Three decades of citation classics: The most cited articles in the field of physical medicine and rehabilitation

Abstract

With the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation recently celebrating its 75th anniversary, it is an opportune time to assess the impact and influence that physiatric articles and research have had on the field, as well as the greater scientific community. One useful metric of scientific impact is citation count, which is the most common method for analyzing the magnitude of scientific recognition of an individual article. This study presents 2 reading lists of influential physiatric academic journal articles drawn from the Web of Science index based on citation count. The first list contains the top 25 most-cited articles during the last 3 decades from the American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and PM&R. The second list contains the top 10 articles in 20 different physiatric topical areas. This topical list was generated via an expanded search without limitation of time span or journal. This allowed for the identification of influential physiatric articles not found in the field's 3 major publications from the United States. Although citation index is not a direct measure of quality or importance, it offers one form of quantitative assessment of scientific impact. This assessment contributes to the identification of trends, which illustrate the evolution of scope and focus of physiatry research. The lists of most-cited articles presented in this review can be used to provide historical context to physiatry's existing body of research, direct future evidence-based research efforts, and help guide educators as they select resident reading lists or journal club materials.