Sports Health
A Multidisciplinary ApproachPublished bimonthly, Sports Health is a collaborative publication from the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM), the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM), the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA), and the American Academy of Sports Physical Therapy (AASPT).
The journal publishes review articles, original research articles, case studies, images, short updates, legal briefs, editorials, and letters to the editor.
Topics include:
- Sports Injury and Treatment
- Care of the Athlete
- Athlete Rehabilitation
- Medical Issues in the Athlete
- Surgical Techniques in Sports Medicine
- Case Studies in Sports Medicine
- Images in Sports Medicine
- Legal Issues
- Pediatric Athletes
- General Sports Trauma
- Sports Psychology
This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach takes its title from the desire to provide sports medicine clinicians the science and clinical data for a comprehensive diagnosis and treatment algorithm for sports medicine injuries and conditions in all age groups from pediatrics to geriatrics. Covering a broad range of sports medicine topics from all levels of training and competition, the Journal will publish clinical reviews, didactic features, and original research in a format that promotes an evidence-based multidisciplinary approach to sports medicine.
| Edward M. Wojtys, MD | Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA |
| Bruce Reider, MD | Executive Editor, American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, Rosemont, IL, USA; Professor Emeritus, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA |
| Irfan M. Asif, MD | Chair and Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Alabama-Birmingham School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL, USA |
| George J. Davies, DPT, ATC, CSCS | Professor of Physical Therapy, Assistant Director of Biodynamics and Human Performance Center, Georgia Southern University-Armstrong Campus, Savannah, GA; Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse, LaCrosse, WI, USA |
| Tim Gabbett, PhD | Professor, Gabbett Performance Solutions, Brisbane, Adjunct Professor, Institute for Resilient Regions, University of Southern Queensland, Ipswich, Queensland, Australia |
| Riann Palmieri-Smith, PhD, ATC | Assistant Professor in Athletic Training, Movement Science and Orthopaedics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA |
| Hollis G. Potter, MD | Chief, Division of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY, USA |
| Moin Khan, MD, MSc, FRCSC | Assistant Professor, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada |
| Stephen F. Brockmeier, MD | Charlottesville, Virginia, USA |
| Charles A. Bush-Joseph, MD | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Lutul D. Farrow, MD | Cleveland, Ohio, USA |
| Frank Winston Gwathmey Jr, MD | Charlottesville, Virginia, USA |
| Mark D. Miller, MD | Charlottesville, Virginia, USA |
| Martha Meaney Murray, MD | Boston, Massachusetts, USA |
| Bruce Reider, MD | University of Chicago, AOSSM, Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Kurt P. Spindler, MD | Cleveland, Ohio, USA |
| Beth Shubin Stein, MD | New York, New York, USA |
| Dean C. Taylor, MD | Durham, North Carolina, USA |
| Edward M. Wojtys, MD | Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA |
| Christine Diedrich | American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, Rosemont, IL, USA |
| Christine Watt | American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, Rosemont, IL, USA |
| Maximiliano Moreira Accame, MD | Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica |
| Chad Asplund, MD, MPH, FAMSSM | Associate Professor, Family Medicine and Orthopedics, Mayo Clinic, Minneapolis, MN, USA |
| Gül Yasar Baltaci, PT, PhD, FACSM | Coordinator of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Private Ankara Guven Hospital, Ankara, Turkey |
| McKenzie Bane, PT, DPT, MS, ATC, SCS, CSCS | MedStar Health, Timonium, MD, USA |
| David R. Bell, PhD, ATC, FNATA | Associate Professor, Department of Kinesiology, Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI, USA |
| Sean T. Bryan, MD | Sports Medicine Physician, Rothman Orthopaedic Institute, Willow Grove and Clinical Professor, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA |
| Cindy J. Chang, MD, FACSM | Clinical Professor, Departments of Orthopedics and Family and Community Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA; Team Physician, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA |
| William G. Clancy Jr, MD | Professor Emeritus, Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA |
