UK chiropractors may only claim in their marketing to treat conditions the ASA and CAP accept are supported by evidence, such as general back pain, mechanical neck pain and headache arising from the neck. Any other claim needs robust clinical evidence you hold before you publish. And since January 2026, the GCC Code makes you accountable for what is said about your services on your behalf, including by staff and by whatever answers your messages.
Which conditions can chiropractors claim to treat?
The ASA carried out an evidence review in 2017 and CAP publishes the resulting list. Based on the evidence reviewed so far, the ASA and CAP accept that chiropractors may claim to treat the following (CAP advice: Health: Chiropractic):
| Accepted claim | Note in CAP's advice |
|---|---|
| Ankle sprain | 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 (cervicogenic) | |
| Joint pains, including hip and knee pain from osteoarthritis | As an adjunct to core osteoarthritis 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 injury, such as whiplash |
| Migraine prevention | |
| Minor sports injuries, muscle spasms | |
| Plantar fasciitis | Short-term management |
| Rotator cuff injuries, disease or disorders | |
| Sciatica | General references, as opposed to pain reduction claims |
| Shoulder complaints | Not "frozen shoulder" |
| Soft tissue disorders of the shoulder; tension and inability to relax |
The qualifiers matter as much as the condition. "We treat neck pain after a car accident" is whiplash in plain English, and the list excludes it. Anything not on the list, or going beyond how it is described, "would need to be supported by robust clinical evidence".
What about babies, children and pregnancy?
As regulated health professionals, chiropractors may say they treat population groups such as pregnant women, children and babies. But CAP says there is a limited or negative evidence base for treating conditions specific to those groups, such as colic or morning sickness, so references to those symptoms and conditions are unlikely to be acceptable without robust evidence (CAP advice).
What counts as advertising?
More than most clinics assume. The GCC's advertising guidance says advertising can be any information or claim you present or make public about your practice, including signage, your website, social media, email and media articles attributed to you. It adds that you are personally accountable for everything that publicises your work, including your website and social pages, "regardless of who wrote the information" (GCC guidance on advertising, 2021).
The same guidance sets out the ASA's approach. Advertising must not:
- offer absolute guarantees of cure
- claim chiropractic is free of risk or safer than other treatments, for example because it is "natural"
- present anecdotal evidence as proven or scientific
- discourage people from seeing their GP where appropriate
- claim chiropractic can treat any condition unless substantiated under the CAP Code
Testimonials are claims too. The GCC's example is a patient testimonial saying treatment relieved hay fever: published on your website, it breaches the CAP Code unless you hold documentary evidence.
What does the 2026 GCC Code add?
The GCC's new Code of Professional Practice took effect on 1 January 2026. Standard C5 says that when telling people about your services, all information must be "factual, verifiable, does not mislead, or exploit their vulnerability or lack of health knowledge. Where you delegate this, the accountability sits with you." The Code's introduction to this principle says it applies to advertising and other promotion and to sharing health information "by any medium".
The 2021 advertising guidance was written for the previous Code, so read it alongside the 2026 Code. The principle has not softened: if it is said about your services, you answer for it.
Where do clinics slip up?
Rarely on the carefully checked homepage. More often in the everyday places:
- Social posts and reels written quickly, listing conditions from memory.
- Testimonials and Google review replies that repeat a patient's claim ("so glad we sorted your migraines and your IBS!").
- Booking pages with a long "conditions we treat" dropdown.
- Replies to enquiries. "Can you help with my vertigo?" answered "Yes, we see lots of that" by a well-meaning receptionist.
That last one is worth a written rule. Reception should not judge whether chiropractic can help a specific condition. That is a clinical question for the chiropractor after assessment.
A safe script for "Can you help with...?"
"That's a question for our chiropractor, who'll want to assess you first. I can book you an initial assessment, or take your details and ask them to call you back."
It is honest, it does not make a claim, and it still converts the enquiry.
This is also how Remi handles it. It answers calls, WhatsApp and email at any hour, books the initial assessment into your diary, and never gives medical advice, so "can chiropractic help my X?" becomes a message for your chiropractor rather than a promise. If you want to see that in a clinic setting, here is how an AI receptionist set up for chiropractors deals with enquiries.
Checklist: is your marketing within the rules?
- Every condition on your website is on CAP's accepted list, with the same qualifiers
- No whiplash, colic, morning sickness or "frozen shoulder" claims without robust evidence
- No guarantees, "risk-free" or "safer than drugs" language
- Testimonials and review replies checked for condition claims
- "Dr" title qualified as Doctor of Chiropractic
- Booking page condition lists match the website
- Reception script for "can you help with...?" written down
- Anyone posting or replying for the clinic briefed on the rules
The short version
UK chiropractors may claim to treat the conditions on CAP's accepted list, with the same qualifiers, such as general back pain not arising from injury, mechanical neck pain, and headache arising from the neck. Anything else needs robust evidence you already hold. Advertising includes your website, social media, email and testimonials, and since 1 January 2026 the GCC Code makes you accountable for what is said about your services even when you delegate it. Keep condition claims on the list, and route "can you help with...?" questions to the chiropractor.