Gentle bonesetting

What is bonesetting?

Bonesetting is a traditional healing method in which joints are mobilized or manipulated, i.e. their mobility is improved. Several types of bonesetting also involve mobilization of soft tissues. According to the World Health Organization, what characterises traditional medicine is that it is based on the tradition of the country in which it is practised. This distinguishes it from complementary medicine, which is not part of the country's own tradition. Complementary therapies include, for example, osteopathy and chiropractic, in which partly the same mobilizations are performed as in bonesetting.

Bonesetting used to be more popular than mainstream medical treatment for musculoskeletal problems in many countries because it was cheaper, more readily available and often more successful. As conventional medical treatments became more readily available and successful, bonesetting disappeared from many countries. But bonesetting itself has also evolved with the times. Today’s bonesetting training includes knowledge of musculoskeletal anatomy and contraindications against treatment. Therefore, bonesetting is nowadays as safe as massage, for example. The results of treatments are also generally good. Studies have shown that bonesetting for chronic low back pain and neck pain helps just as well or even better than physiotherapy and massage.

Scientific basis

Originally, bonesetting had no scientific basis. But in the 19^th century, the American physician Andrew Taylor Still developed osteopathy from bonesetting. Chiropractic medicine also originated from the the bonesetting of the 19^th century. Thanks to osteopathy and chiropractic, we now have a good understanding of how the techniques of bonesetting work. In the 21^st century, research on fascia has gained momentum. In it, mechanisms have been discovered through which gentle types of manual therapy, such as Kalevala bonesetting, affect the body. As recently as the last century, it was generally believed that the action of manual techniques relied mainly on stretching the tough fibres in muscles and fascia, for example, which requires a lot of force. Today, we know that all contractile fibres in muscles, fascia and connective tissue are ultimately controlled by the brain. In order for these fibres to relax, we need to send a message to the brain via the nervous system that relaxation is possible without danger. Instead of forcing the tissue to do something, we enter into a conversation with the tissue, so to speak.

My approach to bonesetting

I graduated from the three-year Kalevala bonesetting training in 2016. Kalevala bonesetting uses mainly gentle techniques, most of which target the subcutaneous loose connective tissue and superficial fascia. I still use techniques from Kalevala bonesetting. But since my certification in Kalevala bonesetting, I have also learnt many other gentle techniques to mobilize joints and soft tissue. Some are alternatives to mobilizations from Kalevala bonesetting. Others enable mobilizations that are not part of Kalevala bonesetting. Most of these techniques come from osteopathy and various methods of fascia therapy.

Osteopathy, fascial therapies and Kalevala bonesetting share a common goal: restoring the body’s natural balance. But there are many differences. Kalevala bonesetting is based on the assumption that symptoms such as pain are mainly caused by postural abnormalities. But most researchers in the fields of osteopathy and fascia today see impaired mobility of tissues or joints as the main cause. Kalevala bonesetting always follows the same scheme of mobilizations. Osteopathy determines primarily on the basis of tests which structures in the body should be mobilized and in what order. The Kansanlääkintäseura association, which oversees both training and therapists, adheres strictly to Finnish traditions and therefore only allows techniques taught in the courses it organizes. The training institutes for osteopathic and fascial treatment methods encourage therapists’ creativity. With my background as an engineer, a flexible and test-based approach feels more appropriate. In 2022 and 2023, I further developed this approach in workshops with Jeffrey Burch.