Traditional bonesetting popular in Kashmir, but doctors advise caution

Many patients believe bonesetters possess a spiritual, healing touch and are more effective than modern medicine, although mainstream medical experts say it can be risky and has limitations

- REUTERS

After hospital doctors told Ghulam Mohammad Mir, 60, that surgery on his injured leg following a road accident was too risky, he turned toa more traditional treatment in India’s Jammu and Kashmir territory - bonesetting.

Mir suffered multiple leg fractures in the accident a year ago and doctors at the hospital in the region’s main city of Srinagar advised against surgery due to underlying medical conditions.

So he chose a centuries-old practice that typically involves massaging the affected area, wrapping it with cloth or medical tape, and reciting holy verses.

“After four months of treatment here, I started walking on crutches and now I am doing well,” Mir said.