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The journal Editors welcome contributions for publication from the following categories: Letters to the Editor, Reviews and Original Articles, Commentaries and Clinical Practice case studies with educational value.

Online Submission

Submission to this journal proceeds totally online.(External link http://ees.elsevier.com/ijom) you will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of the various files. The system automatically converts source files to a single Adobe Acrobat PDF version of the article, which is used in the peer-review process. Please note that even though manuscript source files are converted to PDF at submission for the review process, these source files are needed for further processing after acceptance. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests for revision, takes place by e-mail and via the Author's homepage, removing the need for a hard-copy paper trail.

The above represents a very brief outline of this form of submission. It can be advantageous to print this "Guide for Authors" section from the site for reference in the subsequent stages of article preparation.

Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher.

Types of contributions
Letters to the Editor As is common in biomedical journals the editorial board welcomes critical response to any aspect of the journal. In particular, letters that point out deficiencies and that add to, or further clarify points made in a recently published work, are welcomed. The Editorial Board reserves the right to offer authors of papers the right of rebuttal, which may be published alongside the letter.

Reviews and Original Articles These should be either i) reports of new findings related to osteopathic medicine that are supported by research evidence. These should be original, previously unpublished works. The report will normally be divided into the following sections: abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusion, references. Or ii) critical or systematic review that seeks to summarise or draw conclusions from the established literature on a topic relevant to osteopathic medicine.

Short review The drawing together of present knowledge in a subject area, in order to provide a background for the reader not currently versed in the literature of a particular topic. Shorter in length than and not intended to be as comprehensive as that of the literature review paper. With more emphasis on outlining areas of deficit in the current literature that warrant further investigation.

Research Note Findings of interest arising from a larger study but not the primary aim of the research endeavour, for example short experiments aimed at establishing the reliability of new equipment used in the primary experiment or other incidental findings of interest, arising from, but not the topic of the primary research. Including further clarification of an experimental protocol after addition of further controls, or statistical reassessment of raw data.

Preliminary Findings Presentation of results from pilot studies which may establish a solid basis for further investigations. Format similar to original research report but with more emphasis in discussion of future studies and hypotheses arising from pilot study.

Commentaries Include articles that do not fit into the above criteria as original research. Includes commentary and essays especially in regards to history, philosophy, professional, educational, clinical, ethical, political and legal aspects of osteopathic medicine.

Clinical Practice Authors are encouraged to submit papers in one of the following formats: Case Report, Case Problem, and Evidence in Practice.

Case Reports usually document the management of one patient, with an emphasis on presentations that are unusual, rare or where there was an unexpected response to treatment eg. an unexpected side effect or adverse reaction. Authors may also wish to present a case series where multiple occurrences of a similar phenomenon are documented. Preference will be given to reports that are prospective in their planning and utilise Single System Designs, including objective measures.

The aim of the Case Problem is to provide a more thorough discussion of the differential diagnosis of a clinical problem. The emphasis is on the clinical reasoning and logic employed in the diagnostic process.

The purpose of the Evidence in Practice report is to provide an account of the application of the recognised Evidence Based Medicine process to a real clinical problem. The paper should be written with reference to each of the following five steps: 1. Developing an answerable clinical question. 2. The processes employed in searching the literature for evidence. 3. The appraisal of evidence for usefulness and applicability. 4. Integrating the critical appraisal with existing clinical expertise and with the patient's unique biology, values, and circumstances. 5. Reflect on the process (steps 1-4), evaluating effectiveness, and identifying deficiencies.

Presentation of Typescripts

Your article should be typed on A4 paper, double-spaced with margins of at least 3cm. Number all pages consecutively beginning with the title page.

To facilitate anonymity, the author's names and any reference to their addresses should only appear on the title page. Please check your typescript carefully before you send it off, both for correct content and typographic errors. It is not possible to change the content of accepted typescripts during production.

Papers should be set out as follows, with each section beginning on a separate page:

Title page
To facilitate the peer-review process, two title pages are required. The first should carry just the title of the paper and no information that might identify the author or institution. The second should contain the following information: title of paper; full name(s) and address(es) of author(s) clearly indicating who is the corresponding author; you should give a maximum of four degrees/qualifications for each author and the current relevant appointment only; institutional affiliation; name, address, telephone, fax and e-mail of the corresponding author; source(s) of support in the form of funding and/or equipment.

