{{short description|Practitioner of joint manipulation}} {{About|practitioners|John D. "Bonesetter" Reese|John D. Reese}} {{alternative medicine sidebar|fringe}} [[File:W._P._Hood,_On-bone_setting._Wellcome_L0002508.jpg|thumb|An example of {{clarification needed span|text=On-bone setting|reason=What is this? Please provide a reliable citation with the explanation.|date=January 2026}} by W.P. Hood]]
'''Bone-setting''' is a type of a [[traditional medicine|folk medicine]] in which practitioners engage in [[joint manipulation]], such as [[Reduction (orthopedic surgery)|reducing]] [[joint dislocation]]s and resetting [[bone fracture]]s. The practice dates back thousands of years, has appeared throughout the globe, and predates formal training in accepted modern medical procedures.<ref name="Agarwal Agarwal 2010">{{Cite journal |last=Agarwal |first=A |last2=Agarwal |first2=R |date=2010 |title=The Practice and Tradition of Bonesetting |journal=Education for Health |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=225 |doi=10.4103/1357-6283.101508 |pmid=20589600 |s2cid=23092361 |id={{ProQuest|2258185317}} |doi-access=free}}</ref> Before the advent of [[chiropractor]]s, [[osteopath]]s, and [[physical therapist]]s, bone-setters were the main providers of this type of treatment.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pettman |first=Erland |date=July 2007 |title=A History of Manipulative Therapy |journal=Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=165–174 |doi=10.1179/106698107790819873 |pmc=2565620 |pmid=19066664}}</ref>
==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|Edwin Smith papyrus of 1552 BC]], describes the [[Ancient Egypt]]ian treatment of bone-related injuries. These early bone-setters would treat [[bone fracture|fractures]] with wooden [[splint (medicine)|splints]] wrapped in bandages or make a [[orthopedic cast|cast]] around the injury out of a plaster-like mixture. It is unknown whether they performed [[amputations]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Phillips |first=S.-A. |last2=Biant |first2=L. C. |date=January 2011 |title=The instruments of the bonesetter |journal=The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. British Volume |volume=93-B |issue=1 |pages=115–119 |doi=10.1302/0301-620X.93B1.25628 |pmid=21196555 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
In the 16th century, monks and nuns with some knowledge of medicine became healers and bone-setters after the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|dissolution of monasteries]] in the [[British Isles]]. However, many bone-setters were non-religious, and most 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, Lancashire|Whitworth]], the Thomas family of [[Anglesey]] and the Matthew family of the [[Midlands]], which practiced for more than 200 years.<ref name="The Instruments of the Bonesetter">{{Cite journal |last=Phillips |first=S.-A. |last2=Biant |first2=L. C. |date=January 2011 |title=The instruments of the bonesetter |journal=The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. British Volume |volume=93-B |issue=1 |pages=115–119 |doi=10.1302/0301-620X.93B1.25628 |pmid=21196555 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
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 "[[charlatans]]" or "quacks". In Great Britain, one of the most famous was the bone-setter [[Sally Mapp]] (d. 1737).<ref name=hist/> Known as "Crazy Sally", she learned her skill from her father and was known for her arm strength<ref name="cab">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/cabinetcuriosit01unkngoog |title=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 |publisher=J. Limbird |year=1824 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/cabinetcuriosit01unkngoog/page/n193 187], 189–190}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="hist">{{Cite book |last=Hartley |first=Cathy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pDtEe4FKolUC&pg=PA297 |title=A Historical Dictionary of British Women |publisher=Psychology Press |year=2003 |isbn=1857432282 |edition=Revised |page=297}}</ref><ref name=cab/> 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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Joy |first=Robert J. T. |date=1954 |title=The natural bonesetters with special reference to the Sweet family of Rhode Island; a study of an early phase of orthopedics |journal=Bulletin of the History of Medicine |volume=28 |issue=5 |pages=416–441 |jstor=44443890 |pmid=13209239}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=REGINA DAL CIN |url=https://www.prolococappellamaggiore.it/storia/regina-dal-cin/ |access-date=21 February 2023 |website=prolococappellamaggiore.it |publisher=pro loco cappella maggiore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Graham |first=Douglas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J80hy6mjgIYC |title=Manual therapeutics |publisher=J.B. Lippincott |year=1902 |location=J.B. Lippincott |page=378 |access-date=21 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Francis J. H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mikfAQAAIAAJ |title=Chiropractic in Europe: An Illustrated History |publisher=Matador |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-905-88686-9 |location=Leicester, England |page=14 |access-date=21 February 2023}}</ref>
Bone-setters treated most of the population, including Royal families when court physicians were inadequate or inefficient.<ref>{{Cite book |last=DiGiovanna |first=Eileen |url=https://archive.org/details/osteopathicappro00digi |title=An Osteopathic Approach to Diagnosis and Treatment |date=2005 |publisher=Lippincott Williams and Wilkins |isbn=978-0-7817-4293-1 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/osteopathicappro00digi/page/n90 75]–76 |url-access=limited}}</ref>
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 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 developed.<ref name="The Instruments of the Bonesetter" />
==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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nwachukwu |first=Benedict |date=2011 |title=Traditional Bonesetters and Contemporary Orthopaedic Fracture Care in a Developing Nation: Historical Aspects, Contemporary Status and Future Directions |journal=The Open Orthopaedics Journal |volume=5 |pages=20–6 |doi=10.2174/1874325001105010020 |pmc=3027080 |pmid=21270953 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Traditional bone-setters are also known to offer cheaper services and prompt treatment.<ref name="Agarwal Agarwal 2010" />
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 Bulgaria, they are called ''[[Chakrukchia]]'' or ''[[Чакръкчия]]'' in Cyrillic. In Portugal it is known as ''endireita''.<ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Aries MJ, Joosten H, Wegdam HH, van der Geest S |year=2007 |title=Fracture treatment by bonesetters in central Ghana: patients explain their choices and experiences |journal=Trop Med Int Health |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=564–74 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-3156.2007.01822.x |pmid=17445148 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Huber BR, Anderson R |year=1996 |title=Bonesetters and curers in a Mexican community: conceptual models, status, and gender |journal=Med Anthropol |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=23–38 |doi=10.1080/01459740.1996.9966126 |pmid=8757711}}</ref>
== 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".<ref>A. S. Blundell Bankart, ''Manipulative Surgery'', Modern Surgical Monographs (London: Constable and Co., 1932), p. 1. {{OCLC|556599003}}.</ref> 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{{'"}}.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=October 1923 |title=An Address ON MANIPULATIVE SURGERY. |journal=The Lancet |volume=202 |issue=5224 |pages=821–823 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(01)22894-3}}</ref> A book review in ''Nature'' in 1934 said that manipulative surgery was "almost a monopoly of the bone-setter".<ref>{{Cite journal |date=April 1934 |title=Manipulative Surgery |journal=Nature |volume=133 |issue=3362 |pages=516 |bibcode=1934Natur.133S.516. |doi=10.1038/133516c0}}</ref>
== See also == * [[Chiropractic]], a form of alternative medicine which treats mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system * [[Osteopathy]], a system of alternative medicine that emphasizes physical manipulation of the body's muscle tissue and bones
== References == {{reflist|30em}}
[[Category:Physical therapy]] [[Category:Pseudoscience]]