| Abstract/Notes |
This is a review of bonesetting techniques of British bonesetters that were recorded in the medical literature and popular press. Bonesetters were empirical practitioners of manipulation. They practiced their techniques in secret and tended only to share their techniques with their own family members or their apprentices. Because of the secrecy, and likely because the bonesetters were not professionally trained, they did not write down their methods to share with others.Some of the bonesetters' techniques were witnessed and described by patients, other bonesetters, and other health practitioners, and thus were able to be described and documented in medical books, journals and the popular press. It is through these descriptions that we can, to some degree, study the techniques today. Most articles reviewed are from the 19th and early 20th centuries, as this was a time when the medical community began to show a greater interest in bonesetting and manipulative techniques.The emphasis is on technical descriptions, and to record this accurately the descriptions are given, when applicable, as direct quotations from the referenced source.
Corresponding author: Gary Bovine: bovine@execulink.com
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