Skeletal Muscle publishes research on skeletal muscle development, adaptation, regeneration, and clinical translation. Manuscripts should connect mechanistic insight to functional outcomes.

We welcome original research, systematic reviews, methodological innovations, and practice oriented analyses that advance muscle science across the lifespan.

Manuscripts should include precise definitions of muscle groups, fiber types, and intervention timelines.

Explain how measurement reliability was assessed across testing sessions.

Clarify recruitment and activation markers for the muscle populations studied.

Provide context for translational relevance to rehabilitation or sports medicine.

Clarify the rationale for selected biomarkers and endpoints.

Describe how imaging regions of interest were selected.

Summarize the translational significance for clinicians and patients.

Provide links to repositories and accession numbers when available.

Summarize how results inform rehabilitation or training decisions.

Provide a structured abstract, clear objectives, and defined outcome measures. Results should link mechanistic signals to muscle function, recovery, or performance metrics.

Describe cohort or model selection, intervention timing, and key inclusion criteria to ensure reproducibility across settings.

When applicable, describe instrumentation and calibration procedures for strength or endurance testing.

Document how functional outcomes were normalized for body size or composition.

Report exercise protocols with intensity, frequency, and duration details.

Clarify how satellite cell activation was measured and quantified.

Describe adverse events or safety monitoring for interventions.

Explain the inclusion of sex specific or age specific analyses.

Describe any equipment limitations that could affect outcomes.

Explain how participants were recruited and retained.

Clarify the link between molecular outcomes and performance gains.

Include data availability statements and repository links where possible. For sensitive clinical data, specify controlled access or anonymization procedures.

Document protocols for sample handling, assay validation, and quality control to support repeatability.

Explain how datasets were curated to enable secondary analysis and reproducibility.

Provide a concise summary of mechanistic pathways in the discussion to reinforce scope fit.

Describe normalization steps for metabolomic or proteomic profiles.

Discuss limitations related to cohort size or model specificity.

Explain how nutrition or supplementation variables were controlled.

Report quality control steps for histology or biopsy processing.

Clarify how outcomes were normalized to body mass or lean mass.

Describe how mechanistic assays were replicated across samples.

Describe statistical corrections for multiple comparisons when used.

Provide detailed training or rehabilitation protocols, including intensity targets, rest intervals, and progression rules. This improves reproducibility across muscle performance studies.

When using pharmacological or nutritional interventions, specify dosing schedules, adherence tracking, and rationale for selected exposure windows.

Provide clear captions for figures illustrating muscle architecture or functional outcomes.

Explain how sample timing aligns with muscle adaptation windows or recovery phases.

Explain how muscle function outcomes were validated and replicated.

Document how muscle strength or endurance outcomes were standardized.

Document compliance rates for training or rehabilitation protocols.

Document data processing pipelines for omics workflows.

Provide context for comparisons against existing literature.

Report inter rater or intra rater reliability where relevant.

Explain how outcome measures were selected and prioritized.

Report any deviations from preregistered protocols or planned analysis approaches.

Include reporting for sex specific analyses when outcomes differ across populations.

Document imaging settings for fiber typing and morphology assays.

Describe how data deposition supports future reuse and verification.

Provide baseline characteristics for all cohorts and subgroups.

Clarify assumptions in computational or modeling analyses.

Document ethical approvals and consent procedures clearly.

Clarify how exercise intensity zones were defined and monitored.

Provide confidence intervals for key clinical or performance metrics.

State ethical approvals for human or animal studies and confirm informed consent where applicable. Disclose conflicts of interest and funding sources.

Clinical trials should include registration identifiers and clearly reported endpoints.

Clarify how outcomes were prioritized to avoid selective reporting.

Document calibration checks for imaging devices used in fiber morphology analysis.

Note how animal or human cohorts were stratified by age and sex.

Explain how muscle fiber composition was measured and validated.

Summarize how muscle architecture outcomes were quantified.

Provide references for validated scales or questionnaires used.

Explain how confounders were mitigated in observational studies.

Summarize key limitations and propose future research directions.

Report quality assurance for data entry and management.

Provide high resolution figures with clear annotations of muscle architecture or functional outcomes. Tables should summarize key measurements and statistical results.

Supplementary materials can include extended protocols, additional datasets, or methodological validation.

Include supplementary methods when protocols are complex or novel.

Clarify how muscle biopsy handling minimized degradation and preserved key biomarkers.

Summaries that connect molecular signals to functional performance strengthen impact.

State how fatigue or recovery outcomes were defined and compared.

Report effect sizes alongside statistical significance values.

Explain how functional outcomes relate to clinical thresholds.

Describe how muscle injury or recovery phases were staged.

Document how muscle tissue storage conditions were maintained.

Describe timelines from intervention start to outcome measurement.

All manuscripts undergo initial scope screening, followed by peer review. Decisions prioritize methodological rigor and relevance to muscle science.

Use one of the two submission routes below. Both routes follow the same editorial standards.

• ManuscriptZone submission: https://oap.manuscriptzone.net/
• Simple submission form: https://openaccesspub.org/manuscript-submission-form

Provide units and reference values for all clinical or performance metrics.

State whether outcomes were preregistered or part of exploratory analysis plans.

Report statistical thresholds used for mechanistic or clinical outcome analysis.

Describe randomization and blinding procedures when applicable.

Describe how missing data were handled in longitudinal analyses.

Describe cross validation methods for predictive models.

Report variability measures for strength and endurance outcomes.

Explain steps taken to avoid batch effects in assays.

Summarize how environmental conditions were controlled in studies.

Describe any rehabilitation protocols with progression criteria and adherence metrics.

Describe any deviation from protocol due to clinical constraints or recruitment changes.

Include details on sample handling to preserve muscle tissue integrity.

Report instrumentation settings for strength and power testing.

Clarify sample size calculations and power assumptions.

State how training loads were progressed or periodized.

Summarize how interventions align with clinical practice standards.

Describe validation steps for antibody or assay specificity.

Report environmental conditions for lab based training or testing sessions.

Summarize practical implications for rehabilitation, sports medicine, or clinical care.

Describe how confounders were handled in longitudinal training studies.

Include calibration routines for dynamometers or metabolic carts.

Include time points for follow up and recovery assessments.

Include details on diet or energy intake monitoring if relevant.

Clarify if data are publicly available or under controlled access.

Report inclusion or exclusion criteria for all cohorts.