Orthopedics in Folk Medicine (Case Study of Folk Orthopedics in Arak City, Iran)

Background: medical anthropology is the comprehensive intercultural systematic study of health, diseases, prevention and treatment of diseases with emphasis on knowledge, beliefs and methods of western and non-western medical systems. also, folk medicine is an oral indigenous knowledge which has no written records, and even in some cases may leave no scientific evidences, but it is still considerable. objectives: the aim of the current study is the tangible understanding of a part of commonly used folk medicine (folk orthopedics) in arak city, iran; and also introducing it as a part of folk knowledge and culture of this region. materials and methods: in the current study, the functionalist theory, and field and documentary methods, according to the observations and interviews, were applied. results: arak is the most crowded city of markazi province of iran. folk orthopedics has a long history in arak, and according to the available evidences, since early thirteenth century, a man known as eskandar had claimed this profession in arak city. according tothe present statistics, daily average of 5 to 6 people refers to the bonesetters, which usually work where they live. it can be said that people who refer to bonesetters are from all segments of the society, even educated people. conclusions: in addition to the modern medical diagnostic methods, indigenous knowledge of folk medicine, especially folk orthopedics, with a little thought, guidance and planning can be considered as an appropriate therapeutic method in order to raise the level of public health without any side effects.