Keywords
Include three to ten keywords. These should be indexing terms that may be published with the abstract with the aim of increasing the likely accessibility of your paper to potential readers searching the literature. Therefore, ensure keywords are descriptive of the study. Refer to External link http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/meshhome.html for the MeSH thesaurus.

Abstract
Both qualitative and quantitative research approaches should be accompanied by a structured abstract. Commentaries and Essays may continue to use text based abstracts of no more than 150 words. All original articles should include the following headings in the abstract as appropriate: Background, Objective, Design, Setting, Methods, Subjects, Results, and Conclusions. As an absolute minimum: Objectives, Methods, Results, and Conclusions must be provided for all original articles. Abstracts for reviews of the literature (in particular systematic reviews and meta-analysis) should include the following headings as appropriate: Objectives, Data Sources, Study Selection, Data Extraction, Data Synthesis, Conclusions. Abstracts for Case Studies should include the following headings as appropriate: Background, Objectives, Clinical Features, Intervention and Outcomes, Conclusions.

Text
The text of observational and experimental articles is usually, but not necessarily, divided into sections with the headings; introduction, methods, results, results and discussion. In longer articles, headings should be used only to enhance the readability. Three categories of headings should be used:

•major ones should be typed in capital letter in the centre of the page and underlined
•secondary ones should be typed in lower case (with an initial capital letter) in the left hand margin and underlined
•minor ones typed in lower case and italicised


Do not use 'he', 'his' etc. here the sex of the person is unknown; say 'the patient' etc. Avoid inelegant alternatives such as 'he/she'. Avoid sexist language.

Statement of Competing Interests
When submitting a Research report you will need to consider if you, or any of your co-authors, are an Editor or Editorial Board member of the International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine. If this is the case you will need to include a section, at the end of your manuscript immediately before the reference section, called "Statement of Competing Interests". Example statement, which may require editing, is as follows: {Name of author} is an Editor of the Int J Osteopath Med; {Name of author} is a member of the Editorial Board of the Int J Osteopath Med but was not involved in review or editorial decisions regarding this manuscript.

References
Responsibility for the accuracy of bibliographic citations lies entirely with the Authors.

Citations in the text: Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Avoid using references in the abstract. Unpublished results and personal communications are not recommended in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text. If these references are included in the reference list they should follow the standard reference style of the journal and should include a substitution of the publication date with either "Unpublished results" or "Personal communication" Citation of a reference as "in press" implies that the item has been accepted for publication.

Text: Indicate references by superscript numbers in the text. The actual Authors can be referred to, but the reference number(s) must always be given.

List: Number the references in the list in the order in which they appear in the text.

Examples:

Reference to a journal publication:

1. Van der Geer J, Hanraads JAJ, Lupton RA. The art of writing a scientific article. J Sci Commun 2000;163:51-9.

Reference to a book:

2. Strunk Jr W, White EB. The elements of style. 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan; 1979.

Reference to a chapter in an edited book:

3. Mettam GR, Adams LB. How to prepare an electronic version of your article. In: Jones BS, Smith RZ, editors. Introduction to the electronic age. New York: E-Publishing Inc; 1999, p. 281-304

Note shortened form for last page number. e.g., 51-9, and that for more than 6 Authors the first 6 should be listed followed by "et al." For further details you are referred to "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals" (J Am Med Assoc 1997;277:927-934) (see also External link http://www.nejm.org/general/text/requirements/1.htm)

Citing and listing of Web references. As a minimum, the full URL should be given. Any further information, if known (Author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.), should also be given. Web references can be listed separately (e.g., after the reference list) under a different heading if desired, or can be included in the reference list.

Tables, Illustrations and Figures
A detailed guide on electronic artwork is available on our website: External link http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions

Preparation of supplementary data. Elsevier accepts electronic supplementary material to support and enhance your scientific research. Supplementary files offer the author additional possibilities to publish supporting applications, movies, animation sequences, high-resolution images, background datasets, sound clips and more. Supplementary files supplied will be published online alongside the electronic version of your article in Elsevier Web products, including ScienceDirect: External link http://www.sciencedirect.com. In order to ensure that your submitted material is directly usable, please ensure that data are provided in one of our recommended file formats. Authors should submit the material in electronic format together with the article and supply a concise and descriptive caption for each file. Video files: please supply 'stills' with your files: you can choose any frame from the video or make a separate image. These will be used instead of standard icons and will personalize the link to your supplementary information. For more detailed instructions please visit our artwork instruction pages at External link http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.

