Author Guidelines

Author Submission Guidelines
Authors are strongly encouraged to carefully review the detailed submission guidelines prior to submitting their manuscripts to the Journal of Bone and Soft Tissue Surgery (JBSS). These guidelines are designed to ensure clarity, consistency, and adherence to international publishing standards.

The submission guidelines provide comprehensive instructions on:

  • Manuscript Formatting: Specifications regarding structure, word limits, figures, tables, and supplementary materials.

  • Reference Style: Standardized citation and bibliography format to maintain uniformity across publications.

  • Authorship Criteria: Clear policies outlining qualification for authorship, contribution acknowledgment, and responsibilities of corresponding authors.

  • Ethical Disclosures: Requirements related to conflict of interest statements, informed consent, human and animal research ethics, and compliance with institutional review board (IRB) approvals.

Adhering to these requirements facilitates a smooth review process, enhances the quality of submissions, and upholds the integrity of the journal’s publications.

The journal follows the ICMJE Recommendations, “Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals,” for authorship and reporting standards. 

All submissions must be made electronically via our submission portal. Registration is mandatory before submitting a manuscript. For queries, please contact the Editorial Office at editor@jbss.pk

JBSS doesn’t consider submission done online or via e-mail.

General Submission Requirements

  • Title Page: Include article title, all author names with degrees, institutional affiliations, and corresponding author details.

  • Ethics Approval: Clinical studies require IRB approval; animal studies must include animal ethics clearance. Translated versions are needed if the approval is not in English.

  • References: Use Vancouver style (numbered in order of appearance). Include all authors (not “et al.”). See number of references allowed in Word and formatting summary below.

  • Figures: Submit as high-resolution TIFF or EPS files.

  • Tables: Submit in Word/Excel, numbered and cited in text.

Accepted Article Types

 

1. Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses


Comprehensive reviews and quantitative syntheses of clinical or surgical topics relevant to orthopaedic practice will be considered for submission

  • Follow the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Download the checklist here, and submit this checklist as a separate file during the submission process.
  • Word limit: 4,000 (excluding references, tables, and figures)
  • Abstract: Structured abstract up to 250 words maximum (Background, Methods, Results, Conclusion)
  • Tables/Figures: Maximum 6, must be submitted in a separate file.

2. Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs)

  • Must comply with the CONSORT checklist and include a CONSORT flow diagram.

  • Registration in a public trial registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov) before patient enrollment is mandatory.

  • Word limit: 2,500

  • Abstract: Structured(Background, Methods, Results, Conclusions)

  • Tables/Figures: Maximum 5

3. Observational Studies (Cohort, Case-Control, Cross-Sectional)

  • Should follow the STROBE guidelines.

  • Studies using routinely collected data must also adhere to the RECORD statement.

  • Word limit: 2,500

  • Abstract: Structured (Background, Methods, Results, Conclusions)

  • Tables/Figures: Maximum 5

4. Case Series

  • Reports of multiple patients with a shared condition, treatment, or outcome.

  • Should include clear inclusion criteria, patient demographics, interventions, outcomes, and follow-up.

  • Word limit: 2,000

  • Abstract: Structured (Background, Methods, Results, Conclusions)

  • Tables/Figures: Maximum 5

5. Case Reports

  • Unique or rare clinical presentations, surgical techniques, or complications that add value to orthopaedic practice.

  • Follow the CARE guidelines. Download checklist here, and submit this checklist as a separate file during submission process.

  • Word limit: 1,500

  • Abstract: Unstructured or structured upto 150 words max

  • Tables/Figures: Maximum 5, must be submitted in a separate file.

6. Letters to the Editor

  • Short communications addressing recently published articles or relevant orthopaedic issues.

  • Should be concise, evidence-based, and not exceed 750 words.

  • No abstract required.

