New Name, Same Mission

After a hiatus of over 1 year, the official journal of the International MYOPAIN Society (IMS) returns to print. Its hibernation produced a new coat and a few new internal organs. The Editor and various members of the editorial board and the society’s board of directors changed the name from the Journal of Musculoskeletal Pain (JMP) to MYOPAIN, a Journal of Myofascial Pain and Fibromyalgia, to better represent the fields of interest of the IMS. The original name was the concept of the journal’s founding publisher, not of its editor or of the IMS board (1). As a journal with “musculoskeletal pain” in the title, it attracted submissions considering disc disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and a host of other conditions which were not at the core of the IMS. The new name indicates the journal will concentrate on submissions of original research articles, reviews, commentaries, and background essays related to the science and clinical aspects of myofascial pain and fibromyalgia and to the place of those subjects in the greater society. The journal will also encourage articles on the pain-related aspects of other muscular and tendinous diseases, which can improve our understanding of myofascial pain and fibromyalgia. Information from the cellular to the psychiatric aspects of muscular disease will advance our knowledge and ability to treat these vexing conditions.

Since few IMS have a comprehensive command of all the society’s fields of interest, its journal will publish editorials on a number of its original research papers to place the information in them into medical and societal context. MYOPAIN solicits discussion of topics which are in constant development in Brief Research Reports, Case Reports, Research Ideas, and Letters to the Editor.

Myofascial pain and fibromyalgia, the cause of much of the chronic pain suffered in all countries, remain topics of skepticism in the general medical community (2–4). This journal’s mission is to inform ourselves and the greater community with the how and why of those subjects and also with the where and where to. With articles on the history of these subjects’ developments and on the their places in the arts and literature added to the scientific articles, MYOPAIN, by educating scientists, practitioners, policy makers, and the informed public, will help change the practice of medicine to better address these debilitating illnesses.

The IMS has truly international scope. Its journal considered submissions from all continents except Antarctica for this issue. The MYOPAIN editorial board, managing, and assistant editors carefully review articles for content and clarity of communication. We work closely with authors to ensure readers not specializing in a particular field of study can understand the progression of thought and the implication of the printed material.

The IMS and its journal are profoundly grateful to I. Jon Russell, MD, PhD, for editing the Journal of Musculoskeletal Pain from its inception in 1993 and for most of its life. It is also grateful to Patrick Wood, MD, for succeeding Dr. Russell as editor for 2013 and 2014. Many of the JMP’s editorial board have retired or have moved to other interests. The MYOPAIN editorial board members represent the direction of the study of myofascial pain and fibromyalgia. They are Jacob Ablin, MD; Robert Gerwin, MD; Kim Jones, PhD, Scott Mist, PhD, Matthew Robbins, MD; and Siddartha Sikdar, PhD. They are scientists and practitioners with long experience in the subject matter. Jutta Mackwell, PhD, managing editor, and Lucy Francis, BSc, assistant editor, provide the institutional support for the publisher, Taylor and Francis which enables the production of this issue. Dr. Russell, Robert Bennett, MD, and Daniel Clauw, MD, generously gave their suggestions on the construction on the journal’s infrastructure. With staff, editors, supporters and our readership, MYOPAIN aims to be the critical forum for the understanding, research, and practice in the field of chronic pain of muscular origin.