Check your advertising: Osteopathy examples

Osteopathy treatment can help with:

This advertising is considered misleading and deceptive.

Parts of this advertising are unqualified and/or are not supported by acceptable evidence and therefore may mislead consumers.

Osteopathy may be able to help manage symptoms often associated with asthma (e.g. muscular tension) rather than treating the condition itself. If this is made clear in your advertising that this is the case then you will be unlikely to mislead consumers.

Behaviour and learning disorders are non-musculoskeletal conditions and have no clear musculoskeletal symptoms. There is not acceptable evidence to justify a reference to these conditions in advertising by an osteopath.

This statement could be corrected to read:

• Back pain 
• Neck pain

• Asthma

Osteopathic treatment can help with:

• Back pain 
• Neck pain 
• Managing symptoms such as muscular tension often associated with asthma

• Behaviour disorders
• Learning disorders

Pay particular attention to:

• the use of a list of health conditions in advertising as this can often be misleading, and 
• claims by osteopaths about treating non-musculoskeletal conditions can be misleading and this is an area that has attracted many complaints. If advertising refers to a specific non-musculoskeletal condition, it should be clear that the practitioner is treating the aspects of the condition relevant to their practice of osteopathy (i.e. for osteopaths, there should be a specific reference to what musculoskeletal aspect of the condition is being treated. The role of the treatment should not be overstated and must be supported by acceptable evidence. 

Are you pregnant? Osteopathy treatment can help pregnant women with:

This advertising is considered misleading and deceptive.

Parts of this advertising are not supported by acceptable evidence and therefore may mislead consumers.

In this advertising there are no clear links between osteopathy treatment and the causes of the non-musculoskeletal conditions listed (in red).

There is no acceptable evidence that osteopathy can effectively treat the conditions listed in red, therefore it’s not appropriate to make claims about them in advertising.

This statement could be corrected to read:

• back pain 
• other pregnancy related musculoskeletal pains

• morning sickness
• managing pain during labour, and
• shorter labour times.

Are you pregnant? Osteopathy treatment can help pregnant women with:

• Back pain 
• Other pregnancy related musculoskeletal pains

Pay particular attention to:

• the use of a list of health conditions in advertising as this can often be misleading, and
• claims by osteopaths about treating non-musculoskeletal conditions can be misleading and this is an area that has attracted many complaints. If advertising refers to a specific non-musculoskeletal condition, it should be clear that the practitioner is treating the aspects of the condition relevant to their practice of osteopathy (i.e. for osteopaths, there should be a specific reference to what musculoskeletal aspect of the condition is being treated. The role of the treatment should not be overstated and must be supported by acceptable evidence.)

Our practice includes Dr Smith,

This advertising is considered misleading and deceptive as it includes claims about specialising.

When a practitioner does not hold specialist registration, any advertising using words or titles related to specialty (e.g. ‘specialist’, ‘specialises in’ or ‘specialised’) is likely to mislead the public to believe the practitioner holds a type of specialist registration approved under the National Law.

There are no recognised specialist categories in the osteopathy profession. Osteopaths cannot use the specialist terms (e.g. ‘specialist’ or ‘specialises’) in their advertising. Even if you have the appropriate training and experience, you cannot give the impression or advertise that you specialise in osteopathy or are a specialist osteopath.

This advertising would need to be corrected by removing the reference to specialising in paediatrics.

Instead, Dr Smith could say:

who specialises in paediatric osteopathy.

I have a particular interest in musculoskeletal issues in children.

Pay particular attention to:

• specialist registration applies to only a small number of health professions, and
• osteopaths can only apply for general registration.

Bailey, 35, is just one of many satisfied patients who says: ‘As a patient who has received this treatment, I confirm that it really does work and my back pain disappeared after three sessions’.

This advertising includes a testimonial.

Testimonials or purported testimonials are prohibited under the National Law when advertising regulated health services.

Feedback or reviews from patients that include a clinical aspect of a regulated health service cannot be used in advertising.

The testimonial in red includes a clinical aspect and is prohibited in advertising - it will need to be removed.

The statement in green can be used because it doesn’t include a clinical aspect and therefore is not considered a testimonial.

A clinical aspect exists if one of the following is expressed:

• Symptom – the specific symptom or the reason for seeking treatment
• Diagnosis or treatment - the specific diagnosis or treatment provided by the practitioner.
• Outcome – the specific outcome or the skills or experience of the practitioner either directly or via comparison.

If you’re unsure about whether or not a review used in your advertising breaches the prohibition on testimonials, you may wish to seek independent advice or remove it from your advertising.

Charlie, 46, says: ‘The practice is really lovely and I have been going there for years. Parking is great and there are lots of magazines in the waiting area’.

Did you know that checking of newborns, toddler and children’s spines by an osteopath for any musculoskeletal issues are essential to help deal with trauma in gestation/birth/ childhood and prevent illness later in life? Book a visit for your child now.

This advertising is considered misleading and deceptive and encourages the unnecessary use of health services.

This statement claims that a check-up with an osteopath can prevent illness later in life. This claim is not supported by acceptable evidence and therefore may mislead consumers.

This statement also encourages patients to seek treatment when it is not clinically indicated (i.e. in the absence of any particular symptoms) and may encourage the unnecessary use of regulated health services.

This claim goes further than just recommending a check-up, and links a check-up with an osteopath to a therapeutic benefit for the consumer for which there is no acceptable evidence. In this case indicating the actual prevention of disease.

This statement will need to be removed.

Pay particular attention to:

• how language is used in your advertising as consumers could be mislead, and
• words such as ‘essential’ or ‘ensure’ can be read differently (and sometimes literally) by consumers.