Say no to bone setters,one destroyed the nerves on my son's hand,orthopedic Enugu couldn't do anything,had to take him to India,much better than how it was

DrAda:
Father A walked into the hospital with his 9 year old son looking worried and stressed out. His son however looked toxic wincing intermittently in pain, helpless. I could clearly see the reason for his pain. His right hand was massively swollen, dark in colour with terribly damaged skin.

Looking at his dad for an explanation, he went on to tell me that his boy had broken his hand 5 days ago while playing with his peers. He had taken him to a traditional Bone Setter who "treated" him. He was in the hospital because his son had gotten worse.

I looked at his son and prayed his hand would be salvaged. It would be so unfair having a little boy's hand amputated because of the father's ignorance. I gave the boy some pain medications, started him on antibiotics, took down notes and counselled the father. I called the Orthopaedic surgeons and offered yet again another prayer.

Dailychildhealthtips..com.ng

If this was meant to ridicule and conclude as ineffective that Traditional bone setters can actually set bone, then you have failed miserably!

First, l have "first hand knowledge" of this being done..... on more than one occasion.

Secondly, just like in orthodox medicine, there are "quacks" and "half-baked" charlatans who take advantage of the innocent masses and this particular Bone-setter may just be an example.

Also, the need to further improve on their "level of hygiene" cannot be over-emphasized and it may just be that the treatment got "infected" along the way, hence the swelling but please dont tell me that orthodox Doctors dont also infect their patients during treatment?
Does that make the Doctors unqualified, incompetent and fake?

Its a shame that we are gradually losing those things for which we have natural advantage over...... just to embrace the "Western ideology and methods"!

I have seen it over three times, when GrandMa does this things, she breaks the bone of a "local" Chicken and offer incatations, aply the usual mixture on the broken bone, use bamboo sticks to keep it in-place and l tell you, as the leg of the Chicken heals, the bone of the human also heals!
If the Chicken's bone does not heal , the human leg does not heal as well. (which is very rare and a case of "there is more to it at the spiritual level).

I am sure l am not the only one here who has experience of this.
Infact, it is a "family business" in some places and it is taught and handed over, from generation to generation.
Those who practice it as a profession, themselves DONT EVER EAT BONE!.

But then, in this age of technology, dupe-sters have taken advantage and are duping people over what they have zero or half-knowledge over

Omo'de o'mogun, ....on'pe l'efo (a little child mistakes efficacious traditional medicine for Vegetable Soup!)


Treat the hand and stop making insinuations.



Lastpage!

DrAda:
I must say that I am petrified at some of the comments. It explains a whole lot. To quote my daughter "Are you guys for real?"

That's what to expect,
Nairaland is an open market where everyone comes to trade.
You air your view on a particular issue and instead of the other person airing his own he comes after you and tries to force your words down your throat...

Take those comments with a pinch of salt

Baroba:


Wishing you well bro, but I disagree with you on so called bone setters, they are not good for anything, there is a reason an orthopedic surgeon spend all that amount of time in school and research post qualification.. Med/Surg no be beans, let's leave it for the trained.

Many Orthopaedic Drs have referred their patients to local bonesetters. It all boils down to the level of expertise of those involved and the available resources. Like someone said, not all bonesetters know their trade (the best ones mostly use some form of witchcraft, which I find kinda awkward), in same vein some orthopaedic hospitals either lack the expertise or the equipment to handle some fractures.
The first Drs that tried casting my leg did a terrible job. Had to redo it twice. But Dr Aremu and his orthopaedic technician corrected everything just once. All in same hospital.
Same thing applies to local bonesetters.

Then let me share wit u my true experience wit med doctor.in 1999 june 4,at a hospital in ziks avenue fege onitsha.Ngozi.d wife of my friend and a graduate of okopoly hav a CS.and was discharged havng lost d child due to doctors fault.thre day later.she began to smel alive.and was taling to another hospital for scan wit shows that the doctor forgot the Placenta in the womb.she died same day.The rate of deaths causd by doctors especial in teachng hospital shows that these docs ar more of guess workers.so why criticisd trad bone seter when i am sure u av nthng to offer

DrAda:
I must say that I am petrified at some of the comments. It explains a whole lot. To quote my daughter "Are you guys for real?"

