Splinting and treatment of fractures, Fractures or ligaments injures always occur as a result of falling from a high places, or as a result of a collision in the bones with a solid object, or as a result of a sudden severe “twisting” of the bones. Most of bone fractures are treated by healers with splinting. Splints traditionaly are made of natural materials that are found in the environment. It is noted that there is home orthopedics and orthopedics by a specialist healer “Al-Majbarati”, whether a man or a woman are practicing fractures and torn ligaments healing. Sometimes if people can’t get to a healer they make a home cast. The most common homemade splint is the one in which soap is grated, mixed with egg white, is placed on a piece of cotton cloth, most of healers gently massage the organ with olive oil, the foot or hand is wrapped with it after trying to adjust the bones, and then the leg is supported with wood. Healers recogize the fracture by examining the patient and sometimes crackes an egg on the affected area and the first place where the egg get heard is determined to be the exact fracture site. Splints prepared by a healer are mostly similer, whether in the splints or in the materials to help keep the organ in a straight shape until the broken bones heal again. The splint must be left for a number of days and then removed. It may be replaced with another splint, the healer determines the number of days that it will remain. In case of a fracture of the ribs of the chest or back, a “patch” is made of eggs sticked in the fracture site, which is called an egg plaster, they claim that it sticks to the skin and cannot be removed, as it absorbs controversy strongly. And when they remove it, they need to put oil on it so that it softens and is easily removed from the skin. Majbarati is a healer for bone fractures who – most of the time inherited this traditional knowledge within families, in some ruler areas there are families who are famous as Majbarati healers and people come to them from all over the country seeking bone fracture treatment.

Reference:
Mohamed El Gohary, Encyclopedia of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Folk beliefs and traditional knowledge, Folk Studies series, ministry of culture, 2008.
Mohamed Ghoneim, Folk medicine- folk practices in Egyptian Delta, an anthropological study in Daqahlia governorate villages, Dar EL Ain, 2007.