The Journal is directed to translational science and clinical practice of Sports Medicine and its adjacent fields, which investigate the influence of physical activity, exercise, training and sports, as well as a lack of exercise affecting healthy people and patients of all age groups and addresses implications for prevention, diagnosis, therapy, rehabilitation and physical training.

In 1924, the "Deutscher Ärztebund zur Förderung der Leibesübungen" (German Medical Association for the Promotion of Sports) founded the magazine "Der Sportarzt" as a direct precursor of our current journal. However, the numbering of the volumes did not start until 1950, as the journal was not independent during the National Socialist era and a new foundation was made.

In 1953, physician Arthur Mallwitz from Berlin, Germany, initiated a formal founding meeting in Karlsruhe-Schöneck Sports School, Germany with following members:

• Prof. Dr. Alfred Koch, President of the German Sports Physicians Association (Deutscher Sportärztebund)
• Dr. Arthur Mallwitz, Berlin, Germany
• Prof. Dr. Frohwalt Heiß, Stuttgart, Germany
• Dr. med. Josef Hammacher, Karlsruhe, Germany
• Member of publisher Tries-Verlag, Freiburg, Germany
• Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c. mult. Wildor Hollmann (on behalf of Prof. H. Wilhelm Knipping),  Cologne, Germany

With 15^th of September 1953, the journal was called „Sportmedizin“, and a board was formed, as Editor Dr. Josef Hammacher, Karlsruhe, Germany was elected. From 1959, Prof. Wildor Hollmann, Cologne, Germany, was Editor-in-Chief. In 1964, the journal was renamed into “Sportarzt und Sportmedizin”. In 1999, Prof. Jürgen Steinacker was elected as Editor-in-Chief.

On 01^st of May 1976, the “Verein zur Förderung der Sportmedizin Hannover e.V. (Association for the Advancement of Sports Medicine)” was founded as a registered Non-Profit Association for Promotion of Sports Medicine with legal seat in Hannover, Germany, and acts as publisher for the “German Association for Sports Medicine and Prevention (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Sportmedizin und Prävention e.V., DGSP)”.

Even if one could speak of the 96th volume, we are also proud of the 70th volume of the "Deutsche Zeitschrift für Sportmedizin" - "German Journal of Sports Medicine". It is one of the most widespread sports medicine journals in the world.

Since 1978, this journal is called “Deutsche Zeitschrift für Sportmedizin – German Journal of Sports Medicine”.

Dynamic Media Sales Verlag, Augsburg, Germany is the publisher of the Journal. Former publishers were Tries Verlag, Deutscher Ärzteverlag, WWF-Verlagsgesellschaft and Süddeutscher Verlag onpact.

Currently, the journal offers 11 issues per year with approx. 50-60 scientific articles as well as editorials and additional general information about medicine and sports.

The principles of the journal are in adherence with the statements of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and its standards: “Recommendations for the Conduct, Repor  ting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals“ published and updated in 2018 (http://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf).

All manuscripts of the journal are reviewed according to these. This peer-review-process is subject to certain principles and rules.

The process serves to ensure the quality of the journal and verifies the relevance of articles, the scientific credibility and completeness, style and comprehensibility. In 2015, the journal counted 75 new submissions and realized 59 revisions out of 133 expert opinions. The rejection rate was 34.52%.

The journal is listed in the following important databases:

• Research Alert
• Focus On: Sports Science & Medicine
• SciVerse Scopus
• CrossRef
• EBSCO SPORTDiscus
• Google Scholar
• Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS)
• DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals)

1953 – 1959        Dr. med. Josef Hammacher, Karlsruhe  
1959 – 1999        Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c. mult. Wildor Hollmann, Cologne
Since 1999           Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h.c. Jürgen Steinacker, Ulm

Prof. em. Dr. med. Andreas Nieß, Specialist for Internal Medicine and Sports Medicine, Department of Sports Medicine, University Hospital Tübingen

Prof. Dr. med. Holger Schmitt, Specialist for Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery, Special Orthopedics Surgery, Rheumatology and Sports Medicine, ATOS Klinik Heidelberg

Prof. Dr. med. Dr. Karsten Hollander, Specialist for Biomachanics and Sports Medicine, MSH Medical School Hamburg, University of Applied Sciences and Medical University

Simone Dübel, B.A., and Eva-Maria Hochhaus, M.A., are Managing Editors at University Hospital Ulm.

1959 – 1999 Dr. med. Willi Pfeifer, Kaiserslautern
1990 – 2004 Prof. Dr. med. Holger Mellerowicz, Berlin
1986 – 1999 Prof. Dr. med. Hans Rieckert, Kiel
1977 – 1998 Prof. Dr. med. Richard Rost, Cologne
2004 – 2006 Prof. Dr. med. Dieter Kohn, Homburg

• Arnold A: Bibliographie des gesamten seit 1911 erschienenen Schrifttums über Sportmedizin und deren Grenzgebiete, mit Berücksichtigung des ausländischen Schrifttums. Berlin, A. Reher 1927.
• Arnold A: Bibliographie des 1927 erschienenen Schrifttums über Sportmedizin und deren Arnold A: Grenzgebiete, mit Berücksichtigung des ausländischen Schrifttums. Leipzig, G. Thieme 1929.
• Arnold A: Bibliographie über Sportmedizin und Grenzgebiete 1928 - 1931. Leipzig, J.A. Barth 1934.
• Arnold A: Bibliographie über Sportmedizin und Grenzgebiete 1932 - 1935. Leipzig, G. Thieme 1936.
• Arnold A: Bibliographie der Sportmedizin und deren Grenzgebiete unter Berücksichtigung der ausländischen Literatur 1936 - 1953. Leipzig, J. A. Barth 1958.
• Klaus EJ: Deutschsprachige Standardwerke und wichtige Beiträge der Sportmedizin und ihre Grenzgebiete in den Jahren 1900 - 1955. Freiburg/Br., R. Tries 1955.