Shoulder & Elbow: review time and acceptance speed

ISSN 1758-5732 · ISSN 1758-5740 · SAGE Publishing · Medicine

Half of the articles Shoulder & Elbow accepted in 2025 were accepted within 144 days of submission (n = 105); the middle half took 96–187 days.

Submission → acceptance (2025)
144 days median
middle half 96–187 · n = 105
Acceptance → online
28 days median
middle half 22–36 · n = 105
Change since 2023
No clear change since 2023 (median 126 → 144 days; 90% CI -5 to +42 days).
Open access · fees
OA status not determined · ≈$3,900

Accepted articles only · dates deposited by the publisher in PubMed · data as of Sep 15, 2026

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How long does Shoulder & Elbow take to accept a paper?

days0601201802402020: middle half 72–152 days1152020n=812021: middle half 62–132 days1012021n=862022: middle half 81–166 days1172022n=882023: middle half 86–174 days1262023n=742024: middle half 86–161 days1242024n=892025: middle half 96–187 days1442025n=105
Line = median; shaded box = middle half of articles (25th–75th percentile). Year of acceptance.
Days from submission to acceptance, by year of acceptance
YearArticles (n)25th pctMedian75th pct90th pctAccepted <14 daysHave a revised date
2025105961441870.0%92%
202489861241611.1%91%
202374861261741.4%91%
202288811171660.0%88%
202186621011323.5%80%
202081721151521.2%69%

Distribution in 2025

0–29 days: 0% (0 articles)030–59 days: 5% (5 articles)3060–89 days: 15% (16 articles)6090–119 days: 22% (23 articles)90120–149 days: 12% (13 articles)120150–179 days: 17% (18 articles)150180–209 days: 7% (7 articles)180210–239 days: 6% (6 articles)210240–269 days: 6% (6 articles)240270–299 days: 5% (5 articles)270300–329 days: 2% (2 articles)300330–359 days: 2% (2 articles)330360+ days: 2% (2 articles)360+days from submission to acceptance (30-day bins)
Show as a table
DaysArticlesShare
0–2900.0%
30–5954.8%
60–891615.2%
90–1192321.9%
120–1491312.4%
150–1791817.1%
180–20976.7%
210–23965.7%
240–26965.7%
270–29954.8%
300–32921.9%
330–35921.9%
360+21.9%

From acceptance to online publication

After acceptance, half of the 2025 articles appeared online within 28 days (middle half 22–36 days, n = 105).

From submission to online publication, the median was 176 days (middle half 123–228 days, n = 105).

Read these numbers carefully

  • These times describe articles the journal accepted. Rejected manuscripts never appear in public data, so they cannot tell you how long a rejection takes.
  • Dates are the ones the publisher deposited with PubMed. Some publishers record the date a revised manuscript arrived as the submission date, which makes review look faster.
  • Invited articles and special issues can move faster than regular submissions.

Open access status and publishing fees

Subscription or hybrid (not determined). Listed APC: about $3,900 (as reported by OpenAlex).

No institutional payments for this journal are recorded in OpenAPC.

Many journals waive or reduce fees for authors from eligible countries or institutions with publishing agreements — check with the journal and your library.

Integrity and indexing signals

Facts from public records, shown without judgement. See the methodology for why each can be worth a closer look.

Listed in DOAJNo
Articles indexed for MEDLINE in 2025None found (the journal may be in PubMed through PubMed Central instead)
Retractions0 retracted articles among 580 added to PubMed in 2021–2025 (0.00 per 1,000), per the Retraction Watch Database.
Accepted within 14 days of submission0.0% of 2025 articles
Publication volume113 articles added to PubMed in 2025 (-28% vs 2024).

Topics and scope

Medicine journalsSurgery journals

Similar journals — faster or cheaper, side by side

Journals publishing on the most similar topics (OpenAlex), ordered by similarity. Only 2025 figures are compared with the 2025 median of Shoulder & Elbow, 144 days.

Paid APC medianDOAJMEDLINE
Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery109 (2025, n = 362)≈$3,850NoYes
Clinics in Shoulder and Elbow80 (2025, n = 58)No fee (DOAJ)YesNo
MUSCULOSKELETAL SURGERY124 (2025, n = 60)≈$3,890NoYes
Arthroscopy The Journal of Arthroscopic and Related Surgery150 (2025, n = 333)≈$3,500NoYes
Arthroscopy Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation132 (2025, n = 172)$2,000YesNo
Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine26 (2025, n = 549)$1,500$1,278 (21 payments)YesNo

Frequently asked questions

How long does Shoulder & Elbow take to accept a paper?

Half of the articles Shoulder & Elbow accepted in 2025 were accepted within 144 days of submission (n = 105); the middle half took 96–187 days. Based on dates in PubMed for accepted articles only.

How long after acceptance are Shoulder & Elbow articles published online?

Half of the articles accepted in 2025 appeared online within 28 days of acceptance (n = 105).

Does Shoulder & Elbow charge an article processing charge (APC)?

Listed APC: about $3,900 (as reported by OpenAlex).

Sources and method

Journal identity: ISSN-L 1758-5732; NLM ID 101506589; OpenAlex record. Speed figures use 105 articles accepted in 2025 with valid dates; excluded records for that year: none.

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Data sources. Submission, acceptance and publication dates: Courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (PubMed, entries through Sep 15, 2026). NLM does not endorse Journal Clock, and these figures may not reflect the most current PubMed data. Journal fees and open-access listing: DOAJ (CC0, retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Fees paid by institutions: OpenAPC (Open Database License, retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Retractions: Retraction Watch Database via Crossref (retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Journal identifiers and topics: OpenAlex (CC0). Currency conversion: ECB reference rates (Sep 15, 2026). How these numbers are calculated · For organisations.