| Paula Debien, PhD | Director, Rhythmic Gymnastics Science, Minas Gerais, Brazil |
| Mahmut N. Doral, MD | Professor and Chair, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey |
| Todd S. Ellenbecker, DPT, MS, SCS, OCS, CSCS | Banner Sports Medicine, Scottsdale, AZ, USA |
| Cristián A. Fontboté, MD | Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, MEDS Sports Medicine Clinic, Santiago, Chile |
| Michael T. Freehill, MD, FAOA, FAAOS | Associate Professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Stanford University, Stanford, California |
| Javier Raya Gonzalez, PhD | Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Isabel I, Burgos, Spain |
| Dustin Grooms, PhD, AT, CSCS | Ohio Musculoskeletal & Neurological Institute and College of Health Sciences and Professions, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA |
| Thomas W. Hash, II, MD | Radsource, Brentwood, TN, USA |
| Daniel C. Herman, MD, PhD, FACSM, FAAPMR | Assistant Professor, Divisions of PM&R, Sports Medicine, and Research, Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA |
| Mackenzie M. Herzog, PhD, MPH | Sports Injury Epidemiologist, Injury Prevention Research Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC; Associate Epidemiologist, QuintilesIMS, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA |
| Marc P. Hilgers, MD, PhD, FAAFP | Director for Sports Medicine, Advocate Medical Group, Aurora, IL, USA |
| Yuri Hosokawa, PhD, ATC, FACSM | Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan |
| Yinghui Hua, PhD, MD | Shanghai, China |
| Tricia J. Hubbard-Turner, PhD, ATC | Athletic Training Program Director, Department of Kinesiology, University of North Carolina Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA |
| Cale Jacobs, PhD, ATC | Director of Outcomes Research, Mass General Brigham Sports Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital; Faculty, Harvard Medical School, Foxborough, MA, USA |
| Fredrik Johansson, PhD | Associate Professor, Sophiahemmet University, Tennis Research and Performance Group, Stockholm, Sweden |
| Cynthia LaBella, MD | Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Medical director, Institute for Sports Medicine at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, IL, USA |
| Kah Weng Lai, MBBS, DAvMed, FRCSEd | Visiting Consultant, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Singapore General Hospital, Bukit Merah, Singapore |
| James Linklater, MD | Castlereagh Imaging, St Leonards, NSW, Australia |
| Robert B. Litchfield, MD, FRCSC | Medical Director, Fowler Kennedy Sport Medicine Clinic, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada |
| Fábio Carlos Lucas de Oliveira, PT, PhD | Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada |
| Scott A. Lynch, MD | Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA |
| Tokifumi Majima, MD, PhD | Professor and the Head, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, International University of Health and Welfare Hospital Nasushiobara, Japan |
| Terry R. Malone, PT, EdD, ATC | Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA |
| Diego Mendez, PT | Professor and Director of Sports Physiotherapy Specialty, Favaloro University; Clinician and Director at KINÉ Sports Clinic, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Frank R. Noyes, MD | President and Medical Director, Cincinnati Sports Medicine Research and Education Foundation, Noyes Knee Institute, Cincinnati, OH, USA |
| Dinshaw Pardiwala, MS (Orth), DNB (Orth), FCPS | Head, Centre for Sports Medicine, Director, Arthroscopy Service, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai, India |
| Carlos Prada, MD, MHSc | Roth McFarlane Hand and Upper Limb Centre (HULC), Wester Ontario University |
| Claire Reynolds, PT, DPT | Memorial Hermann, Rocket Sports Medicine Institute, Houston, TX, USA |
| Mark F. Riederer, MD, FAAP | University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA |
| Hayley J. Root, PhD, MPH, ATC | Assistant Professor, Monmouth University, West Long Branch, NJ, USA |
| Tönu Saartok, MD, PhD | Department of Orthopedics, Visby Hospital, Visby, Sweden |
| David Samra, MBBS (Hon), B App Sci (Physio) | The Stadium Sports Medicine Clinic, Football Stadium Ground Floor, The Sheridan Building, Sydney, NSW, Australia |
| Peter H. Seidenberg, MD, FAAFP, FACSM, RMSK | Director, Sports Medicine Fellowship; Professor of Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation and Family & Community Medicine, Penn State University, State College, PA, USA |
| Andrew J. Sheean, MD, FAAOS | Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, TX, USA |
| Sandra J. Shultz, PhD, ATC, FNATA, FACSM | Professor and Co-Director of the Applied Neuromechanics Research Laboratory, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA |
