Physio, osteopath and chiropractor websites: what the regulators and the ASA let you claim

Two sets of rules decide what a physiotherapy, osteopathy or chiropractic website may say. The titles are protected by law: only someone on the HCPC register may be called a physiotherapist, only a GOsC registrant an osteopath, and only a GCC registrant a chiropractor. The claims fall under the CAP Code, enforced by the ASA, which publishes a list for each profession of the conditions it is likely to accept a practitioner can treat. Anything outside the list needs documentary evidence, usually clinical trials, and for osteopaths and chiropractors, claims about conditions specific to babies, children or pregnant women are unlikely to be acceptable without a strong body of evidence.

Who regulates whom, and which titles the law protects

The HCPC's rule is one line: to use one of these titles, an individual must be registered with the HCPC. Section 32 of each Act makes it an offence for an unregistered person to describe themselves as an osteopath or a chiropractor, expressly or by implication, with a fine of up to level five on the standard scale, and says nothing about intent. Article 39 of the Health Professions Order also covers implication, but the offence there requires intent to deceive.

On a multi-disciplinary clinic's site, check the team page, where one caption can turn a sports therapist into "one of our physios", and treatment pages that name nobody. CAP rule 12.3 says the same from the advertising side: "Practitioners must have relevant and recognised qualifications."

The conditions you can name, profession by profession

CAP's AdviceOnline database has an entry for each profession, listing the conditions the ASA and CAP are likely to accept that a practitioner can treat. Anything else needs documentary evidence under rule 12.1: "Objective claims must be backed by evidence, if relevant consisting of trials conducted on people." Read on 3 November 2026, the lists are:

• Physiotherapy (entry dated 20 February 2024): aches and pains (general), arthritic pain, backache, back pain, circulatory problems, cramp, digestion problems, joint pains, lumbago, muscle spasms, neuralgia, fibromyalgia, minor sports injuries and tensions. Because physiotherapists are regulated by statute, the entry adds, claims to treat serious medical conditions may be acceptable where strong evidence is held.
• Osteopathy (1 November 2022): arthritic pain; circulatory problems; cramp; digestion problems; fibromyalgia; frozen shoulder, shoulder and elbow pain and tennis elbow arising from associated conditions of the back and neck, but not isolated occurrences; headache arising from the neck; joint pains, including hip and knee pain from osteoarthritis as an adjunct to core treatments and exercise; general, acute and chronic backache and back pain not arising from injury or accident; generalised aches and pains; lumbago; migraine prevention; minor sports injuries; muscle spasms; neuralgia; tension and inability to relax; rheumatic pain; sciatica; and uncomplicated mechanical neck pain, as opposed to neck pain following an injury such as whiplash.
• Chiropractic (1 June 2023): ankle sprain and plantar fasciitis, for short-term management; cramp; elbow pain and tennis elbow arising from associated conditions of the back and neck, not isolated occurrences; headache arising from the neck; joint pains, including hip and knee pain from osteoarthritis as an adjunct to core treatments and exercise; general, acute and chronic backache and back pain not arising from injury or accident; generalised aches and pains; lumbago; mechanical neck pain, as opposed to neck pain following an injury such as whiplash; migraine prevention; minor sports injuries; muscle spasms; rotator cuff injuries, disease or disorders; sciatica, as general references rather than pain-reduction claims; shoulder complaints and soft tissue disorders of the shoulder, but not frozen shoulder; and tension and inability to relax.

The lists differ in ways that matter when one site serves all three professions. Frozen shoulder is on the osteopathy list and expressly excluded from the chiropractic one. Ankle sprain, plantar fasciitis and rotator cuff problems are named only on the chiropractic list. Digestion and circulatory problems appear for physiotherapy and osteopathy, not chiropractic. Neck pain after an injury such as whiplash is excluded from both the osteopathy and chiropractic entries. A condition page written once and shared by three practitioners can be acceptable for one profession and not for the next.

Babies, children and pregnancy

Both the osteopathy and chiropractic entries call the evidence for treating conditions specific to babies, children or pregnant women limited or negative, with colic and morning sickness as examples. A clinic can still say it sees pregnant women or children: the osteopathy entry says practitioners may refer to treating these groups. The line falls at naming conditions specific to the group. The same entry cites upheld rulings against an osteopath's "Infants and children" page in 2017 and against a clinic's claims about constipation, infections and other infant conditions in 2021.

