Utilization and associated factors of traditional bone setting service among patients with musculoskeletal injuries in Northeast Ethiopia.
Mengesha Alemu Seid, Betelhem Walelgn, Ashenafi Kibret Sendekie and 5 others
PMID 40264449WHAT IT FOUND
Over half of musculoskeletal injury patients in this Ethiopian hospital had used traditional bone setters.
Rural residence, low income, and limb injuries were linked to this use. Most users reported no improvement, highlighting a gap in accessible, affordable conventional care.
Key findings
01The prevalence of traditional bone setting service utilization was 55.2% among patients with musculoskeletal injuries.
02Rural residence, low annual income, and extremity injuries were significantly associated with higher odds of using traditional bone setters.
03Among traditional bone setting users, 45.7% reported no improvement and only 5.6% reported improvement.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The cross-sectional design prevents establishing causality between the identified factors and TBS utilization. Recall bias may affect the accuracy of patients' reports on their prior treatments and outcomes. The study was conducted at a single hospital in Northeast Ethiopia, so findings may not generalize to urban or other regional contexts. Participants who were mentally or critically ill were excluded, which may limit the applicability to more severe trauma cases.
Declared interests
The authors declare that no financial support was received for this work.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the association between low income and TBS use as evidence that traditional bone setting is a safer or more effective alternative. The study reports that nearly half of TBS users experienced no improvement, and the design cannot determine if TBS caused better or worse outcomes compared to conventional care.