30 free-to-publish Scopus journals in Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
30 peer-reviewed journals in the SCImago category Orthopedics and Sports Medicine charge no APC and no other author fees, according to the DOAJ. The quartile shown is the journal’s quartile in this category (not its best one elsewhere): 4 are Q1 and 3 Q2 here. Data snapshot: October 2026.
Of the Scopus-ranked journals here, 27% are Q1 or Q2 (site-wide: 40%). Their median self-reported time from submission to publication is 15 weeks. Most are published in South Korea (7), Russia (4) and Brazil (2). 93% accept manuscripts in English and 37% accept at least one other language.
All 30 free-to-publish journals in Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
Sorted by best SCImago quartile, then SJR. Click a column header to sort by it; click a second column to add a tiebreak. The search box narrows the list. Time to publish is the journal’s own DOAJ figure (average weeks from submission to publication).
| # | Journal | Quartile | SJR | H-index | Publisher | Country | Time to publish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Journal of Sport and Health Science 2095-2546 | Q1 | 3.715 | 87 | Elsevier | Netherlands | 22 wk |
| 2 | Asian Spine Journal 1976-1902 · 1976-7846 | Q1 | 1.241 | 57 | Korean Spine Society | South Korea | 24 wk |
| 3 | Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow 2383-8337 · 2288-8721 | Q1 | 0.892 | 10 | Korean Shoulder and Elbow Society | South Korea | 15 wk |
| 4 | Clinics in Orthopedic Surgery 2005-291X · 2005-4408 | Q1 | 0.868 | 57 | Korean Orthopaedic Association | South Korea | 36 wk |
| 5 | Sports Medicine and Health Science 2666-3376 | Q2 | 0.847 | 22 | KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. | China | 8 wk |
| 6 | Spine Surgery and Related Research 2432-261X | Q2 | 0.608 | 25 | The Japanese Society for Spine Surgery and Related Research | Japan | 15 wk |
| 7 | Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation 2288-176X · 2288-1778 | Q2 | 0.579 | 35 | Korean Society of Exercise Rehabilitation | South Korea | 10 wk |
| 8 | Chinese Journal of Traumatology 1008-1275 | Q3 | 0.557 | 42 | Elsevier | Netherlands | 28 wk |
| 9 | Deutsche Zeitschrift für Sportmedizin 0344-5925 · 2510-5264 | Q3 | 0.391 | 25 | SportMed Verlag | Germany | 11 wk |
| 10 | Science of Gymnastics Journal 1855-7171 | Q3 | 0.289 | 16 | University of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani) | Slovenia | 16 wk |
| 11 | Revista Brasileira de Ortopedia 0102-3616 · 1982-4378 | Q3 | 0.265 | 32 | Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda. | Brazil | 21 wk |
| 12 | Journal of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery and Technique 2508-2043 | Q3 | 0.261 | 7 | Korean Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Society | South Korea | 15 wk |
| 13 | Journal of Kinesiology and Exercise Sciences 2956-4581 | Q3 | 0.243 | 4 | Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego im. Bronisława Czecha w Krakowie | Poland | 6 wk |
| 14 | MHSalud 1659-097X | Q4 | 0.206 | 7 | Universidad Nacional | Costa Rica | 54 wk |
| 15 | Pamukkale Spor Bilimleri Dergisi 1309-0356 | Q4 | 0.205 | 4 | Pamukkale University | Türkiye | 30 wk |
| 16 | Physical Treatments 2423-5830 | Q4 | 0.201 | 6 | Negah Institute for Scientific Communication | Iran | 16 wk |
| 17 | SA Orthopaedic Journal 1681-150X · 2309-8309 | Q4 | 0.165 | 6 | MedPharm Publications | South Africa | 6 wk |
| 18 | Research in Sport Education and Sciences 2822-3527 | Q4 | 0.163 | 2 | Atatürk University | Türkiye | 15 wk |
| 19 | Спортивная медицина: наука и практика 2223-2524 · 2587-9014 | Q4 | 0.159 | 5 | National Electronic Information Consortium (NEICON) | Russia | 10 wk |
| 20 | Гений oртопедии 1028-4427 · 2542-131X | Q4 | 0.153 | 11 | Russian Ilizarov Scientific Center for Restorative Traumatology and Orthopaedics | Russia | 12 wk |
| 21 | Central European Journal of Sport Sciences and Medicine 2300-9705 · 2353-2807 | Q4 | 0.151 | 7 | Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego | Poland | 12 wk |
| 22 | Travmatologiâ i Ortopediâ Rossii 2311-2905 · 2542-0933 | Q4 | 0.149 | 8 | Vreden Russian Research Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics | Russia | 8 wk |
| 23 | Хирургия позвоночника 1810-8997 · 2313-1497 | Q4 | 0.148 | 8 | Ministry of Health of Russian Federation, Federal State Budgetary Institution "Novosibirsk Research Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedics n.a. Ya.L. Tsivyan" | Russia | 7 wk |
| 24 | Indian Spine Journal 2589-5079 · 2589-5087 | Q4 | 0.143 | 6 | Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications | India | 35 wk |
| 25 | Reabilitacijos Mokslai: Slauga, Kineziterapija, Ergoterapija 2029-3194 · 2538-8673 | Q4 | 0.137 | 4 | Lithuanian Sports University | Lithuania | 24 wk |
| 26 | Cheyuk gwahag yeon-gu 1598-2920 · 2233-7938 | Q4 | 0.136 | 5 | Korea Institute of Sport Science | South Korea | 7 wk |
| 27 | Coluna/Columna 1808-1851 · 2177-014X | Q4 | 0.134 | 11 | Sociedade Brasileira de Coluna (SBC) | Brazil | 10 wk |
| 28 | Journal of Orthopedic and Spine Trauma 2538-2330 · 2538-4600 | Q4 | 0.126 | 3 | Tehran University of Medical Sciences | Iran | 12 wk |
| 29 | Journal Orthopaedi and Traumatology Surabaya 2722-712X · 2460-8742 | Q4 | 0.124 | 2 | Universitas Airlangga | Indonesia | 16 wk |
| 30 | Journal of Korean Society of Spine Surgery 2093-4378 · 2093-4386 | Q4 | 0.112 | 2 | Korean Society of Spine Surgery | South Korea | 10 wk |
Where these journals come from
Top countries of publication
- South Korea 7
- Russia 4
- Brazil 2
- Iran 2
- Netherlands 2
- Poland 2
Top publishers
- Elsevier 2
- Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego im. Bronisława Czecha w Krakowie 1
- Atatürk University 1
- KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. 1
- Korea Institute of Sport Science 1
- Korean Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Society 1
Manuscript languages accepted
- English 28
- Russian 4
- Spanish 2
- Korean 2
- Portuguese 2
- Lithuanian 1
About this list
Diamond open access (also called Platinum) means the journal is free to read and free to publish in: the DOAJ records it with “APC: no” and “other fees: no”. Quartiles come from the latest SCImago edition: Q1 is the top 25% of journals in a subject category, Q4 the bottom 25%; the lists show a journal’s best quartile. Read more in our open access guide.
Before submitting, always confirm the journal on its own website and in the DOAJ, verify Scopus indexing by ISSN with the Scopus check rather than trusting claims on the journal’s site, and watch out for look-alike titles (see the predatory journal checklist).