I've never been to a traditional Bone setter (and would be terrified to go) but how do you explain all these people with positive and negative comments on them? Clearly there's more to it than "they're all awful, incompetent quacks" and like one said, traditional medicine is encouraged with western medicine side by side in several countries who have better healthcare and medical staff than we do.

It's the same issue we have with childbirth and midwives: we have cases of successful midwives delivery and doctors in the west are beginning to ask themselves "do we need so much medical intervention in a normal childbirth situation, why not trust the midwives?" Same issue with Paediatric dentistry (no-one in my hospital abroad realised my baby couldn't open her mouth well due to a tongue tie and assumed it was my faulty breastfeeding technique until a lactation consultant showed them the issue and I was told that in Nigeria, it's the trado-medical people who find these things as doctors are no longer trained to check for them at birth).

Perhaps start a centre whereby qualified Traditional Bone Setters can come and learn hygiene and other necessary things as well as doctors learn from them too. This will create a register of qualified ones and weed out the fakes who handle cases beyond their expertise. And yes, I say this as someone whose family are doctors who used to lecture in universities.

None educated local Boneseter destroyd the never of an already destroyd bone.highly educated and trained western doc in enugu cldnt do anything even to try and destroy one more vein.and u ran to less educated more of local bone seter in india who offerd solution.nw lets analyse these three and award marks.i think the enugu doctor who much av been giving bt cld nt offer anythng scored zero.as is d case wit so cald nig medics.

bluejeff:
My younger bro almost lost his arm to this people. He broke his hand while playing with his friend. Mom wasn't around so he was taken to a bone setter by a neighbour who Warned that he shouldn't be taken to igbobi otherwise the hand will be amputated. Unfortunately she placed the broken ends of the bone on each other rather than joining both ends.
After about 2 days, pain got unbearable, hand was swollen and was beginning to turn to something else.
My mom had to take him to igbobi after about 3 days. They told her if she had wasted more time for even one more day, the hand would have been amputated as that point had already begun to decay.
I think sometimes ignorant also contributes as most people associate igbobi hospital as where one goes to repair a broken bone but gets it amputated instead.

What is 'igbobi'?

many of the traditional bone setters are fine, but the challenge is, they really don't know their limits ....

ireneidiva:

What is 'igbobi'?

Igbobi Orthopaedic Hospital, Lagos.

Just the name of the Hospital



Lastpage!

Onegai:


I've never been to a traditional Bone setter (and would be terrified to go) but how do you explain all these people with positive and negative comments on them? Clearly there's more to it than "they're all awful, incompetent quacks" and like one said, traditional medicine is encouraged with western medicine side by side in several countries who have better healthcare and medical staff than we do.

It's the same issue we have with childbirth and midwives: we have cases of successful midwives delivery and doctors in the west are beginning to ask themselves "do we need so much medical intervention in a normal childbirth situation, why not trust the midwives?" Same issue with Paediatric dentistry (no-one in my hospital abroad realised my baby couldn't open her mouth well due to a tongue tie and assumed it was my faulty breastfeeding technique until a lactation consultant showed them the issue and I was told that in Nigeria, it's the trado-medical people who find these things as doctors are no longer trained to check for them at birth).

Perhaps start a centre whereby qualified Traditional Bone Setters can come and learn hygiene and other necessary things as well as doctors learn from them too. This will create a register of qualified ones and weed out the fakes who handle cases beyond their expertise. And yes, I say this as someone whose family are doctors who used to lecture in universities.

. Kai, madam I'm so impressed with your comment here.... I won't really mind working with you..... where in Nigeria are you?

lastpage:

Igbobi Orthopaedic Hospital, Lagos.
Just the name of the Hospital


Lastpage!

Alright.

africanusvu:
Then let me share wit u my true experience wit med doctor.in 1999 june 4,at a hospital in ziks avenue fege onitsha.Ngozi.d wife of my friend and a graduate of okopoly hav a CS.and was discharged havng lost d child due to doctors fault.thre day later.she began to smel alive.and was taling to another hospital for scan wit shows that the doctor forgot the Placenta in the womb.she died same day.The rate of deaths causd by doctors especial in teachng hospital shows that these docs ar more of guess workers.so why criticisd trad bone seter when i am sure u av nthng to offer

. I find this story very hard to believe, a Doctor does a C/S and forgets placenta ? it is like telling me a Doctor did a C/S and forgot to repair the womb ..... does it make sense? I think u never truly got the details of what happened....

