Bonesetting is a folk medicine practice in which practitioners manipulate joints and bones by hand, most often to reduce a dislocated joint or set a fractured bone. The practice dates back thousands of years and has appeared in traditions across the world, predating the formal medical training that produced chiropractors, osteopaths and physical therapists. Before those professions existed, bonesetters were the main providers of this kind of treatment, and folk bonesetting survives in various traditions today alongside modern orthopedic care.
Facts
Origin YearEarliest known written description of bone-setting treatment, not a claim about when the practice itself first began. Classification
StatusDiscontinued or Obsolete 1 Connections
Treats
Source Wikidata: Bonesetting
Source Wikidata: Bonesetting
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia Foundationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone-setting, lead sectionQuote, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone-setting, lead section
Bone-setting is a type of a folk medicine in which practitioners engage in joint manipulation, such as reducing joint dislocations and resetting bone fractures.
2. Wikipedia: Bone Setter
Wikimedia FoundationHistory sectionQuote, History section
The earliest known medical text, the Edwin Smith papyrus of 1552 BC, describes the Ancient Egyptian treatment of bone-related injuries.
Wikidata: Bonesetting
- Treats: Bone Fracture, lead paragraph
- Treats: Joint Dislocation, lead paragraph
View the SourceFrequently Asked Questions
How old is the practice of bonesetting?
Its treatment of bone injuries is described in an Egyptian papyrus of 1552 BC.
Records of it are very old. The Edwin Smith papyrus of 1552 BC, described by Wikipedia as the earliest known medical text, describes the ancient Egyptian treatment of bone-related injuries. Bonesetters were the main providers of this care before chiropractors, osteopaths and physical therapists existed, and folk bonesetting survives in various traditions alongside modern orthopedic care.
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