26th March, 2012
A physician said orthodox method was the only recognised medical approach for the treatment of accident victims with broken bones or dislocations.
Dr. Adedire Adejare, Registrar, Orthopaedic Department, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital(LAUTECH-TH) Osogbo, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
However, in another interview, Mr. Mustapha Salawu, the owner of a traditional healing home in Osogbo, dismissed the remarks, saying traditional healing methods were efficacious.
Adejare told NAN that it was regrettable that people continued to patronise traditional healers due to the belief that herbalists were capable of using both herbs and charms.
According to the medical doctor, accident victims, who preferred to consult unorthodox healers instead of orthopaedic clinics, ended up complicating their cases.
“The consequences of getting treatment from traditional bone setters following accidents can be very grave and may sometimes lead to death.”
A major reason Adejare advanced for the patronage of traditional bone setters was the cost of treatment, which the victims assumed was cheaper than that of the hospital.
He, however, argued that most victims in such circumstances usually ended up spending more money than they would have if they had patronised medical doctors from the beginning.
Adejare warned that any delay in calling the attention of an orthodox medical practitioner to cases of broken bones could lead to the amputation of the affected part of the body.
Salawu, in his own argument, noted that the practice of traditional bone setting had made a positive impact on several victims of auto accidents.
“The fear of pains, heavy Plaster of Paris (POP) and prolonged period of immobilisation, surgery and amputation make many people to visit traditional healers,” he said.
Salawu told NAN that even well educated people were among his clientele, noting that no fewer than 30 patients attended his healing home on a monthly basis.
According to him, traditional bone setting homes offered cheaper treatment as well as used faster and satisfactory healing methods for their patients than orthopaedic clinics.
He called on the government to look inwards by empowering traditional bone setters to make them compete favourably with orthodox practitioners.