Chapter VII: Natural Bone-Setters, 146

Setting of bones wholly mechanical. There cannot be an _innate_ skill
in this, any more than there can be in any other kind of mechanics.
Explanation of bone-setting. Skill obtained in this just as in
anything else. Bone-setter _learns_ all that he actually knows, by
his own observation, and from others. It is not _born_ with him.
Gets some of his knowledge by stealth. _Errors committed by natural
bone-setters._ Supposing a fracture to be a dislocation. Injuries
of joints in which there is neither dislocation nor fracture—harm
sometimes done in such cases by the bone-setter. Failure in the
_medical_ part of the treatment in some cases. Failure in the
management of fractures. Physicians not all good bone-setters.
Mechanical tact requisite. Though so many cases of mal-practice
can be found among the patients of natural bone-setters, generally
supposed by the community to be infallible. Difficulty in getting a
verdict of damages against them. _Reasons why they, in spite of their
errors, acquire a reputation for skill._ Setting sprains. Facility
of the imposition practised. Breaking up old adhesions. Stiff joints
and contracted tendons—efficacy of rubbing. Imagined tenderness and
inability of motion. Sub-luxations—random pulling. False reports of
cases.