In the last post we had stated that we can use spinal decompression therapy using a strange expensive machine like the DRX9000 for disk height increase. This device has been promoted by Chiropractors as a way to treat many forms of pain derived from the back. One of the main functions of the device was to stretch out the torso by stretching out the dorsal side.

Note: The DRX9000 has been a very controversial product where chiropractors and medical doctors with MDs are almost exactly divided on their opinion on the efficacy and legitimacy of the product. There are a lot of people who claim that the device is a scam product which does not work in treating lower back pain and sciatica symptoms. (source)

This issue of decompressing the spine got me thinking back to an old YouTube video I watched years ago showing this Chinese-Malaysian Bone Setting Doctor based from either Singapore or Kuala Lumpur who used the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (which some people just call TCM) to “straighten out” his patient’s backs by popping bones into place and fixing bone fractures. I realized that these bone setters might be just as good as any of these modern devices in spinal manipulation, with purposes for pain relief and maybe also the additional benefit of height increase.

From the Wikipedia article on Bone Setters, it seems that these more holistic, homeopathic healers were the predecessors to the modern chiropractors, osteopaths, and physical therapists. They were the people who would pop your shoulder or hips back in place if you twisted the joints and they popped out by accident.

Apparently from the Wikipedia article, it says that this form of bone manipulation is not just from the Far East Asian countries.

It is also practiced in the following countries (source)…

• Ghana
• Mexico
• the Balinese 2 of Indonesia
• the Lomi-Lomi of Hawaii 3–5
• in areas of Japan – In Japan, it is called Sekkotsu, which is also called JudoTherapy. From one source, “Judotherapists can treat injuries such as fracture,
  dislocation, bruise, and sprain in the Sekkotsu clinic”
• China
• India 3
• by the shamans of Central Asia 6
• by sabodors in Mexico 7
• by bone setters of Nepal 8,9
• bone setters in Russia and Norway 10.
• Nigeria (source)
• Ancient Greece
• there is no clear evidence that bone setting, which is also known as manipulation therapy might have also happened in Mesopotamia, Babylon, Assyria, and possibly also Egypt.

The point is that if we are looking for some height increase, it might be reasonable to suggest that instead of going to see a chiropractor, we could also try to see a bone setting doctor. The practice is almost never practiced in the USA or most Western Countries. The closest we might come to these things is if we took a trip to southern Mexico.

Based on what we see of the listing of countries we find, I am note willing to recommend that people go to some of these countries due to concerns over a person’s health.

I personally don’t think that the bones setters one might find in Malaysia or China is somehow better or safer for a person but there seems to be a lot more documentation and at least anecdotal stories of people having medical benefits from going to these Oriental Practices of Medicine.

These Malaysian Bone Setters you might find in Singapore uses something called Nei Gong Tuina. Tik Dah, Zhenggushu, Zheng gushu, or Dit Da. We note that Dit Da might be a Hong Kong variation or Cantonese translation of a much more general form of Chinese Osteopathy (aka Chinese Bone Setting) different from the modern Mandarin way of pronouncing stuff.

From the article on Chinese Zhenggushu Bone Setters, there is supposed to be some orthopedic clinic called Luoyang Orthopedics Hospital, the largest of its kind in China, which treats patients with at least small fractures using non-invasive approaches. We quote the following below…

“Doctor Zhang, with the help of two assistants, gently manipulates the angle of the fractured bone with his hands and then suddenly pushes the bone. In the X-ray room, it is clearly seen that the fragment has been relocated to its normal place, and this was done in a flash of push.”

What is really amazing is that you can actually see how effective this bone setters are. They flash this X-Ray (or some type of medical radiological device) on the doctor’s hands and the patients area of the body with the broken bone. As the doctor readjusts the body right in front of you, you can see in real time through the X-ray the bones being popped back into place.

From the article….

“The practitioners refused to give up the time-honored therapy without a fight. They decided to operate the therapy by exposing their hands under X-rays and replacing the bones with the guidance of images. They believed this was the most direct way to improve the accuracy and effect of the ancient therapy. To protect the doctors from strong radiation, the hospital offered special lead gloves to them….”

The article mentions two very old bone setters named Guo Zongzheng and Guo Weihuai who were among the last of a long line of bone setters. I guess if we are going to be seeing any more really well qualified bone setting doctors, we should go now before that practice is lost.

Currently these special doctors seems to only be found in either Hong Kong or Singapore.

My personal opinion is that these bone setters are probably slightly more effective in spinal manipulation that the most chiropractors we meet. If they are better and more effective in spinal manipulation, they probably adjust the spine for a greater amount of height increase than a trip to the chiropractor.

I am not familiar with Oriental Derived Medicine and have never tried acupuncture myself although my Korean girlfriend seems to really enjoy Chinese Foot Massages which is known as Reflexology. I don’t doubt in the efficacy of certain Oriental Medicine in treating certain illnesses.