The title "Dr"

• Chiropractors. The GCC says a chiropractor who uses "doctor" in the public domain, including websites and social media, must be clear that they are not a registered medical practitioner but a Doctor of Chiropractic, and that failing to do so may lead to an allegation of misconduct. CAP's advice on the term, dated 15 July 2026, records an ASA ruling that "Dr" should not be used on a clinic website without immediate qualification with the courtesy title "Doctor of Chiropractic", and that "Dr [name] DC" was not clear to consumers. CAP also recommends stating, clearly and prominently, that it is a courtesy title and that a general medical qualification is not held.
• Osteopaths. CAP's osteopathy entry says "Dr" and "Doctor" are likely to be understood to mean the osteopath holds a general medical qualification, and that osteopaths without one should avoid them.
• Physiotherapists. Neither the HCPC standards nor CAP's physiotherapy entry sets a rule on the title. Standard 9.2 of the HCPC's standards of conduct, performance and ethics applies instead: "You must be honest about your experience, qualifications and skills." Our advice to a physiotherapist with a doctorate is to name the subject wherever the title appears.

What each regulator adds

• HCPC, standard 9.3, in force since 1 September 2024: "You must take reasonable steps to make sure that any promotional activities you are involved in are accurate and are not likely to mislead." On our reading, a clinic page that names a physiotherapist and describes their work is an activity they are involved in, whoever wrote it.
• GOsC. Its advertising guidance, under standard D1 of the Osteopathic Practice Standards, expects that "your advertising and promotional material, including website content, is legal, decent, honest and truthful", covering websites, practice literature, social media, service directories and marketing material.
• GCC. It suggests chiropractors include "General Chiropractic Council" and their registration number on their website, stationery and advertising: a suggestion rather than a requirement, and the cheapest trust signal a clinic site can add.

A page-by-page check for a clinic website

1. Team page: everyone called a physiotherapist, osteopath or chiropractor is on the HCPC, GOsC or GCC register under the name shown, with the number beside it; anyone who is not is described by their own title.
2. Each condition page names a condition on the CAP list for every profession that delivers it, or the clinic holds documentary evidence for the claim.
3. Pages for pregnancy, children or babies name the group and general conditions, not conditions specific to the group.
4. "Dr" for a chiropractor is followed in the same statement by "Doctor of Chiropractic"; for an osteopath without a medical qualification it does not appear.
5. Page titles, meta descriptions and image alt text follow the same rules as the visible page, because Google shows them to searchers.
6. The Google profile, the booking platform and every directory listing use the same titles and condition wording as the site.

Where compliance and search meet

Most of what a musculoskeletal clinic wants to rank for sits on these lists: back pain, sciatica, neck pain, minor sports injuries, headaches arising from the neck. A page for each, answering the patient's question and naming the practitioner, is both the compliant page and the one with a chance to rank. A page built for a condition off the list may rank as well, and every visitor it brings reads a claim the ASA has said it is unlikely to accept.

Our clinic website design page sets out how we build these checks in before launch, and the SEO for clinics page covers the monthly work. To have your site checked against the lists, send it through our quote form.

A summary of what the HCPC, GOsC, GCC, CAP and the ASA have published, read on 3 November 2026, and not legal advice: the linked pages are the authority, and your professional body or indemnity provider can advise on a particular page.

Sources

1. Health and Care Professions Council: Professions and protected titles
2. The Health Professions Order 2001, article 39 (legislation.gov.uk)
3. General Osteopathic Council: How we protect the osteopathic title
4. Osteopaths Act 1993, section 32 (legislation.gov.uk)
5. Chiropractors Act 1994, section 32 (legislation.gov.uk)
6. The CAP Code, section 12: Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products
7. CAP AdviceOnline: Health: Physiotherapy (20 February 2024)
8. CAP AdviceOnline: Health: Osteopathy (1 November 2022)
9. CAP AdviceOnline: Health: Chiropractic (1 June 2023)
10. CAP AdviceOnline: Use of the term 'Dr': Chiropractors (15 July 2026)
11. General Chiropractic Council: Your registration number and the title of Doctor
12. Health and Care Professions Council: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics (in effect from 1 September 2024)
13. General Osteopathic Council: Practice guidance, Advertising