Traditional bone-setting

This article is about practitioners. For John D. "Bonesetter" Reese, see John D. Reese.

Traditional bone-setting is a type of a folk medicine in which practitioners are engaged in joint manipulation. Before the advent of chiropractors, osteopaths and physical therapists, bone-setters were the main providers of this type of treatment.^[1] Traditionally, they practiced without any formal training in accepted modern medical procedures.^[2] Bone-setters would also reduce joint dislocations and "re-set" bone fractures.

History

The practice of joint manipulation and treating fractures dates back to ancient times and has roots in most countries. The earliest known medical text, the Edwin Smith papyrus of 1552 BC, describes the Ancient Egyptian treatment of bone-related injuries. These early bone-setters would treat fractures with wooden splints wrapped in bandages or made a cast around the injury out of a plaster-like mixture. It is not known whether they performed amputations as well.^[3]

In the 16th century, monks and nuns with some knowledge of medicine went on to become healers and bone-setters after the dissolution of monasteries in the British Isles. However, many bone-setters were non-religious and the majority of them were self-taught. Their skills were then passed on from generation to generation, creating families of bone-setters. Notable families include the Taylor family of Whitworth and the Matthew family of the Midlands.^[4]

With the advancement of modern medicine beginning in the 18th century, bone-setters began to be recognised for their efficiency in treatment but did not receive the praise or status that physicians did. Some of these self-taught healers were considered legitimate, while others were perceived as "quacks". In Great Britain, one of the most famous was the bone-setter Sally Mapp (d. 1737).^[5] Known as "Crazy Sally", she learned her skill from her father and was known for her arm strength^[6] and ability to reset almost any bone. Though she lacked the medical education of physicians, she successfully treated dislocated shoulders and knees, among other treatments, at the Grecian Coffee House in London and in the town of Epsom.^[5][6] In the United States, the "Bone-setter" Sweet family carried the skill for generations, with Charles Sweet being one of the most famous bone-setters in all of New England.^[7] In Italy, Regina Dal Cin, a bone-setter who learned the skill from her mother, is considered to be an expert in the reconstruction of the congenital and antiquated dislocations of the femur.^[8][9][10]

Bone-setters treated the majority of the population since they were cheaper than licensed physicians. Royal families would employ bone-setters when the court physicians were inadequate or inefficient.^[11]

The Apothecaries Act 1815 in Great Britain called for surgeons to take courses similar to physicians, a move that would raise the status of surgeons to be more in line with that of the elite physician. This allowed for some bone-setters to transition into the medical profession and encouraged interest in bone and joint surgery. As a result, surgical instruments and tools for bone-related injuries were then developed.^[4]

21st century

In some developing countries, traditional bone-setters are popular and can be the only address for treatment of bone-related injuries. Most often it will be the case that there is a shortage of orthopedic doctors and surgeons in the country and so the two practitioners coexist in the same setting. In parts of South America, Asia and Africa, traditional bone-setters treat musculoskeletal injuries in general, not just fractures and dislocations.^[12] Traditional bone-setters are also known to offer cheaper services and allegedly faster treatment options.^[2]

In Japan, bone-setting is known as sekkotsu. In India, practitioners are known as haad vaidyas. In China, it is known as die-da, and is practiced by martial artists. In Portugal it is known as endireita.^[13][14]

Manipulative surgery

In a 1932 book on the subject, A. S. Blundell Bankart defined manipulative surgery as "the art and practice of moving joints for therapeutic purposes".^[15] In an address delivered to the Royal Society of Medicine in 1923, R. C. Elmslie described the "use of manipulative methods in surgery" as having grown in recent years. He said that "formerly such practitioners were called 'bone-setters'".^[16] A book review in Nature in 1934 said that manipulative surgery was "almost a monopoly of the bone-setter".^[17]

See also

• Chiropractic, a form of alternative medicine with esoteric origins
• Osteopathy

References

1. Pettman, Erland (July 2007). "A History of Manipulative Therapy". Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy. 15 (3): 165–174. doi:10.1179/106698107790819873. PMC 2565620. PMID 19066664.
2. Agarwal, A; Agarwal, R (2010). "The Practice and Tradition of Bonesetting". Education for Health. 23 (1): 225. doi:10.4103/1357-6283.101508. PMID 20589600. S2CID 23092361. ProQuest 2258185317.
3. Phillips, S.-A.; Biant, L. C. (January 2011). "The instruments of the bonesetter". The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. British Volume. 93-B (1): 115–119. doi:10.1302/0301-620X.93B1.25628. PMID 21196555.
4. Phillips, S.-A.; Biant, L. C. (January 2011). "The instruments of the bonesetter". The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. British Volume. 93-B (1): 115–119. doi:10.1302/0301-620X.93B1.25628. PMID 21196555.
5. Hartley, Cathy (2003). A Historical Dictionary of British Women (Revised ed.). Psychology Press. p. 297. ISBN 1857432282.
6. The Cabinet of Curiosities: Or, Wonders of the World Displayed, Forming a Repository of Whatever is Remarkable in the Regions of Nature and Art, Extraordinary Events, and Eccentric Biography. J. Limbird. 1824. pp. 187, 189–190.
7. Joy, Robert J. T. (1954). "The natural bonesetters with special reference to the Sweet family of Rhode Island; a study of an early phase of orthopedics". Bulletin of the History of Medicine. 28 (5): 416–441. JSTOR 44443890. PMID 13209239.
8. "REGINA DAL CIN". prolococappellamaggiore.it. pro loco cappella maggiore. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
9. Graham, Douglas (1902). Manual therapeutics. J.B. Lippincott: J.B. Lippincott. p. 378. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
10. Wilson, Francis J. H. (2007). Chiropractic in Europe: An Illustrated History. Leicester, England: Matador. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-905-88686-9. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
11. DiGiovanna, Eileen (2005). An Osteopathic Approach to Diagnosis and Treatment. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. pp. 75–76. ISBN 978-0-7817-4293-1.
12. Nwachukwu, Benedict (2011). "Traditional Bonesetters and Contemporary Orthopaedic Fracture Care in a Developing Nation: Historical Aspects, Contemporary Status and Future Directions". The Open Orthopaedics Journal. 5: 20–6. doi:10.2174/1874325001105010020. PMC 3027080. PMID 21270953.
13. Aries MJ, Joosten H, Wegdam HH, van der Geest S (2007). "Fracture treatment by bonesetters in central Ghana: patients explain their choices and experiences". Trop Med Int Health. 12 (4): 564–74. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3156.2007.01822.x. PMID 17445148.
14. Huber BR, Anderson R (1996). "Bonesetters and curers in a Mexican community: conceptual models, status, and gender". Med Anthropol. 17 (1): 23–38. doi:10.1080/01459740.1996.9966126. PMID 8757711.
15. A. S. Blundell Bankart, Manipulative Surgery, Modern Surgical Monographs (London: Constable and Co., 1932), p. 1. OCLC 556599003.
16. "An Address ON MANIPULATIVE SURGERY". The Lancet. 202 (5224): 821–823. October 1923. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(01)22894-3.
17. "Manipulative Surgery". Nature. 133 (3362): 516. April 1934. Bibcode:1934Natur.133S.516.. doi:10.1038/133516c0.