Illustrations and tables that have appeared elsewhere must be accompanied by written permission to reproduce them from the original publishers. This is necessary even if you are an author of the borrowed material. Borrowed material should be acknowledged in the captions in the exact wording required by the copyright holder. If not specified, use this style: `Reproduced by kind permission of . . . (publishers) from . . . (reference).' Identifiable clinical photographs must be accompanied by written permission from the patient.

The text of original research for a quantitative or qualitative study is typically subdivided into the following sections:

Introduction
State the purpose of the article. Summarise the rationale for the study or observation. Give only strictly pertinent references and do not review the subject extensively. Do not include data or conclusions from the work being reported.

Materials and Methods
Describe your selection of observational or experimental subjects (including controls). Identify the methods, apparatus (manufacturer's name and address in parenthesis) and procedures in sufficient detail to allow workers to reproduce the results. Give references and brief descriptions for methods that have been published but are not well known; describe new methods and evaluate limitations.

Indicate whether procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution or regional committee responsible for ethical standards. Do not use patient names or initials. Take care to mask the identity of any subjects in illustrative material.

Results
Present results in logical sequence in the text, tables and illustrations. Do not repeat in the text all the data in the tables or illustrations. Emphasise or summarise only important observations.

Discussion
Emphasise the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions that follow from them. Do not repeat in detail data or other material given in the introduction or the results section. Include implications of the findings and their limitations, include implications for future research. Relate the observations to other relevant studies. Link the conclusion with the goals of the study, but avoid unqualified statements and conclusions not completely supported by your data. State new hypothesis when warranted, but clearly label them as such. Recommendations, when appropriate, may be included.

Conflict of interest
At the end of the text, under a subheading "Conflict of interest statement" all authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding.

Ethical considerations
Human subjects. Work on human beings that is submitted to The International Journal of Osteopathic Medicine should comply with the principles laid down in the declaration of Helsinki; Recommendations guiding physicians in biomedical research involving human subjects. Adopted by the 18th World Medical Assembly, Helsinki, Finland, June 1964, amended by the 29th World Medical Assembly, Tokyo, Japan, October 1975, the 35th World Medical Assembly, Venice, Italy, October 1983, and the 41st World Medical Assembly, Hong Kong, September 1989. The manuscript should contain a statement that has been approved by the appropriate ethical committees related to the institution(s) in which it was performed and that subjects gave informed consent to the work. Studies involving experiments with animals must state that their care was in accordance with institution guidelines. Patients' and volunteers' names, initials, and hospital numbers should not be used. In a case report, the subject's written consent should be provided. It is the author's responsibility to ensure all appropriate consents have been obtained.

Patient anonymity. Studies on patients or volunteers require ethics committee approval and informed consent which should be documented in your paper.

Patients have a right to privacy. Therefore identifying information, including patients' images, names, initials, or hospital numbers, should not be included in videos, recordings, written descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and you have obtained written informed consent for publication in print and electronic form from the patient (or parent, guardian or next of kin where applicable). If such consent is made subject to any conditions, Elsevier must be made aware of all such conditions. Written consents must be provided to Elsevier on request.

Even where consent has been given, identifying details should be omitted if they are not essential. If identifying characteristics are altered to protect anonymity, such as in genetic pedigrees, authors should provide assurance that alterations do not distort scientific meaning and editors should so note.

If such consent has not been obtained, personal details of patients included in any part of the paper and in any supplementary materials (including all illustrations and videos) must be removed before submission.

Acknowledgments
In the appendix one or more statements should specify (a) contributions that need acknowledging, but do not justify authorship (b) acknowledgments of technical support (c) acknowledgments of financial and material support, specifying the nature of the support. Persons named in this section must have given their permission to be named. Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission from those acknowledged by name since readers may infer their endorsement of the data and conclusions.

