WHY MODERN FRACTURE MANAGEMENT IS WAY AHEAD OF NATIVE BONE SETTERS

This writing is subject to the criticism that it might be biased, because I am a Orthopaedic surgeon practising Morden fracture management. Accepting and absorbing the criticism I would like to place the fallowing points before you .

From the days of the stone age, man and women had to hunt for food as the situation might be , and sustained fractures of the bones, starting from that period to modern times. In those days when Mankind was undergoing stages of evolution there were no orthopaedic surgeon or native bone setters , but the fracture sustained during that period has be treated somehow , and that’s how man started to mend bones and fix fractures with whatever tools was available , and this gradually changed over the period of times and during evolution.

Modern Fracture management involves treating a fracture with more tools backed by scientific evidence and medical knowledge. When Mankind evolved and changed, to enjoy, appreciate and embrace modern scientific achievement and revolution in the name of Smart phone , google, Facebook, and modern scientific development in medicine it self, like laser surgery, Genetic engineering and cardiac surgery with the heart beating, why not we go the same way in fracture management also.

This is not to belittle the contribution of native bone setters . When there was no modern medicine or adequate knowledge about human function, with the little knowledge they had, they treated fracture in their own way. But at the same time like we have given away technologies like STD, Trunk call, Radio, Gramophone, Walkman , which ruled our life once upon a time but have no role to play in modern times, We should also give away the native method of bone setting for better predictability and quality of life.

Even as famous Tamil poet said — “ Palayana kalithalum Putiyana Puguthalum, Vazhuvala Kaala vagaiyanana” , old technology has to give way to new development and scientific methods.
When these changes happen in every field and technology it is only logic that it should happen in fracture management also. Though the above reasons are adequate enough to support modern management I would also like to point out that native fracture management is fraught with complications because their knowledge of anatomy and human body function is very little .

This is not to say that modern fracture management does not have any complications . But they are very little or negligible, while in native treatment, since the consideration of soft tissue management is nil, complications beguile native fracture management.

But all said and done , we must accept there is a role for native fracture management in places rural areas were the facilities for modern fracture management are not available. This again under lines the necessity for uniform distribution of modern medical facilities all over India including Rural areas also.

Hence opting for modern fracture management is not any more, an option but a necessity, arising out of the fact that Mankind is entitled to improve its quality of life and enjoy the benefits of modern medicine as it does in all other fields.