| Matthew Smith, MD, MSc, FAOA | Barnes Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, MO, USA |
| Chuck Thigpen, PhD, PT, ATC | Vice President, Care Delivery, ATI Physical Therapy, Greenville, SC, USA |
| Marc Tompkins, MD | Associate Professor, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA |
| Brett G. Toresdahl, MD | Assistant Attending Physician, Primary Sports Medicine Service, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY, USA |
| Ian Y.Y. Tsou, FRCR | Clinical Director and Consultant Radiologist, Radiologic Clinic, Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre, Singapore |
| Timothy L. Uhl, PhD, ATC, PT | Director, Musculoskeletal Laboratory, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA |
| Tamara C. Valovich McLeod, PhD, ATC, FNATA | Professor and Director, Athletic Training Programs; Research Professor, School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona, A.T. Still University, Mesa, AZ, USA |
| Pierre Viviers, MD, FACSM | Institute of Sports and Exercise Medicine, Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, South Africa |
| Stefano Zaffagnini | Bologna, Italy |
| Jason Zaremski, MD, CAQSM, FACSM, FAAPMR | Associate Professor of PM&R and Sports Medicine, Co-Medical Director Adolescent & High School Sports Medicine Outreach Program, University of Florida College of Medicine, UF Health, Gainesville, FL, USA |
Now in MEDLINE!
The Editor-in-Chief of Sports Health, Edward Wojtys, MD, can be contacted via e-mail at ewojtys@sportshealthjournal.org. General inquiries may be sent to info@sportshealthjournal.org.
Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach is an official publication of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) in collaboration with the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM), the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA), and the Sports Physical Therapy Section (AASPT). Sports Health welcomes the submission of articles related to sports medicine from all countries and various disciplines.
Only manuscripts that meet the aims and scopes of Sports Health are reviewed. Sports Health utilizes a double-blind peer review process for new submissions, which includes a minimum of 2 referees as well as an Associate Editor and the Editor-in-Chief. The following criteria are used in evaluating all manuscripts: study design, quality of execution, quality of writing, contribution to current knowledge, acknowledgment of study limitations, support of the Journal's mission, and compliance with COPE and IMCJE guidelines of ethical publication. With the exception of Guest Editorials, Sports Health does not accept opinion papers. All manuscript decisions are approved by the Editor-in-Chief, who may request additional changes or modify the decision. All reviewers are required to update their disclosures each year to minimize potential reviewer bias. This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
There are no fees to publish in Sports Health. However, Sports Health offers optional open access publishing for an article processing fee of $4000 USD. For more information, please visit the Sage Choice website.
- Submissions
- Ethics Policies
- Manuscript Formats
- Manuscript Preparation
4.1 Abstract
4.2 Text
4.3 Article Types
4.4 Authorship and Acknowledgment
4.5 References
4.6 Tables
4.7 Figures and Illustrations
4.8 Videos
Manuscripts should be submitted electronically to the Sports Health submission site. Submissions that have been started but not fully submitted will be deleted 10 days after submission creation.
Manuscripts must not be under simultaneous consideration by any other publication, before or during the peer-review process, and cannot be uploaded to any preprint server.
Authors must include an exclusive license agreement (copyright) form and the Sports Health Author Disclosure Statement with their submission. These forms are available for download from the Author Area of the submission site, and must be completed and physically signed by the corresponding author. When making a declaration, the disclosure information must be specific and include any financial relationship that all authors of the article has with any sponsoring organization and the for-profit interests the organization represents, and with any for-profit product discussed or implied in the text of the article. Any commercial or financial involvements that might represent an appearance of a conflict of interest need to be additionally disclosed in the cover letter accompanying your article to assist the Editor-in-Chief in evaluating whether sufficient disclosure has been made.
