History of JOSPT

History and Background

     The Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy was first published in the summer of 1979, within 10 years of the establishment of the Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Sections of the American Physical Therapy Association. At that time, the combined membership of these sections approached 5,000; today, the Orthopaedic Section and what for many years has been known as the Sports Physical Therapy Section together number approximately 19,500. Initially published as a quarterly journal, JOSPT is delivered monthly to APTA Section members as well as 9,500 additional subscribers located in the United States and in 54 countries around the world and is available continuously on the Internet through this World Wide Web site.

     Thirty-one years ago, its founders’ vision for JOSPT centered on the need for a premier “communication forum” that would promote “the knowledgeable application of the most recent advances in medical research and clinical treatment to facilitate and improve health care delivery to the patient with a musculoskeletal condition.” The related mission of the Journal at its launch was “to further the understanding of basic sciences as applied to musculoskeletal conditions and to promote justification of clinical procedures in orthopaedics and sports medicine.”

     While the Journal’s audience has grown, its print frequency has increased, and its availability electronically has expanded, its original mission and vision remain essentially the same today.  The Journal's current mission and vision statements, as affirmed by JOSPT's Board of Directors in December 2007, are: 

• Mission: JOSPT publishes an exemplary, scholarly, peer-reviewed journal for physical therapists and others in the healthcare and research communities to advance musculoskeletal and sports related best practice.
• Vision: JOSPT will be the premier international source of clinical, basic, and translational science to optimize musculoskeletal and sports related rehabilitation, health, and wellness.

Editors – Past and Present:

• Summer 1979 – February 1987
  James A. Gould, PT, MS, and George J. Davies, MEd, PT, MA, ATC, REMT, CET

• March 1987 – December 1990
  James A. Gould, PT, MS

• January 1991 – December 1998
  Gary L. Smidt, PT, PhD, FAPTA

• January 1999 – December 2001
  Richard P. Di Fabio, PT, PhD

• January 2002 –
  Guy G. Simoneau, PT, PhD, ATC