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 20,500. Initially published as a quarterly journal, the JOSPT is delivered monthly to APTA Section members as well as 2,000 additional subscribers located in the United States and in 55 countries around the world and is available continuously on the Internet through this World Wide Web site.

     Twenty-nine years ago, its founders’ vision for the 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 vision and mission remain essentially the same today: the JOSPT seeks to provide a foundation of knowledge that supports the practice of musculoskeletal health and rehabilitation, including physical therapy in orthopaedics and sports medicine and incorporating discussion of advances in and application of new and critical fields – most recently in such areas as gerontology, neuroscience, and epidemiology.

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