What Can Exercise Physiologists Post on Social Media? The Yes/No Guide

20 August 2026·6 min read

Quick answer: Exercise physiologists can safely post general education, exercise demonstrations, condition-management tips and behind-the-scenes practice content — what you can't post is anything that implies a guaranteed outcome, a before-and-after, or a client testimonial, all of which breach AHPRA's advertising guidelines. The safest test is whether the content is about the profession and condition in general, or about one specific client's result. General is safe. Specific-and-glowing is not. ✨

Please note: general information, not health advice — check current official guidance before relying on it.

Exercise physiology is one of the most heavily regulated professions on Instagram, and it shows — half the EP accounts on the Gold Coast either post nothing at all because they're scared of getting it wrong, or post client transformation photos that would make an AHPRA compliance officer wince. Neither is doing you any favours 💖. The practices getting genuine enquiries from social media aren't the ones being the boldest with claims — they're the ones being consistently, confidently educational, which is both the safest content and, honestly, the most trustworthy-looking to a prospective client.

What most exercise physiologists get wrong

The most common mistake is confusing "inspiring" with "compliant" — a client's weight-loss or strength journey feels like the most powerful proof of your work, so it's tempting to share it, but under the National Law, testimonials and client outcome claims about health services are prohibited, full stop, regardless of how genuinely the client wants to share it or how many stars they'd give you. The second mistake is the opposite problem: EPs who go so quiet on social media out of fear that referrers and prospective clients can't tell if the practice is even active. The third is treating every post like it needs sign-off from a lawyer, when the reality is most educational content — how to warm up before a run, what deconditioning means, general tips for managing type 2 diabetes with exercise — is completely fine, and is exactly the kind of content that builds trust without ever mentioning a specific person's results.

The yes/no content checklist

Run every post idea through this before it goes up.

Generally safe to post:

General education about a condition (e.g. "what osteoarthritis actually does to a joint")
Exercise demonstrations and technique cues, filmed with staff or with consent and no identifying claim of outcome
Behind-the-scenes of the clinic — new equipment, team introductions, a day in the life
General movement or lifestyle tips not tied to one client's story ("why walking pace matters for cardiovascular health")
Explaining what an EP does and how a referral or session works, to build understanding of the profession
Sharing third-party research or guidelines (e.g. linking to an Exercise & Sports Science Australia resource) with your own plain-English summary
General requests for Google reviews, sent the same way to every client, without curating or publishing the content of specific reviews yourself

Not safe to post:

Before-and-after photos or any visual implying a treatment outcome
Testimonials or quotes from clients about their results, on your page or reposted from theirs
"This client lost 12kg in 10 weeks" or any specific outcome, timeframe or statistic tied to a real person
Language implying guaranteed or predictable results ("this program will fix your back pain")
Comparative claims about being better than other EPs or clinics
Identifiable client photos or videos without clear, specific, informed consent covering marketing use — and even then, keep the framing general, not outcome-focused

An EP wanting to post a client's progress story: A client who'd been coming twice weekly for six months for chronic pain management asked if the practice could share her story — she was proud of it and happy to be named. It's a lovely gesture, but posting it, even with her permission, is a testimonial-style outcome claim and breaches the guidelines regardless of consent. The workaround: the EP posted general education about pacing strategies for chronic pain instead, with no reference to any individual client, which captured the same expertise without the compliance risk.

An EP posting general education on diabetes management: A practice that sees a lot of Type 2 diabetes referrals started a short weekly series explaining, in plain language, how resistance training affects insulin sensitivity — no client stories, just the physiology and practical tips like "why we usually start with compound movements." This is squarely in safe territory because it never references an individual's results, and it's exactly the kind of content that positions the practice as the local expert to GPs scrolling past.

An EP unsure about posting group class videos: Filming a Monday group strength class for Instagram felt risky to the owner, but it's generally fine — it shows the space, the coaching style and the energy of the clinic without making any claim about what group participants have achieved. The line to watch is captions: "our group class in action" is safe, "look how far this group has come" edges toward an outcome claim if it references measurable progress.

How to build a content plan that stays on the right side of the line

Plan content around three buckets: education (the condition, the science, the "why"), practice life (team, space, how referrals work) and general movement tips (safe for anyone, not tied to a diagnosis or outcome). If you want social proof, direct people to leave a general Google review through a neutral, non-curated request — don't screenshot or repost the content of individual reviews as marketing material, since that shifts it back toward a testimonial. When in doubt on a specific post, ask: "does this describe the profession and condition in general, or does it describe what happened to one particular person?" If it's the second, don't post it, however well-intentioned.

💡 Consent doesn't make an outcome claim compliant. A client's enthusiastic permission to share their story changes nothing about whether it breaches AHPRA's advertising guidelines — the restriction is about the type of claim, not who agreed to it.

Mistakes to avoid

Sharing before-and-after photos even when a client offers them willingly
Reposting a client's own social media praise onto the practice page
Using words like "guaranteed," "proven to fix" or "will eliminate" in any post
Naming a specific outcome, timeframe or statistic tied to a real client
Assuming a private DM testimonial is fine because it's "not really public"
Going silent altogether out of fear, instead of leaning into the wide range of content that is genuinely safe

Frequently asked questions

Can we ever show a client in a photo or video?

Yes, with clear informed consent specifically covering marketing use — but keep the framing general (technique, the session, the equipment) rather than implying or stating a result. Consent covers the use of their image, not the type of claim you can make with it.

What about sharing patient reviews from Google on our website?

It depends on how it's done — a general link encouraging people to read reviews on Google itself is lower-risk than lifting quotes and republishing them as curated testimonials on your own site or social pages, which starts to look like the outcome-claim advertising the guidelines restrict.

Is educational content actually good for getting new clients, or is it just the "safe" option?

Genuinely both — GPs and allied health referrers scroll social media too, and consistent, clear educational content is what makes a practice look established and credible to them, which is often a bigger driver of referrals than direct-to-consumer marketing anyway.

Do these rules apply the same way to Facebook, TikTok and a website?

The advertising guidelines apply to all public-facing marketing regardless of platform, so the same yes/no test holds everywhere — a testimonial is just as non-compliant on TikTok as it is on a website testimonials page.

Keep reading 🤍

Written by

Kate, founder of Chronically Online

I help Gold Coast and Brisbane businesses grow with branding, websites and marketing that actually works.

Work with me ✦