IJOM Author Contribution Statement
All manuscripts submitted to the journal should be accompanied by an Author Contribution Statement. The purpose of the Statement is to give appropriate credit to each author for their role in the study. All persons listed as authors should have made substantive intellectual contributions to the research. To qualify for authorship each person listed should have made contributions in each of the following;
1) Contributions to conception and design; data acquisition; data analysis and interpretation;
2) Drafting of manuscript, or critical revision for important intellectual content;
3) All authors must have given approval to the final version of the manuscript submitted for consideration to publish.
Acquisition of funding; provision of resources; data collection; or general supervision, alone, is not sufficient justification for authorship. Contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship as outlined above should be listed in the Acknowledgements section. Acknowledgements may include contributions of technical assistance, proof reading and editing, or assistance with resources and funding. The statement may be published in the paper as appropriate.
Example of suggested format. Note the use of author initials.
AB conceived the idea for the study. AB and CD contributed to the design and planning of the research. All authors were involved in data collection. AB and EF analysed the data. AB and CD wrote the first draft of the manuscript. EF coordinated funding for the project. All authors edited and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Funding body agreements and policies
Elsevier has established agreements and developed policies to allow authors whose articles appear in journals published by Elsevier, to comply with potential manuscript archiving requirements as specified as conditions of their grant awards. To learn more about existing agreements and policies please visit External link http://www.elsevier.com/fundingbodies

Copyright
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to sign a "Journal Publishing Agreement'" (for more information on this and copyright see External link http://www.elsevier.com/copyright. Acceptance of the agreement will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement. If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included, the author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article. Elsevier has preprinted forms for use by authors in these cases: contact Elsevier's Rights Department, Philadelphia, PA, USA: phone (+1) 215 239 3804, fax (+1) 215 239 3805, healthpermissions@elsevier.com . Requests may also be completed online via the Elsevier homepage External link http://www.elsevier.com/locate/permissions.

Page Proofs
One set of page proofs will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author (if we do not have an e-mail address then paper proofs will be sent by post). Elsevier now sends PDF proofs which can be annotated, for this you will need to download Adobe Reader version 7 (or higher) available free from External link http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. Instructions on how to annotate PDF files will accompany the proofs. The exact system requirements are given at the Adobe site: External link http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/acrrsystemreqs.html#70win.

If you do not wish to use the PDF annotations function, you may list the corrections (including replies to the Query Form) and return to Elsevier in an e-mail. Please list your corrections quoting line number. If, for any reason, this is not possible, then mark the corrections and any other comments (including replies to the Query Form) on a printout of your proof and return by fax, or scan the pages and e-mail, or by post.

Please use this proof only for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of the text, tables and figures. Significant changes to the article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this stage with permission from the Editor. We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately. Therefore, is it important to ensure that all of your corrections are sent back to us in one communication, please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility. Note that Elsevier may proceed with the publication of your article if no response is received.

Author Enquiries
For enquiries relating to the submission of articles (including electronic submission where available) please visit this journal s homepage at External link http://www.elsevier.com/ijosm. You can track accepted articles at External link http://www.elsevier.com/trackarticle and set up e-mail alerts to inform you of when an article s status has changed. Also accessible from here is information on copyright, frequently asked questions and more.

Contact details for questions arising after acceptance of an article, especially those relating to proofs, will be provided by the publisher.

Language services. Authors who require information about language editing and copyediting services pre- and post-submission please visit External link http://www.elsevier.com/languagepolishing or our customer support site at External link http://epsupport.elsevier.com for more information. Please note Elsevier neither endorses nor takes responsibility for any products, goods or services offered by outside vendors through our services or in any advertising. For more information please refer to our Terms and Conditions: External link http://www.elsevier.com/termsandconditions.

Offprints
The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article via e-mail. The PDF file is a watermarked version of the published article and includes a cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer outlining the terms and conditions of use. Additional paper offprints can be ordered by the authors. An order form with prices will be sent to the corresponding author.

Checklist
Please check your typescript carefully before you send it off to the Editorial Office, both for correct content and typographical errors, as it is not possible to change the content of accepted typescripts during the production process.

•One copy of typescript and illustrations
•Reference list in correct style
•Written Permission from original publishers and authors to reproduce any borrowed any borrowed material