With exclusive license, authors in Sports Health are allowed to (1) post their original manuscript online immediately with no permission needed; (2) post on any noncommercial repository or website the accepted/peer-review version online 12 months after print publication; (3) distribute a not-for-profit basis photocopies of the published Contribution for teaching purposes or to research colleagues; (4) and republish the whole or any part of their work without permission as long as they cite the original source 12 months after print publication. Articles, tables, and figures that have been published in Sports Health may not be published elsewhere by anyone other than the authors without written permission from the exclusive license holder. Authors are responsible for ordering reprints of their articles, which can be done by contacting reprint@sagepub.com.
Please make sure prior to submission that all author names are spelled correctly and consistent with authors’ other publications. This will ensure that articles will index correctly in PubMed. We are unable to make changes for author order/name inconsistency after final proofs are reviewed and accepted.
All papers reporting animal and human studies must include whether written consent was obtained from the local Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board. Please ensure that you have provided the full name and institution of the review committee and an Ethics Committee reference number.
We accept manuscripts that report human and/or animal studies for publication only if it is made clear that investigations were carried out to a high ethical standard. Studies in humans that might be interpreted as experimental (eg, controlled trials) should conform to the Declaration of Helsinki, and manuscripts must include a statement that the research protocol was approved by the appropriate ethical committee. Registration of clinical trials in an appropriate repository (http://clinicaltrials.gov or other suitable databases identified by the ICMJE) is required for all trials starting after January 1, 2019. Submissions of clinical trials should include the registration number and name of the trial register.
As of June 15, 2021, submissions must include IRB/ethics approval letters be submitted before review. These must be copies of the original approval documents. Please upload documentation of approval as a legal document to the copyright area.
Patient Consent
Authors are required to ensure the following guidelines are followed, as recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals. Patients have a right to privacy that should not be infringed without informed consent. Identifying information, including patients' names, initials, or hospital numbers, should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication.
Identifying details should be omitted if they are not essential. Complete anonymity is difficult to achieve, however, and informed consent should be obtained if there is any doubt. When informed consent has been obtained it should be indicated in the submitted article. Download an audio-visual likeness release here.
Manuscript pages should be typed double-spaced with the pages and lines numbered. Generally, manuscripts should be 4,500 words or less (see below for guidelines specific to video tutorials and case reports). Manuscripts will be converted to a PDF file that reviewers download. It is important that NO identifying material is in the submitted manuscript.
An abstract that summarizes the content of the article in <300 words is required for a manuscript submission. Please include the abstract in the manuscript text file when it is uploaded. Please include 3-5 keywords at the end of all abstracts.
Abstracts for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses should include the headings context, objective, data sources, study selection, study design, level of evidence, data extraction, results, and conclusions.
Example: A method for systematically combining pertinent qualitative and quantitative study data from several selected studies to develop a single conclusion that has greater statistical power. This conclusion is statistically stronger than the analysis of any single study, due to increased numbers of subjects, greater diversity among subjects, or accumulated effects and results.
Abstracts for Clinical Reviews should include the headings context, evidence acquisition, study design, level of evidence, results, conclusions, and Strength-of-Recommendation Taxonomy (SORT) (see Section 4.5 for more information).
Example: A way to provide a clear, up-to-date account of the topic. The review should include a broad update of recent developments (from the past 1-2 years) and their likely clinical applications in primary and secondary care. The article should also try to highlight the bridge between primary and secondary care and offer specific information on what general practitioners should know about the condition.
Abstracts for Clinical Research should include the headings background, hypothesis, study design, level of evidence, methods, results, conclusions, and clinical relevance.
Example: A scientific study of how a new medicine or treatment works in people. Through clinical studies, doctors find new and better ways to prevent, detect, diagnose, control, and treat illnesses.
Level of Evidence should be based on this scale.
Abstracts for Case Reports, Infographics, and Video Tutorials may be unstructured, but should be sufficiently detailed to summarize work and its importance.
Example: An article that describes and interprets an individual case, often written in the form of a detailed story.