I Fractured my arm when I was six and when I was twelve....... my right and my left respectively... in each case D right hand was a green stick fracture caz I was jus sic but d left hand was worse it was totally sevrd apart frm a lil loose skin holdin it togrthr.... thank God der was no injuries to d nerves..... both wer set by my dad ( hez a Doc and so am I now ) U cannot evr knw.... XcEpt of caz becaz I am tellin U......

D Locals may b good buh its besT U go to an Orthopaedic hospital...... der re some things like nerve injury, proper muscle attachment.... and angles which d Locals cant check but dixz things can easily be corrected by Open reduction surgery.....

DrAda:
You were lucky. Thank God for you.

Dear Ada

Y not rule your world of advanced medicine & allow the traditionalist to rule their world.
U know there are certain medical complications that require "extra powerful" attention

I believe the establishment of a School of Nigerian Traditional medicine will solve this reality struggle between U guys.

EdDave:


Many Orthopaedic Drs have referred their patients to local bonesetters. It all boils down to the level of expertise of those involved and the available resources. Like someone said, not all bonesetters know their trade (the best ones mostly use some form of witchcraft, which I find kinda awkward), in same vein some orthopaedic hospitals either lack the expertise or the equipment to handle some fractures.
The first Drs that tried casting my leg did a terrible job. Had to redo it twice. But Dr Aremu and his orthopaedic technician corrected everything just once. All in same hospital.
Same thing applies to local bonesetters.

Very-well said!

But the highlighted caught my attention and l am compelled to ask: Why do you say Witchcraft? What is Witchcraft?

Let me elucidate reactions from you or anyone:
- Is Witchcraft defined a "any craft that we dont understand"?
- Since it is a combination of the word "Witch" and Craft, let me also ask: Who is a Witch?
- Is anyone who does things that seem "impossible" or out of the extraordinary (supernatural ), a Witch?

As someone who has lived at "very close quarters" with a Bone setter, l can tell you that they do "things beyond understanding" but they are not Witches! My Grand Parents are gifted Bone-Setters and it runs for generations in the family.

Yes, the "original Bone-Setters" use incantations to follow and confirm their treatment. It is actually the "major ingredient" in their treatment but l can tell you it is nothing bad nor is it witch-craft (They are not Witches o! ).
Even at that, incantations are as old as the World itself so it is a good exercise to find out what these incantations are, what they mean and their effect.

Ofcourse, we cant discuss such things in a place like this, not because of any 'secrecy' involved but because serious discussions cant be exposed to avenue for ignorant and childish responses from anonymous posters.

Having said that, the "summary" of the whole thing is that "The World was created" when God Spoke "the Words": Let there be this and that".
The 'exact words' spoken are lost in translation, just as the "real name" of God (and the many variants we call HIM today) is lost in translation.

These "words" are the 'origins' of what we call INCANTATION, today....... which those who still know a few of those words being ignorantly referred to as practising Witchcraft!

Remember God asked Adam to "name" every living thing, at the beginning. Most of those "original names" are also lost to humanity.
For the sake of brevity, anyone who knows (by chance, training, meditation, e.t.c) the original names..... and their usages, can physically "Move Mountains"!

*When people "speak in tongues" (genuine tongue-speaking), they are uttering incantations ...... but not practising Witchcraft.
*When traditional healers "speak same words", they are uttering incantations ......... but not practising Witchcraft
*When Scientist write down "those same words" in form of "equations and mathematical expressions", they are using incantations but not practising Witchcraft!
*Philosophers like Aristotle, Albert Einstein, Blaise Pascal, Confucious, Galileo Galilei, Karl Max, Montesquieu, Plato, Pythagoras, Socrates, Sun Tzu, e.t.c, all knew the original names/words ..... and used it to do great things that benefited mankind..... just like our traditional Bone-setters, but they are not Witches, if we stick by the general definition of Witches as those who practice the "craft of evil"

God was the first to practice "Witchcraft" ..... when he spoke the word and something physical (The Earth) came into existence!

So, you see, what you call "Witchcraft" (incantations) is not a bad thing as we are made to believe..... if used for the good of humanity.

