Authors report an average review time of 6–12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly hard”. 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 Sports Medicine?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Cover letter: Required. 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 Sports Medicine based?
Of the 41 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (11), United Kingdom (6) and New Zealand (6). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Sports Medicine?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Sports Medicine is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE and CAB Abstracts; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Sports Medicine open access, and what is the APC?
Sports Medicine is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 5,790.
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: .