Aims and Scope
The International Journal of Musculoskeletal Pain Prevention (IJMPP) is a peer-reviewed, double-blind, open-access journal dedicated to advancing scientific knowledge on the prevention, assessment, management, rehabilitation, and reduction of musculoskeletal pain, musculoskeletal disorders, injury, functional impairment, recurrence, and related disability.
The journal provides an interdisciplinary forum for clinical, epidemiological, biomechanical, rehabilitative, behavioral, occupational, and public health research relevant to musculoskeletal health across the lifespan.
IJMPP considers research addressing primary prevention of musculoskeletal pain and injury, early identification and management of individuals at risk, and secondary and tertiary preventive approaches aimed at reducing persistence, recurrence, chronicity, reinjury, functional limitation, participation restriction, and disability.
Musculoskeletal Pain and Disorders
Relevant topics include:
- Acute and chronic musculoskeletal pain
- Low back pain
- Neck pain
- Shoulder pain
- Knee pain
- Regional musculoskeletal pain syndromes
- Joint, muscle, tendon, ligament, and spinal disorders
- Rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases
- Musculoskeletal manifestations associated with aging
- Epidemiology and burden of musculoskeletal disorders
- Risk factors and prognostic factors
- Recurrence and chronicity
Prevention and Risk Assessment
IJMPP welcomes research on:
- Primary prevention of musculoskeletal pain and injury
- Secondary prevention and early intervention
- Prevention of recurrence and chronicity
- Prevention of reinjury
- Prevention of functional deterioration and disability
- Screening and risk assessment
- Early detection of musculoskeletal dysfunction
- Prognostic factors
- Clinical prediction models
- Modifiable behavioral, biomechanical, occupational, and environmental risk factors
Rehabilitation and Exercise
Relevant areas include:
- Physical therapy
- Musculoskeletal rehabilitation
- Therapeutic exercise
- Corrective exercise
- Neuromuscular training
- Motor control interventions
- Strength training
- Flexibility training
- Balance and proprioceptive interventions
- Telerehabilitation
- Digital rehabilitation
- Rehabilitation for rheumatic and musculoskeletal conditions
- Exercise programs designed to prevent pain, injury, recurrence, or disability
Biomechanics and Human Movement
The journal considers research addressing:
- Musculoskeletal biomechanics
- Kinematics and kinetics
- Electromyography and muscle activation
- Gait analysis
- Movement analysis
- Postural control
- Balance
- Functional movement assessment
- Neuromuscular function
- Movement dysfunction
- Biomechanical risk factors for injury, pain, or degeneration
- Neuromechanical mechanisms relevant to musculoskeletal health
Studies focusing on gait, balance, movement, or physical performance should demonstrate a clear relationship to musculoskeletal health, injury risk, pain, disability, rehabilitation, or prevention.
Sports and Exercise Medicine
Topics may include:
- Prevention of sports-related musculoskeletal injuries
- Musculoskeletal injury risk factors in athletes
- Return to sport
- Prevention of reinjury
- Sports biomechanics
- Neuromuscular injury-risk assessment
- Exercise-related musculoskeletal pain
- Corrective and preventive training programs
Studies focused exclusively on athletic performance, athletic success, achievement motivation, or sports psychology without a clear musculoskeletal injury, pain, rehabilitation, or prevention outcome are outside the journal's scope.
Occupational Health and Ergonomics
Relevant areas include:
- Work-related musculoskeletal disorders
- Occupational musculoskeletal pain
- Ergonomic risk assessment
- Workplace ergonomic interventions
- Manual handling
- Occupational physical demands
- Workplace prevention programs
- Occupational stress when directly associated with musculoskeletal symptoms or disorders
- Return to work
- Prevention of musculoskeletal work disability
Psychosocial and Behavioral Aspects of Musculoskeletal Pain
The journal considers research on:
- Pain perception
- Pain catastrophizing
- Fear avoidance
- Kinesiophobia
- Self-efficacy
- Coping strategies
- Psychological determinants of musculoskeletal pain
- Behavioral determinants of disability
- Cognitive behavioral interventions
- Mindfulness-based interventions
- Acceptance-based interventions
- Pain education
- Self-management
- Biopsychosocial approaches
Psychological or behavioral studies must include a clearly defined musculoskeletal population, musculoskeletal condition, or clinically relevant musculoskeletal outcome.