Think about it...... with a blank but open mind.



Lastpage!

An experienced old hand in bone settin can still handle the case, i've heard in some cases where the hospital could not handle some degree of damaged bones rather they even reffer pple to traditional bone setter

Onegai:


I've never been to a traditional Bone setter (and would be terrified to go) but how do you explain all these people with positive and negative comments on them? Clearly there's more to it than "they're all awful, incompetent quacks" and like one said, traditional medicine is encouraged with western medicine side by side in several countries who have better healthcare and medical staff than we do.

It's the same issue we have with childbirth and midwives: we have cases of successful midwives delivery and doctors in the west are beginning to ask themselves "do we need so much medical intervention in a normal childbirth situation, why not trust the midwives?" Same issue with Paediatric dentistry (no-one in my hospital abroad realised my baby couldn't open her mouth well due to a tongue tie and assumed it was my faulty breastfeeding technique until a lactation consultant showed them the issue and I was told that in Nigeria, it's the trado-medical people who find these things as doctors are no longer trained to check for them at birth).

Perhaps start a centre whereby qualified Traditional Bone Setters can come and learn hygiene and other necessary things as well as doctors learn from them too. This will create a register of qualified ones and weed out the fakes who handle case beyond their expertise. And yes, I say this as someone whose family are doctors who used to lecture in universities.

Nice comment.

I also think there should be a collaboration between them, those traditional people know a lot. Its just that a lot of the trado healers keep the knowledge to themselves.

e.g if the fontanel does not close in a baby at the required time ( I think yorubas call it oka) they will say got to these herbal people they will give you what to use and it will close and it works.

My former neighbor who is not even a trado healer once helped a mother to a set of twins whose soft spot didn't close. She did some things with a matured snail grounded some leaves in the snail shell mixed with the water oozing out of the snail and told the mum how to use it and it closed. I asked her how she knew it and she said she lived in the village and honestly she knows a lot about natural cure.

okuneddie:
I know cases of of many people that hospitals will say that they will amputate their leg or hand and once they take it to traditional bone setters the bone will be OK.... a family friend of mine broke his leg thru okada accident and if u should see him today, u won't know that such thing happened to him.....I guess the one the father took his son to is a fake one....lots of people patronize them cos they do what most Nigerian doctors can't do

Absolute bullshit. A million traditional bone setters cannot do what a properly trained Nigerian Doctor can do.

I cannot count the number of referrals that come to the Orthopedic clinic from a failed TBS.
A four year old boy fell from an okada and had a total fracture of his ulna and radius (the bones of the forearm). On presentation to our unit, the orthopedic surgeon calmed the father down, told him the bone will heal fully and well in less than 6 months, and started the management.

All he had to do was do the ABC of fracture management and immobilize the limb. He explained that because the boy is young and still growing his bone will heal faster and well. A dime was not charged beyond that which was required.


Now you go to your nonsense TBS, who practically does the same thing but will charge you 150,000 for your ignorance. The bone healing of a child doesn't depend on the doctor - it is a property of the bone itself.

The story changes when there's a nidus of infection in the bone. Bone fractures are wounds and must follow the principles of wound management including proper aseptic protocol. I know of a child that's struggling with chronic osteomyelitis because the parents ignorantly went to TBS who didn't attend a medical school to understand the principles of wound care and management.

In adults the story is a lot worse. Research has shown repetitively that Nigerian adults do not seek hospital care until the prognosis is extremely poor. A woman with a small breast lump will not come to hospital till she's in stage iv metastatic breast cancer. A man with bladder obstructive symptoms will not come to hospital till he's in urinary retention. Even pregnant women do not come for antenatal care and rather go to churches for "antenatal care" and labour and when the labour is prolonged come to hospital for emergency Caesarean section.

The story is the same for bone fractures. What Nigerian adults do not understand is that when we adults have fractures, it needs specialised care and any care other than that by anyone which resulted in healing is a pure case of luck.