Abstracts for Translational and Basic Science Research should follow the same format described for Clinical Research abstract guidelines above.
Maximum recommended text length is usually 8 pages, or 4,500 words. Sports Health follows the American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style. Use generic names of drugs. If a particular brand was used in a study, insert the brand name along with the name and location of the manufacturer in parentheses after the generic name. The name and location of equipment manufacturers also should be included in parentheses behind the name of the product.
Units of measure following a number are abbreviated (such as kg, cm). Use metric units in measurements (that is, centimeter vs inch, kilogram vs pound). Limit use of abbreviations; abbreviated terms not used >3 times should be spelled out. When uncommon abbreviations are used, give the full term followed by the abbreviation in parentheses the first time it is mentioned in the text, such as femur-ACL-tibia complex (FATC).
Reports on surgery, except in rare instances, require a minimum follow-up of two years.
P values should be reported in 3 digits, such as 0.05, < 0.01, 0.25, etc. P values reported differently will be edited to this format.
Any material that is submitted with an article (eg, tables and figures) that has been reproduced in another source must conform to the current copyright regulations. It is the author's responsibility to obtain written permission for reproduction of copyrighted material and to provide that documentation to the editorial office before publication. Download a permission form here.
The author is responsible for all statements made in the work, including copy editor changes.
Sports Health publishes Guest Editorials, Letters to the Editor, Author's Response, Systematic Reviews or Meta-analysis, Clinical Reviews, Clinical Research, Case Report, Video Tutorial, and Infographics. For an in-depth definition of each article types, please click here.
If there are specific requriements for submission types, they are outlines below.
4.3.1 Systematic Reviews
Submissions should include a Systematic Review Checklist with other submission requirements. This form can be accessed here.
4.3.2 Clinical Research
At the end of each Clinical Research paper, Clinical Recommendations should be included. These will be highlighted for the reader. The Strength-of-Recommendation Taxonomy (SORT) is required for all clinical recommendations (see below). Use SORT to trate the recommendation based on the strength of the scientific or clinical evidence available to support it. SORT is required for all clinical recommendations. (American Family Physician, July 1, 2006; Vol 74, Number 1.)
4.3.3 Infographics
An infographic is a clear and concise pictorial representation of research, technology, or technique. All Infographics should include an abstract, infographic file and references. Infographics submitted for peer-review may take one of two formats:
- Standalone Infographics. If the infographic presents a complete and scientifically robust visual of a message, it may be published alone without accompanying text.
- Supplemented Infographic. If the infographic visual requires support for the message, it should be accompanied by a short clinical or research review presented in our standard journal format.
4.3.4 Video Tutorials
Video tutorials should be submitted using the below guidelines. These articles are meant to be visual synopses of current physical tests, rehabilitation maneuvers, surgical techniques, etc. Text is limited to 1,500 words, with an unstructured abstract (250 words, followed by 3-5 MeSH keywords) and maximum of 8 references. Tables should be used sparingly, and there is unlimited use of figures; however, figures should be restricted to only those images that cannot be shown clearly within the video file. Please be sure that all figures include a legend that describes what is being shown.
The video files should be supplied as an MPEG (preferred), Apple QuickTime, or Microsoft Audio/Video Interlaced file and as small as possible without affecting quality for optimal streaming per best-practice guidelines (please utilize file -reducing software if possible). Videos should be of professional quality, and narration is expected. Subjects should be in focus, and all exam maneuvers should be clearly seen by the viewer. Please be careful with the background (including images, devices, and lighting); plain, light colors work best.
Any individual shown within the video will need to provide a signed visual likeness release prior to publication. We cannot “black out” any individuals or body parts from video files. Anyone from whom you cannot obtain release should not be included.
*If you believe that the subject matter that you’d like to present cannot be sufficiently presented within these guidelines, please contact Ed Wojtys, Editor-in-Chief, at ewojtys@sportshealthjournal.org.