  • Tables/Figures: Maximum 1

Word and Formatting Summary

Article Type

Word Limit

Type

Max Tables/Figures

Checklist Requirement

Systematic Review & Meta-anlysis

4000

Structured abstract, upto 50 references 

6

PRISMA 2020

RCT

2,500 

Structured abstract, upto 50 references 

5

CONSORT

Observational

(Cohort, Case-Control, Cross-Sectional)

2,500

Structured abstract, upto 50 references

5

STROBE / RECORD

Case Series

2,000

Structured abstract, upto 30 references

3

Not mandatory, but follow best practice

Case Report

1,500

Unstructured or structured abstract, upto 30 references

2

CARE

Letter to Editor

750

No abstract, upto 10 references

1

Not required

 

Editorial Policies

  • Peer Review: All submissions undergo initial editorial screening followed by double-blind peer review.

  • Ethical Standards: Research must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki and relevant national guidelines. Animal studies must follow institutional animal care standards.

  • Authorship: JBSS follows ICMJE criteria and requires a CRediT authorship statement.

  • Conflicts of Interest: All authors must declare financial or non-financial conflicts of interest. Use the ICMJE Disclosure Form.

  • Data Availability: Authors should provide data availability statements. Public repository deposition is encouraged.

Manuscript Preparation

General Format

  • Title page must be submitted as a separate file, and this must it includes:

    • Full title (≤20 words)
    • Author names, affiliations, academic degrees, and ORCID IDs, in order in which they should appear
    • Institution where work was performed
    • Corresponding author email and phone
    • Abstract and manuscript word count
    • Number of references 
    • Number of tables and figures
    • Conflict of interest statement
  • File type: Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx)
  • Font: Times New Roman, size 12, line spacing 1.5 throughout text 
  • Alignment: Justified
  • Page numbers must be added
  • Margins: 1 inch on all sides
  • All tables and figures should be placed at the end of the manuscript. They must be cited appropriately within the text, using sequential references such as Table-1, Table-2, Table-3 etc  and Fig. 1, Fig. 2 and Fig. 3

Sections (for original articles)

  1. Title page

  2. Abstract & Keywords (3–6 MeSH terms)

  3. Introduction

  4. Methods (study design, participants, interventions, outcomes, statistics)

  5. Results

  6. Discussion

  7. Conclusion

  8. Acknowledgments

  9. Funding

  10. Conflicts of Interest

  11. References

  12. Tables/Figures (with captions)
  • All tables must be submitted in editable format (Word or Excel). Tables embedded as images will not be accepted.

  • Number tables in the order they are cited in the text, using Roman numerals (TABLE I, TABLE II, etc.).

  • Each table must have a clear, descriptive title placed above the table.

  • Column headings should have each major word capitalized (e.g., Patient Demographics). Units of measurement must be included in parentheses within the column heading (e.g., Age (yrs), Weight (kg)).

  • The first word of each row should be capitalized; the remaining text in that row should be lowercase.

  • Use SI units consistently. Data should be aligned properly, with decimals aligned where applicable.

  • Do not duplicate information already presented in figures or the main text.

  • Abbreviations must be defined in the table at first use, preferably in a footnote.

  • Footnotes should appear below the table and follow the sequence of symbols:
     * (asterisk), † (dagger), ‡ (double dagger), § (section), # (pound sign), then **, ††, etc. if further notes are required.

  • The word “TABLE” should appear in all caps followed by the Roman numeral (e.g., TABLE I: Patient Demographics).

  • Tables must be cited in the text in consecutive order.



References

  • Style: Vancouver (Include all author names despite using “et al.”). The number of references allowed should be in accordance with the journal as mentioned in the word and formatting summary previously.

  • In accordance with the list of journals indexed in Index Medicus, the journal uses Index Medicus style for references and abbreviated journal names: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/

Example:

Smith J, Khan M, Patel R. Outcomes of minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis for tibial fractures. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2023;105(4):456-63.

Ethical Requirements

  • Human studies: Must state IRB/ethics committee approval and informed consent.

  • Animal studies: Must include institutional animal ethics approval.

  • Clinical trial registration: Mandatory for RCTs in a recognized registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov, CTRI).

Submission Process

  • Submit via JBSS Online Submission System (OJS).

  • Average review time: 6–8 weeks.

Publication Fees and Open Access

JBSS is an open-access journal. Articles are published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). See Licensing policy

  • No submission fee

Post-Publication Policies

  • Authors may share the final PDF for academic use.

  • Corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern will be published in accordance with COPE.