31 free-to-publish Scopus journals in Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation
31 peer-reviewed journals in the SCImago category Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation 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 1 Q2 here. Data snapshot: October 2026.
Of the Scopus-ranked journals here, 35% are Q1 or Q2 (site-wide: 40%). Their median self-reported time from submission to publication is 14 weeks. Most are published in Spain (6), South Korea (3) and Poland (3). 94% accept manuscripts in English and 45% accept at least one other language.
All 31 free-to-publish journals in Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation
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 | Journal of Physiotherapy 1836-9561 | Q1 | 1.414 | 99 | Elsevier | Australia | 11 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 | Sports Medicine and Health Science 2666-3376 | Q1 | 0.847 | 22 | KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. | China | 8 wk |
| 5 | Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation 2288-176X · 2288-1778 | Q2 | 0.579 | 35 | Korean Society of Exercise Rehabilitation | South Korea | 10 wk |
| 6 | Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research 1745-3011 | Q3 | 0.423 | 38 | Stockholm University Press | Sweden | 16 wk |
| 7 | Deutsche Zeitschrift für Sportmedizin 0344-5925 · 2510-5264 | Q3 | 0.391 | 25 | SportMed Verlag | Germany | 11 wk |
| 8 | European Journal of Human Movement 2386-4095 | Q3 | 0.307 | 10 | Asociación Española de Ciencias del Deporte | Spain | 5 wk |
| 9 | Science of Gymnastics Journal 1855-7171 | Q3 | 0.289 | 16 | University of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani) | Slovenia | 16 wk |
| 10 | Revista de Artes Marciales Asiáticas 2174-0747 | Q3 | 0.269 | 10 | Universidad de León | Spain | 12 wk |
| 11 | E-balonmano.com: Revista de Ciencias del Deporte 1885-7019 | Q3 | 0.265 | 9 | Federación Extremeña de Balonmano; University of Extremadura | Spain | 16 wk |
| 12 | Acta Gymnica 2336-4912 · 2336-4920 | Q3 | 0.263 | 19 | Palacký University Olomouc | Czechia | 12 wk |
| 13 | Cultura, Ciencia y Deporte 1696-5043 · 1989-7413 | Q3 | 0.246 | 21 | Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia | Spain | 48 wk |
| 14 | Journal of Kinesiology and Exercise Sciences 2956-4581 | Q3 | 0.243 | 4 | Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego im. Bronisława Czecha w Krakowie | Poland | 6 wk |
| 15 | MHSalud 1659-097X | Q3 | 0.206 | 7 | Universidad Nacional | Costa Rica | 54 wk |
| 16 | Pamukkale Spor Bilimleri Dergisi 1309-0356 | Q4 | 0.205 | 4 | Pamukkale University | Türkiye | 30 wk |
| 17 | Слобожанський науково-спортивний вісник 1991-0177 · 1999-818X | Q4 | 0.202 | 6 | Kharkiv State Academy of Physical Culture | Ukraine | 5 wk |
| 18 | Physical Treatments 2423-5830 | Q4 | 0.201 | 6 | Negah Institute for Scientific Communication | Iran | 16 wk |
| 19 | Revista de Investigación e Innovación en Ciencias de la Salud 2665-2056 | Q4 | 0.195 | 6 | Fundación Universitaria María Cano | Colombia | 16 wk |
| 20 | Revista Internacional de Ciencias del Deporte 1885-3137 | Q4 | 0.195 | 27 | Ramón Cantó Alcaraz | Spain | 6 wk |
| 21 | European Journal of Adapted Physical Activity 1803-3857 | Q4 | 0.181 | 13 | European Federation of Adapted Physical Activity | Czechia | 24 wk |
| 22 | Research in Sport Education and Sciences 2822-3527 | Q4 | 0.163 | 2 | Atatürk University | Türkiye | 15 wk |
| 23 | Sport i Turystyka 2545-3211 · 2657-4322 | Q4 | 0.162 | 5 | Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa | Poland | 19 wk |
| 24 | Sportis 2386-8333 | Q4 | 0.157 | 4 | Universidad de A Coruña | Spain | 4 wk |
| 25 | İnönü Üniversitesi Sağlık Hizmetleri Meslek Yüksekokulu Dergisi 2147-7892 | Q4 | 0.155 | 3 | İnönü University | Türkiye | 14 wk |
| 26 | Central European Journal of Sport Sciences and Medicine 2300-9705 · 2353-2807 | Q4 | 0.151 | 7 | Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego | Poland | 12 wk |
| 27 | Вестник восстановительной медицины 2078-1962 · 2713-2625 | Q4 | 0.151 | 8 | Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. National Medical Research Center of Rehabilitation and Balneology | Russia | 12 wk |
| 28 | Cheyuk gwahag yeon-gu 1598-2920 · 2233-7938 | Q4 | 0.136 | 5 | Korea Institute of Sport Science | South Korea | 7 wk |
| 29 | Journal of Orthopedic and Spine Trauma 2538-2330 · 2538-4600 | Q4 | 0.126 | 3 | Tehran University of Medical Sciences | Iran | 12 wk |
| 30 | Revista Pesquisa em Fisioterapia 2238-2704 | Q4 | 0.117 | 5 | Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Pública | Brazil | 25 wk |
| 31 | Zdravotnícke listy 1339-3022 · 2644-4909 | Q4 | 0.116 | 5 | Trenčianska univerzita Alexandra Dubčeka v Trenčíne, Fakulta zdravotníctva | Slovakia | 15 wk |
Where these journals come from
Top publishers
- Elsevier 2
- Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego im. Bronisława Czecha w Krakowie 1
- Asociación Española de Ciencias del Deporte 1
- Atatürk University 1
- Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Pública 1
- European Federation of Adapted Physical Activity 1
Manuscript languages accepted
- English 29
- Spanish 6
- Portuguese 3
- Russian 3
- Turkish 2
- Korean 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).