Bone setting, just a chance practice

It defies science but those who have experienced it will swear it works perfectly well. A fracture or broken bone is fixed back into shape without any use of modern medicine. This is the world of traditional bone setters, locally known as kuunga, who are common in the rural parts of the country. Their works defy orthodox medical values. Although most of the bone setters are illiterates who probably have never heard of X-ray machines or scans, when they get down to do their thing, their traditional methods border on the peculiar, the results astounding and testimonies unbelievable. Dr Emmanuel Rekeraho, the president of the Traditional Healers’ Association, Aga Rwanda Network, says there are more than 7,000 traditional healers in the country divided into 40 categories. He says traditional bone setting relies on supernatural power of healing, adding that it is beyond imagination. “It is a heritage, it is supernatural, it does not matter whether a bone healer went to school or not. One can believe it or not, it has no definitions, it is more than just science,” he says. However, despite several evolutions of medical world that have seen science try to come to terms with some form of traditionalism in medicine, it appears the bone setting idea is not one orthodox science is about to agree with any time soon. Dr Albert Nzayisenga, an orthopedic surgeon at King Faisal Hospital, says traditional bone setters can be compared to modern orthopedic treatment of fracture. “Bone setters do not have adequate knowledge about anatomy, and mechanism of injury. They rush for treatment only when immobilised. If bone heals well it a matter of chance. It’s important to get an X-ray, and understand physiology of bone healing for a better management,” he says. Bone setting vs X-ray Laurence Murebwayire, from Butaro Sector in Burera District, says bone setting is all about faith. “It is a matter of believing not a mere chance. Even those who go to the hospital might be healed or not,” she says. Murebwayire says the way people mend bones is cheap and saves time of going to the hospital, adding in many instances at the hospital, their health insurances do not cover bone surgery. Bone setting is traditionally passed on from elders to their children. According to some of the ‘experts,’ one had to learn mainly through seeing whenever the chance came by for their elders to repair a fracture. “In our village, we did not see people go to the hospitals when they got fractures, there were old people in the area who had to take care of that. After the bone is set, one would be given traditional medicines to heal,” says Alex Nturanyenabo, from Cyuve Sector in Musanze District, Western Province. This is what Ancille Gasengayire, from Gikomero Sector in Gasabo District did when her 10-year-old son had a fracture two months ago. Sibomana got an accident while riding a bicycle. Gasengayire took him to traditional bone setter in the area but it could not go well until her son got help from well-wishers to treat him at King Faisal Hospital, Rwanda. “His situation became worse after the traditional bone setter did a massage for him and used saliva but it could not heal him and his situation was getting worse,” she says. Sibomana is now recovering. Gasengayire says in the village, all they know is that it costs an arm and a leg to treat a fracture in the hospital, the reason many shun hospitals. “This is our ancestors’ magic and we grew up in such imagination. We all know that one can be healed by traditional plants; no need to go to the hospital,” Gasengayire says Dr Nzayisenga, who treated the boy, says the patient was reviewed at King Faisal Hospital and an X-ray was done. “The treatment consisted immobilisation with a back slab made of Plaster of Paris. Three weeks later, the plaster was removed and the boy is well now,” he says. Dr Nzayisenga says the patient was lucky that he was brought to the hospital earlier, otherwise chances are that he would have ended up becoming handicapped or paralysed if the parents had not taken him to the hospital. “People should understand that before thinking about traditional bone setters they have to go to the nearest health centres,” he says. Dr Nzayisenga says what traditional bone healers do is just worsening the situation for the patient. ‘They mobilise what is not accepted, they do not use efficient instruments which can cause infection to the bones,” he says, adding that healing is a natural process. “If you do not do anything to a bone, it will consolidate. The problem is to know how consolidation is done because one has to take it in a way it can heal properly and anatomically,” Dr Nzayisenga says.