4.3.5 Case Reports
Case reports should have no more than 1,200 words, inclusive of the abtract, text, any relevant figure legends, and references. Abstracts should be unstructured. Case reports should not include tables but rather relevant figures with legends describing what is being shown. If anything provided within the case report (images or text) makes the patient identifiable, then you must include a statement confirming that permission was granted by the patient, family, or parent/guardian to publish the case report.
4.4 Authorship and Acknowledgment
Submission of a manuscript implies that all authors have contributed substantially to the work and know and approve the content of the submitted manuscript. Please refer to the ICMJE Authorship guidelines. Our policy discourages the inclusion of >7 authors on an article. If >7 authors are listed, the contribution of each author to the work should be explained in the cover letter. Any person who contributed to the work but does not qualify for authorship should be included in the "Acknowledgments" section. Type acknowledgments in the box provided on the submission page. Please briefly describe the contributions made by acknowledged persons.
Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools.
References should be typed double-spaced in alphabetical order and numbered according to the alphabetical listing. If references are not in alphabetical order, the uploaded file will be returned to the corresponding author for correction and resubmission in the correct form. When author entries are the same, alphabetize by the first word of the title. In general, use the Index Medicus form for abbreviating journal titles and the AMA Manual of Style for format.
References must be retrievable. Do not include in the reference list presentations from meetings that have not been published. Data such as presentations and articles that have been submitted for publication but have not been accepted must be put in the text as unpublished data immediately after mention of the information (for example, "Smith and Jones (unpublished data, 2000) noted in their study ...").
For tables, the system accepts most common word processing formats, but Word and PDF are preferred. Tables should be included at the end of the manuscript text file so that they are included in the PDF used by reviewers. Tables should be numbered consecutively and have a title. Please be sure the title describes the content and purpose of the table. Tables should enhance, not duplicate, information in the text. Simple tables that repeat textual material will be deleted. It is the author's responsibility to submit permission to reproduce any tables that have been published previously. Download a permission form here.
Figures for papers accepted for publication must meet the requirements of the publisher, Sage Publications. Files for line drawings should be created at 1200 dpi, for color photographs at 600 dpi, and for black and white photographs at 300 dpi. Please remember that many image formats are not acceptable for reproduction. Please ensure the quality of your figures match the guidelines provided.
Figures should be submitted in the original form created. Images embedded in Word or PowerPoint files are not acceptable. Glossy prints can be sent to the journal once the paper is accepted if you cannot meet the digital art requirements for publication. Color images are preferred for photographs and bar graphs/charts. Be sure all symbols or arrows are described in the legend. If figure parts (such as A, B) are provided, the legend must explain each part of the figure. Terms used for labels and in the legend must be consistent with those in the text.
Examine all figures carefully to ensure that the data are presented with the greatest possible clarity. Likewise, determine if a figure would communicate the information more effectively than lengthy narrative. It is the author's responsibility to obtain and submit signed permission to reproduce any copyrighted figures that have been published previously. Download a permission form here.
In order to perform double-anonymized peer-review, all identifying features within photographs must be remmoved. Participant faces should be occluded and logo should be blurred. For publication, identifiable subjects must sign the audio-visual likeness release form.
The backgrounds of photographs should be as simple and free of distractions as possible. Authors may be asked to provide new images if the photos have “busy backgrounds.”
If an identifier is needed on an image with multiple parts (eg, a, b, c), please provide the image with a lowercase letter without using parentheses on the bottom right corner in size 10 pt font. Identifiers are only used when there is a grouped legend. If the image can be presented by itself with its own ledgend no identifier is needed on the image. In addition, any other text used on the image (including arrows, asterisks, etc) should be provided in a separate layer from the base image.
Charts/graphs should have axes labeled using title capitalization (eg, Mean Follow-up for Athletes). In addition, units should be provided for all axes when necessary and set aside from the table in parentheses.
Videos may be submitted with a manuscript to be posted online. Please see the Video Format Guide for format requirements. For copyright/permissions information, view the Video Permission and Fair Use Quick Guide. Identifiable subjects in video will need to sign the Audio-Visual Likeness Release form. It is the author's responsibility to submit forms for each video.