The earliest known medical text, the Edwin Smith papyrus of 1552 BC, describes the Ancient Egyptian treatment of bone-related injuries.
These early bone-setters would treat fractures with wooden splints wrapped in bandages or made a cast around the injury out of a plaster-like mixture.
[4] With the advancement of modern medicine beginning in the 18th century, bone-setters began to be recognised for their efficiency in treatment but did not receive the praise or status that physicians did.
Though she lacked the medical education of physicians, she successfully treated dislocated shoulders and knees, among other treatments, at the Grecian Coffee House in London and in the town of Epsom.
[7] In Italy, Regina Dal Cin, a bone-setter who learned the skill from her mother, is considered to be an expert in the reconstruction of the congenital and antiquated dislocations of the femur.
In parts of South America, Asia and Africa, traditional bone-setters treat musculoskeletal injuries in general, not just fractures and dislocations.
[15] In an address delivered to the Royal Society of Medicine in 1923, R. C. Elmslie described the "use of manipulative methods in surgery" as having grown in recent years.