Abstract
I had the honour of taking over as Editor–in–Chief of Shoulder & Elbow in June 2022. At that time the journal was already successful having been published for 13 years following its initial release in the summer of 2009. Ian Trail who conceived the idea of this journal was its first Editor–in–Chief until 2015 when David Stanley took over that role. Through both their stewardships Shoulder & Elbow gained in reputation and achieved PubMed recognition in 2016. During the Covid pandemic years of 2020/ 21 we had more submissions than ever although there was a subsequent decline during 2022 probably due to the impact of Covid on clinical trials and scientific research. I am advised by SAGE, our publishers, that this increase and subsequent decrease was mirrored within other journals across their stable. However, Shoulder & Elbow has rebounded from 2022 and has received over 250 submissions from over 30 countries during 2023.
Despite the above achievements the one target remaining was for Shoulder & Elbow to gain recognition for the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI). The process by which this is rewarded is by application to Clarivate who then look at several indices before recognition for ESCI is given. Shoulder & Elbow submitted their application in 2021 and were subsequently asked many questions which thankfully our publishers, Stella and myself, have been able to answer to their satisfaction. I am delighted, therefore, to inform you all that SAGE confirmed in December 2013 that Shoulder & Elbow will be included in the Emerging Sources Citation Index and the Web of Science in 2024. The calculation and issuing of an impact factor should then be announced in or around June by Clarivate which I hope to be able to pass on to BESS members and others at our annual scientific meeting in Aberdeen during that month.
This is a great achievement and I thank all those involved in helping and supporting the development of Shoulder & Elbow since 2009 including my two predecessors, the Associate Editors, the Editorial Board, the Journal Steering Committee, BESS council as well as the many reviewers that have helped establish this Journal internationally. I also send a special thanks to Stella, our Editorial Assistant, who has been in this journey from the start, and whose title underplays her role in this success. I look forward to watching the future development of Shoulder & Elbow during 2024 and beyond.
We have produced 6 standard issues of the journal during 2023 together with three themed supplements with a further one planned for the new year. Although this issue is one of our standard 6 it has a theme of shoulder instability with the authors of these articles representing 12 different countries, a truly international publication.
I am delighted to introduce Lars Adolfsson from Sweden who has written a review article on glenohumeral joint instability as an introduction to this issue. Lars is Professor of Orthopaedics and an Associate Professor of Hand Surgery at Linköping, which is affiliated to Örebro University. He has been a long serving member of the Journal Editorial Board and has over 30 years of clinical practice dedicated to the upper limb. He has produced over 100 peer reviewed scientific publications and many book chapters as well as appearing at multiple international meetings. He is also a former President of the Swedish Shoulder & Elbow Society. He is well known to many of us and a highly respected leader in his field. Lars has written this article from his personal experience as well as producing a historically referenced review of the treatment of anterior instability. He has given us his valuable insight based on his experience and the literature on this subject which I am sure will provoke some discussion and act as an excellent introduction to this first issue of 2024.