Dear Reader...

It’s hard to believe we are now wrapping up our eighteenth year at IJSPT. We’ve made a lot of changes over these years!

The first was the move to a digital publication in 2009. The second was a change of name from the North American Journal of Sports Physical Therapy (NAJSPT) to the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy (IJSPT) in 2011, to emphasize our alliance with the International Federation of Sports Physical Therapy. During this time, the journal also grew from 5 to 10 and then to 15 articles per issue.

In 2020, the American Academy of Sports Physical Therapy (AASPT) decided to cease publication of the IJSPT, beginning in 2021. As the sitting Editor in Chief and NAJSPT/IJSPT Board Member since its inception, I did not want to see this stellar journal die. So, a business I am a partner in, North American Sports Medicine Institute, took over the publication of the IJSPT.

This effort was brought to fruition quickly with the help of former Senior Editor Barb Hoogenboom, who moved into the Editor-in-Chief position; Ashley Campbell, former board member, became our Managing Editor; and Mary Wilkinson, our former Managing Editor moved into the Executive Director position. Casey Lewis is our Manuscript Editor, and many of our long time board members, such as Phil Page, Kevin Wilk, Terry Grindstaff, and Rob Manske, pledged to continue their support of the IJSPT.

Since the first February 2021 issue, the IJSPT has continued to grow, featuring as many as thirty articles in a single issue. The journal is indexed in PubMed / Library of Congress and is also an Official Publication of the International Federation of Sports Physical Therapy (which has 40 member countries around the world), ICCUS, and AASPT. We presently have a circulation of about 28,000 PT’s – but this is growing monthly, and we have expanded into the Sports MD (AOSSM), ATC and Chiropractic professions. Our goal is to grow the subscription list to over 50,000 within the next couple of years. Having said that, we are a “Gold open access” journal and can track our users through the Library of Congress. This past year (2022), we had over 1.8 million different unique user IP addresses visit the journal and had over 3.2 million article downloads. While that data comes directly from NLM, we also have seen roughly another 250,000 downloads from our own website, the Scholastica portal, Crossref, and Portico, which is our archiving portal for article/manuscript retention. Our manuscript submissions continue to climb each year. So, we know that we are making a difference worldwide.

Internally, IJSPT is committed to the highest publication ethics and subscribed to the best practice and guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). COPE is committed to educating and supporting editors, publishers, universities, research institutes, and all those involved in publication ethics to move the culture of publishing towards one where ethical practice become a normal part of the culture itself. We also subscribe to the best practice guidelines from the International committee of Medical Journal Editors (IJCME).

Additionally, IJSPT is a member of the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). In 2022, IJSPT completed a comprehensive process with the Directory of Open Access Journals, and we were not only approved by DOAJ – but also given the “Gold Medal” seal for our processes. This recognition is a good external validation of our internal processing and policies. The DOAJ Gold Seal is awarded to journals that demonstrate best practice in open access publishing. Around 10% of journals indexed in DOAJ have been awarded the Seal. While already indexed with PubMed and the National Library of Medicine, in the fall of 2022, IJSPT was added to both the SCOPUS and SCRIMAGO indexing for journals.

We’ve been able to offer Journal Club, Grand Rounds and webinars in cooperation with our sponsors. These free events are open to anyone who would like to participate…just register in advance.

We’ve packed a lot into three years (during which we experienced a pandemic, at that!) and now we are ready to take the next step up: beginning on January 1, 2024, the IJSPT will become a monthly publication!

This is an exciting change; one we’ve worked for over many years. This means more open access articles, delivered straight to your inbox, every month.

This also means we want your best work! Submit today…our portal is open 24/7 at https://ijspt.scholasticahq.com/for-authors. Should you have any questions or concerns, please email Ashley Campbell at acampbell@ijspt.org.

We also have space for sponsors and advertisers at many levels. Meet your market in the IJSPT! Contact Mary Wilkinson at mwilkinson@ijspt.org. You may also view costs and our publication calendar at https://ijspt.org/advertising/.

Thank you for your readership in 2023, and we look forward to sharing everything new with you each month in 2024!

All the Best,

Mary Wilkinson
Executive Director

Barbara Hoogenboom
Editor in Chief

Ashley Campbell
Managing Editor

Michael Voight
Editor in Chief Emeritus