Chiropractors
Advertisers must be registered with the General Chiropractic Council (GCC) or provide the “suitable credentials” as listed in Rule 11.9 of the BCAP code.
General claims relating to the relief of migraine, headaches, back, neck, and other joint pain are acceptable.
It is better to present chiropractic as pain management, rather than anything suggesting removal of the pain “at source” or similar suggestions of permanence.
Based on CAP’s most up-to-date guidance, chiropractors may claim to treat the following conditions:
- Ankle sprain (short term management)
- Cramp
- Elbow pain and tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) arising from associated musculoskeletal conditions of the back and neck, but not isolated occurrences
- Headache arising from the neck (cervicogenic)
- Joint pains
- Joint pains including hip and knee pain from osteoarthritis as an adjunct to core OA treatments and exercise
- General, acute & chronic backache, back pain (not arising from injury or accident)
- Generalised aches and pains
- Lumbago
- Mechanical neck pain (as opposed to neck pain following injury i.e. 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 – see ASA Guidance)
- Shoulder complaints (dysfunction, disorders and pain – but not ‘frozen shoulder’ see ASA Guidance)
- Soft tissue disorders of the shoulder
- Tension and inability to relax
Claims about treatment of rheumatoid pain and RSI have not been accepted.