TBS will set your bone to heal but why do you limp? Can the TBS manage complications of fracture healing, like non-union? Can the TBS manage hip fractures, esp those with attendant faecal and urinary incontinence? Does the TBS have trained physiotherapists to manage the client when the need arises? Does the TBS know the proper aseptic protocol should in case he's dealing with an open fracture? Can the TBS perform open reduction and internal fixation when the need arises? Can the TBS manage intraarticular fractures? Can theTBS manage unstable fractures? Does the TBS know what to do in an avulsed fracture involving rupture of close muscles and ligaments?


I can go on and on and on. But I'll rest my case today.

Traditional bone setters are quite effective; just patronize the experienced ones. Broke my arm age 8, in my twenties and fine as wine

So a young couple wedded and received a brand new car as a gift. A few months later, the vehicle develops a fault and the couple is contemplating where the car should be fixed - the seemingly expensive dealership or at baba Toyota's workshop. Which is better? Truth is that it's a matter of perspective and sometimes pocket.

A dealership has all the diagnostic tools at their disposal to identify the exact fault plus they have access to technical guidance from the manufacturer if the need arises.

Baba Toyota on the other hand has been fixing cars since he was in his mother's womb and is "experienced" but he has refused to move with the times. He has no diagnostic tools and relies on his intuition, trial and error sometimes to repair cars at his workshop.

Who then should fix the car? Perspective and pocket determines the right choice.

All those who love traditional bone setters, it's fine. Those who trust orthopedic surgeons, it's fine as well. In the end, your choice may determine whether you lose an arm or a leg or worse still, making the wrong decision for your child who can't decide for him/herself.

okuneddie:
I know cases of of many people that hospitals will say that they will amputate their leg or hand and once they take it to traditional bone setters the bone will be OK.... a family friend of mine broke his leg thru okada accident and if u should see him today, u won't know that such thing happened to him.....I guess the one the father took his son to is a fake one....lots of people patronize them cos they do what most Nigerian doctors can't do

You are right,my fathers friend had an accident and even after many surgeries at specialists orthopedic hospital,dala kano(proly the best in naija then)the hand refused to heal.he was taken to the traditional bone setters and he was healed.but pple should only do this at the last resort cos dark powers are usually involved and not all cases require such extreme measures

akunjohn:
I don't know about a little child but I have a friend who has similar case when he had an accident but and was taken to this bone setter due to financial problem,and now he is okay though he is limping slightly.

Limping Slightly??..By all means, he is not okk

[quote author=lastpage post=44176754]

Igbobi Orthopaedic Hospital, Lagos.

Just the name of the Hospital



Lastpage![/quote
It's National Orthopaedic hospital Igbobi

jollymizzle:

You are right,my fathers friend had an accident and even after many surgeries at specialists orthopedic hospital,dala kano(proly the best in naija then)the hand refused to heal.he was taken to the traditional bone setters and he was healed.but pple should only do this at the last resort cos dark powers are usually involved and not all cases require such extreme measures

yes bro.....I still prefer them to our doctors but as u said some of them use dark powers

akinloluwao:
Traditional bone setters are good at their job. I knocked an Okada guy down about 5 months ago. His legs were broken, the guy is back to Okada business now. His was done at Cotonou. I prefer them to hospital. It is well

Because you and people like you are illiterates.

After reading all comments, my 2 cents advice is start with orthodox medicine, if there is no improvement you can then consider the traditional bone setters!

But let me share an experience that i witnessed when i was much younger, my father's friend was shot with all those locally made gun, and so is body was riddled with pellets, He was then admitted to Lagoon hospital for treatment, and surgery was to be performed, my father arranged for someone to come from the village to have a look in, through certain forms of incantation and whatever the man opted to be discharged from the hospital, it caused a lot of issues with Lagoon Management. My father's friend is still alive hale and hearty!

I also know from what i witnessed first hand my brother had a broom stick stuck in his toes, all attempt to physically try to get to the broom stick failed as it was buried underneath the skin, my mother went out and looked for a particular tree and plucked the leaves, brought it back and squeezed it on the surface of my brother's skin, some minutes later the broken stick broom that was initially embedded under the skin was within reach and was removed without stress. She told me the knowledge was acquired when she lived in Ghana.

Wish there could be more collaboration between traditional medicine practitioners and our modern doctors.

lomaxx:



Absolute bullshit. A million traditional bone setters cannot do what a properly trained Nigerian Doctor can do.

