Peer Review Process
All manuscripts submitted to the European Journal of Musculoskeletal Diseases (EJMD) undergo an initial editorial assessment followed by peer review by at least two independent experts in the relevant field.
The journal operates a double-blind peer-review system in which both author and reviewer identities are concealed throughout the review process.
Reviewers evaluate manuscripts based on:
- scientific quality;
- originality;
- methodological rigor;
- clinical relevance;
- ethical standards;
- clarity of presentation.
Reviewers provide comments and recommendations to the Editor, who is responsible for the final editorial decision.
The journal aims to complete peer review as efficiently as possible while maintaining rigorous scientific standards.
Editors or Editorial Board members submitting manuscripts to the journal are excluded from all editorial handling and decision-making processes related to their submissions. Independent editors manage the peer-review process in such cases.
Additional reviewer guidance is available in the “Instructions for Referees” section.
Authorship
Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial contributions to the work, including:
- conception or design of the study;
- acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data;
- drafting or critical revision of the manuscript;
- approval of the final version for publication.
All authors must agree to the submission and accept responsibility for the integrity of the work.
The journal follows the authorship recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).
Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately.
Acquisition of funding, data collection, administrative support, or general supervision alone does not justify authorship.
Any changes to authorship after submission must be approved by all authors and communicated to the Editorial Office.
Acknowledgements and Writing Assistance
Contributors who do not qualify for authorship may be listed in the Acknowledgements section.
Authors should disclose any professional writing or editorial assistance, including the name of the individual or organization providing the support and the source of funding for such assistance.
Use of language editing or proofreading services does not require disclosure.
Acknowledgements should appear before the Declaration of Conflicting Interests and References.
Funding
All sources of financial support for the research, authorship, or publication of the manuscript must be disclosed under a separate “Funding” heading.
If the study did not receive specific funding, authors should state this clearly.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The European Journal of Musculoskeletal Diseases requires all authors to disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that could influence the work reported in the manuscript.
A “Declaration of Conflicting Interests” statement must be included at the end of the manuscript before the References section.
If no conflicts exist, authors should state:
“The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.”
The journal follows the ICMJE recommendations regarding disclosure of competing interests.
Research Ethics and Informed Consent
Research involving human participants must be conducted in accordance with the principles of the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki.
Manuscripts reporting studies involving human participants or animals must include a statement confirming approval by the appropriate Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board, including the name of the institution and approval number where applicable.
For studies involving human participants, authors must state whether informed consent was obtained and whether consent was written or verbal.
Case reports and case series involving identifiable patient information or images require confirmation that informed consent for publication was obtained from the patient or legally authorized representative.
Research involving animals must comply with recognized institutional and international ethical standards.
The journal follows the recommendations of the ICMJE regarding the protection of research participants.
Clinical Trial Registration
Clinical trials must be registered in a publicly accessible WHO-approved trial registry before participant enrollment.
The registry name, registration number, and URL should be included at the end of the abstract.
Reporting Guidelines
Authors are encouraged to follow appropriate reporting guidelines according to study design, including CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA, CARE, and related standards where applicable.