Pain Science Relevant to Musculoskeletal Health
IJMPP may consider:
- Mechanisms of musculoskeletal pain
- Pain neuroscience
- Pain modulation
- Pain assessment
- Pain measurement
- Pain education
- Pain communication
- Pain-related perceptions
- Translational pain science
General pain research is considered only when its relevance to musculoskeletal pain, rehabilitation, prevention, or musculoskeletal clinical practice is explicit and substantial.
Bone, Joint, and Rheumatic Health
Topics include:
- Osteoarthritis
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Rheumatic diseases with musculoskeletal manifestations
- Degenerative joint disorders
- Bone and joint health
- Mechanisms of musculoskeletal degeneration
- Biomarkers relevant to musculoskeletal disease
- Osteoimmunology when directly relevant to musculoskeletal health, pain, degeneration, or disability
Aging, Mobility, and Functional Independence
Relevant studies include:
- Musculoskeletal health in older adults
- Locomotor dysfunction
- Mobility limitation
- Balance impairment
- Gait impairment
- Fall risk when related to musculoskeletal function or rehabilitation
- Prevention of functional decline
- Prevention of musculoskeletal disability
Health Education and Public Health
The journal considers:
- Musculoskeletal pain prevention education
- Patient education
- Professional education
- Self-management
- Lifestyle interventions
- Community-based prevention
- Workplace health promotion
- Population-level musculoskeletal health
- Implementation science
- Health services research
- Public health interventions related to musculoskeletal disorders
Measurement and Methodology
Relevant methodological research includes:
- Development and validation of musculoskeletal assessment tools
- Pain and disability measures
- Functional outcome measures
- Biomechanical assessment
- Prognostic models
- Clinical prediction models
- Digital health technologies
- Artificial intelligence applications relevant to musculoskeletal pain, injury, rehabilitation, or prevention
Eligible Populations and Settings
IJMPP welcomes research involving:
- Children
- Adolescents
- Adults
- Older adults
- Athletes
- Workers
- Patients with musculoskeletal disorders
- Individuals at increased risk of musculoskeletal pain or injury
Research may be conducted in:
- Clinical settings
- Rehabilitation settings
- Occupational settings
- Athletic settings
- Educational settings
- Community settings
- Laboratory settings
- Public health settings
Scope Boundaries
To maintain a clear scientific identity, manuscripts primarily addressing non-musculoskeletal conditions are normally outside the scope of IJMPP unless a substantial and explicitly defined musculoskeletal component is central to the research question, methodology, measured outcomes, and conclusions.
Topics generally outside the scope when no central musculoskeletal component is present include:
- Gynecological or menstrual pain
- Primary dysmenorrhea
- Gastrointestinal or visceral pain
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Cancer-related pain without a defined musculoskeletal component
- Diabetic neuropathic pain without a musculoskeletal condition
- General neuropathic pain without musculoskeletal involvement
- Dental or orofacial pain unrelated to musculoskeletal dysfunction
- General psychiatric or psychological conditions without a musculoskeletal population or outcome
- Athletic achievement or sporting success without musculoskeletal injury, pain, rehabilitation, or prevention outcomes
- General quality-of-life research without a musculoskeletal outcome
The presence of pain, exercise, rehabilitation, psychological variables, physical activity, balance, gait, or quality of life alone does not automatically place a manuscript within the scope of IJMPP.
Article Types
IJMPP considers:
- Original Research Articles
- Randomized Clinical Trials
- Nonrandomized Intervention Studies
- Cohort Studies
- Case-Control Studies
- Cross-Sectional Studies
- Epidemiological Studies
- Qualitative Research
- Mixed-Methods Research
- Systematic Reviews
- Meta-Analyses
- Scoping Reviews
- Narrative Reviews with a clear scholarly contribution
- Study Protocols
- Methodological Studies
- Measurement and Validation Studies
- Brief Reports
- Case Reports or Case Series with substantial relevance
- Editorials and Perspectives
- Letters to the Editor
Editorial Scope Assessment
All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial editorial assessment before external peer review.
Scope eligibility is evaluated according to the manuscript's central research question, study population, methodology, measured outcomes, scientific contribution, and relevance to musculoskeletal health.
The use of general terms such as pain, exercise, rehabilitation, psychology, physical activity, balance, or quality of life does not by itself establish eligibility for IJMPP.
Manuscripts that do not demonstrate a direct and substantial contribution to musculoskeletal pain, musculoskeletal disorders, injury prevention, rehabilitation, functional health, recurrence, or related disability may be declined without external peer review.