I cannot count the number of referrals that come to the Orthopedic clinic from a failed TBS.
A four year old boy fell from an okada and had a total fracture of his ulna and radius (the bones of the forearm). On presentation to our unit, the orthopedic surgeon calmed the father down, told him the bone will heal fully and well in less than 6 months, and started the management.

All he had to do was do the ABC of fracture management and immobilize the limb. He explained that because the boy is young and still growing his bone will heal faster and well. A dime was not charged beyond that which was required.


Now you go to your nonsense TBS, who practically does the same thing but will charge you 150,000 for your ignorance. The bone healing of a child doesn't depend on the doctor - it is a property of the bone itself.

The story changes when there's a nidus of infection in the bone. Bone fractures are wounds and must follow the principles of wound management including proper aseptic protocol. I know of a child that's struggling with chronic osteomyelitis because the parents ignorantly went to TBS who didn't attend a medical school to understand the principles of wound care and management.

In adults the story is a lot worse. Research has shown repetitively that Nigerian adults do not seek hospital care until the prognosis is extremely poor. A woman with a small breast lump will not come to hospital till she's in stage iv metastatic breast cancer. A man with bladder obstructive symptoms will not come to hospital till he's in urinary retention. Even pregnant women do not come for antenatal care and rather go to churches for "antenatal care" and labour and when the labour is prolonged come to hospital for emergency Caesarean section.

The story is the same for bone fractures. What Nigerian adults do not understand is that when we adults have fractures, it needs specialised care and any care other than that by anyone which resulted in healing is a pure case of luck.

TBS will set your bone to heal but why do you limp? Can the TBS manage complications of fracture healing, like non-union? Can the TBS manage hip fractures, esp those with attendant faecal and urinary incontinence? Does the TBS have trained physiotherapists to manage the client when the need arises? Does the TBS know the proper aseptic protocol should in case he's dealing with an open fracture? Can the TBS perform open reduction and internal fixation when the need arises? Can the TBS manage intraarticular fractures? Can theTBS manage unstable fractures? Does the TBS know what to do in an avulsed fracture involving rupture of close muscles and ligaments?


I can go on and on and on. But I'll rest my case today.

Sire a TBS who uses advance witchcraftry, would understand, manage and solve all the problems uv'e listed there.

The difference I see with traditional medicine and orthodox medicine in Nigeria is records. When there is a failure in orthodox medicine it is documented people discus it and shout about it or people even sue. When thee is a failure in traditional medicine people quickly rush to orthodox medical facilities and if things get worse blame them for the failure. Or they now look for an excuse eg spiritual attack to explain the failure like the story someone told of chicken leg breaking. Under Ransom Kuti there was a department of traditional medicine in LUTH, this was in the first days of AIDS when so many of them claimed to cure it. Eventually the traditional guys all ran away because when proper records were kept it was obvious that their patients were dying not being cured.

allycat:
The difference I see with traditional medicine and orthodox medicine in Nigeria is records. When there is a failure in orthodox medicine it is documented people discus it and shout about it or people even sue. When thee is a failure in traditional medicine people quickly rush to orthodox medical facilities and if things get worse blame them for the failure. Or they now look for an excuse eg spiritual attack to explain the failure like the story someone told of chicken leg breaking. Under Ransom Kuti there was a department of traditional medicine in LUTH, this was in the first days of AIDS when so many of them claimed to cure it. Eventually the traditional guys all ran away because when proper records were kept it was obvious that their patients were dying not being cured.

Succinctly put. I concur

THAT IS THE THING!!! How do you tell which bone setter has a 'solid record' and who is a quack?

Enesi13:
we shld be caredul, we shld patronise those bone setters with a solid record in the game and not learners or quacks.

meelorlah:
There are good ones and there are quacks. I was terribly knocked down in 2007 and my legs were really broken,both d fibula and tibia. I was referred to Igbobi but my mom refused because of the experience she had when my brother was just very little, they did a very bad job on him. I was taken to a traditional orthopaedic hospital and if u see me today, there's no way u will know my legs got broken at some point.I walk and run like nothing happened ...no limping at all.
Orthopaedic surgeons get trained for a reason, yes but on top this matter,na traditional bone setters get am

please my brother has the same problem.. and we have been moving from place to place. we are currently in portharcourt. . can you please direct us to where yours was done? thanks.. contact me 08112235366