How we choose physiotherapists, osteopaths, chiropractors and podiatrists
How to read a list on Good Physio, what each list asks, how a business earns its place, what Pro and Top do and do not change, and the official registers we send you to.
Updated
What you see on a list, and what it means
| On the page | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| The number | The place of the business in that list. A different list can put the same clinic higher or lower, because each list asks a different question. |
| A blue tick | The person running the listing has confirmed they are the owner. It is not a clinical check, and it is not a registration check. |
| Pro | A paid, fuller profile: more photos, contact buttons, prices and services written by the owner. It does not raise the number. |
| Top | A paid place among the first three of a list. It is always marked Top, so nobody mistakes it for the order we would give without payment. |
| The short text under a name | What stands out, who it suits and what is worth checking, written from the business website and its public profile. An owner can replace it with their own text. |
One question for each list
We keep lists separate because a good osteopath is not an answer to a verruca. The lists are built city by city. As of 13 November 2026 the site holds around 580 lists with more than 3,700 businesses in at least one of them.
Physiotherapy
A general list for clinics whose main work is physiotherapy for muscles, joints and spines. Beside it sit lists for sports injuries, pelvic health, neurological conditions, children, home visits and shockwave therapy. A clinic belongs in a special list only when it does that work as more than a side line.
Osteopaths and chiropractors
One list each, on the osteopaths and chiropractors pages. Both titles are protected by law, so before anything else we ask whether the people named are on the GOsC or GCC register.
Podiatry and chiropody
A general list, plus lists for ingrown toenails, verrucas, and gait analysis and orthotics, and one for chiropodists who visit homes. A clinic that cuts nails but does not do nail surgery does not belong in the ingrown toenail list.
Sports massage
A list for therapists whose work is massage for active people. The title has no statutory register, so we say so on the page and lean on what the therapist can show about training.
How a business earns its number
Three ideas carry the order, and none of them is for sale.
- What it really does. We read what the business offers and who treats there. A multi-discipline clinic with one osteopath on Tuesdays is not an osteopathy clinic.
- What the public record says. Reputation that anyone could look up and compare: how many people have reviewed it, what they say and how recently.
- What its own website and channels commit to. Named clinicians, services, prices, how to book and how to complain. Clear beats clever.
Where two businesses are close we put the one whose specialism matches the list ahead of the generalist.
What money can and cannot do
Free, always
Being on a list. A business that already appears there can claim its listing and correct the facts for nothing.
Paid, and said so
Pro is a fuller profile. Top is one of the first three places, with a Top label. Only a business already in a list can buy either, and a paid place never takes a business into a list it would not have joined.
Registers we point you to
For three of these trades the law says who may use the title, and each regulator keeps a public register. Our register guide shows how to search each one.
| Trade | Register |
|---|---|
| Physiotherapists, podiatrists and chiropodists | Health and Care Professions Council |
| Osteopaths | General Osteopathic Council |
| Chiropractors | General Chiropractic Council |
| Sports massage, voluntary only | Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council |
Prices, and how to put us right
The prices on our price guide come from clinic websites, read on 12 November 2026, and say what was counted and what was left out. The NHS and private guide points to official pages, not to our opinion.
If a fact about a clinic is wrong, or you run one and want it corrected, use the contact page. A correction about a registration or a price is checked against the register or the clinic own page before we change it.
Written by the Good Physio editorial team.