How to get more new patients for a chiropractic practice

Most chiropractors do not have a shortage of people who could use their help. They have a gap between those people and the front desk: a search result that does not show up, a review count that looks thin, a phone that rings out, or a website that never says what a first visit is like.

The demand is real. The CDC's National Health Interview Survey found that 10.3% of U.S. adults saw a chiropractor in 2017, up from 9.1% in 2012. In a 2016 Gallup-Palmer College of Chiropractic survey, 28% of Americans said a chiropractor was who they would most like to see for neck or back pain. The patients are out there. The work is making your practice the obvious one to call.

1. Own your Google Business Profile

For "chiropractor near me," the map results usually come before any website. Your profile's category, hours, photos, services, and reviews decide whether you appear and whether someone taps. Our Google Business Profile checklist walks through each field and the mistakes that hold profiles back.

2. Make reviews a routine, not a campaign

In BrightLocal's 2026 consumer survey, 97% of consumers said they read reviews for local businesses, and 74% look for reviews written in the last three months. A practice with a steady stream of recent reviews looks busy and trusted. Ask at the moment of relief, when a patient mentions they are sleeping better or back at the gym, and send the link later that day.

Two cautions for health care. Never confirm in a public reply that someone is a patient, and never offer anything in exchange for a review. Our reviews post covers both, including the federal penalties dental practices have paid for replying with patient details.

3. Answer the phone, or answer the missed call

Someone in pain calls the first practice that looks credible. If you are with a patient and it goes to voicemail, many callers try the next name rather than leave a message. A missed-call text-back that says "Sorry we missed you, we are with a patient. What can we help with?" keeps the conversation alive. Our missed calls post explains how to set it up.

4. Let people book without calling

Some new patients would rather pick a time than talk to anyone, especially outside office hours. Put an online booking link on your website, in your Google profile, and in your missed-call text. Offer new-patient slots specifically, so a first visit does not wait two weeks behind regulars.

5. Make the website answer the first-visit questions

People who have never seen a chiropractor are often nervous about the first appointment. Your website should answer, plainly:

• What conditions you treat, in the words patients use ("lower back pain," "headaches," "sciatica").
• What happens on a first visit, how long it takes, and what to wear.
• Which insurance you accept, and what a visit costs if they are paying themselves.
• Who they will see, with a real photo and credentials.
• How to book, with the phone number tappable at the top of every page.

6. Build referral relationships

Primary care doctors, physical therapists, massage therapists, personal trainers, and gyms all see people with problems you treat. A short, professional introduction, a clear note on what you do and do not treat, and a prompt report back when they send you someone will do more over a year than most ad campaigns. Referral relationships are slow to start and hard for competitors to copy.

7. Stay in touch with past patients, within the rules

Your easiest new visits often come from people you have already treated. Reminders, check-ins, and information about your own services are generally allowed. Under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, HHS guidance on marketing permits "communications by a covered entity about its own products or services" without a separate authorization. Promoting a third party's product, or being paid by someone else to send a message, is different and generally needs the patient's written authorization. If an outside company sends these messages for you, it needs a business associate agreement with the practice. When in doubt, check with your compliance advisor.

8. Handle testimonials carefully

Patient stories are persuasive, and they come with two sets of rules:

• HIPAA. Posting a patient's name, photo, or story requires their written authorization. HHS settled with a physical therapy practice for $25,000 after it posted patient testimonials with full names and photos without valid authorizations.
• FTC endorsement rules. The FTC's Endorsement Guides, updated in 2023, say that if a testimonial describes results people will not generally get, the ad must make clear what results are generally expected. Any perk given to the patient for the testimonial must be disclosed.

Measure where new patients come from

Add one question to your intake form: "How did you hear about us?" Check the answers monthly. It costs nothing, and within a quarter it tells you which of the steps above is actually filling your schedule, and which spending to cut.