No bones about it: People fast turning to ‘miraculous healers’ of Pehlwano Wali Gali
Retired pehalwans and their descendants have been treating people for orthopaedic-related ailments
PHOTO: EXPRESS
FAISALABAD:
Amid many historical and iconic places in the city, Faisalabad's "Pehalwano Wali Gali" – which literally translates to the Wrestlers' Street – is famous for its association with pehalwans. According to the popular belief, every house situated at the street has a wrestling ring in it. But as against the past, the street is no longer home to any indigenous wrestlers.
Instead, the few remaining retired pehalwans, together with their progeny, have resorted to another profession – traditional orthopaedics and rheumatology, fields in medicine concerned with treating anomalies related to bones and muscles. Surprisingly, they have been operating their 'clinics' without any formal education, license or training.
Unlike medical doctors, pehalwans use massages and oils to correct problems of muscles, tissues, joints and bones and also prescribe herbal medicines when needed. Despite the availability of advanced medical treatments at hospitals and private clinics, many people across the city prefer to go to the Pehalwano Wali Gali. What surprises many people is that the former wrestlers use some 'healing' techniques that leave the patients completely satisfied with the results.
"I had been suffering from back pain for a long time and have consulted an orthopaedic specialist before. However, the treatment was time-consuming and pricey so I, upon a friend's suggestion, decided to go to the pehalwans for treatment," a patient named Muhammad Ahmed told The Express Tribune.
"I think that the 'healers' at the Pehalwano Wali Gali have miraculous skills to treat bone-and-joint problems. I immensely benefited from the treatment and have seen tremendous improvement within a very short period of time," he said.
Muhammad Ahmed, however, stressed that the government should make laws in this regard and ensure that only genuine people with proven expertise in the craft are allowed to operate clinics.
He cited the example of China where traditional medicine and therapies like acupuncture and acupressure have not only been recognised by the state for their healing powers but also by the world at large.
"The pehlwan's treatment can also be legally recognised in the same way. Most patients turn to pehlwans for treatment because therapies offered by orthopaedic doctors are too expensive," Ahmed said.
The clinics at the Pehalwano Wali Gali have all the necessary medical tools, supplies and medicines needed for treatment. They also have special belts for back pain and oils for massages.
When asked, residents of the area revealed that in the earlier days, there used to be lots of pehalwans with the knowledge of treating bone and muscle diseases.
With time, however, most pehlwan healers – with the exception of a few – died without transferring the skills to their generations. However, the street still has two shops where the unusual orthopaedic healing services are offered by the sons and grandchildren of the phelwans. Seeing the looming business, many other people have also entered the profession and offering their services at economical rates.
The Express Tribune tried to reach out to different healers and clinics at the Pehalwano Wali Gali, however, they refused to speak to media at all.
The evolution of the 'healers'
Upon entering Pehlwano Wali Gali situated at Faisalabad's Ghulamabad Colony, one would see signboards advertising the traditional healing services on each side of the street. Interestingly, it appears that the same person has handwritten all the signboards. Every signboard portrays a picture of a young lad with a broken arm.
Healers offering the services at their so-called healing shops do not possess any formal education, and over the years, they have started openly admitting that. A look at the signboards and the visiting cards of the service providers show that the healing skills have been acquired through "family experience."
Most visitors to the healing shops comprise poor people suffering from orthopaedic diseases and bone or muscle injuries. The business has flourished to such an extent that some of the service providers have even equipped their shops with X-Ray machines.
The patients undergo x-ray examination at the healing shops while the pehlwans analyse the results of the diagnostic test on their own. A few healers have even built their own, full-equipped orthopaedic 'clinics.'
A few years ago, these healers also used to put the prefix 'Dr' before their names. However, after the government's crackdown against quack physicians, the phelwans no longer use the word doctor to refer to themselves and alternatively started using the term 'bone and joint expert' to refer to their occupation. Nonetheless, they continue to refer to their shops as 'clinics'.
According to Muhammad Anwar, a resident of the street, the most sought after bone-and-joint shop in the street was a milkman's shop a few years ago. He learned the craft from his father and is now a self-proclaimed bone-and-joint expert in the area. Another clinic in the area is operated by a man who used to run a small confectionary stall outside a government school. The business would not be bringing him good returns in profit so he switched professions and opened the 'clinic.'
Unsuccessful crackdowns
When approached, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) general secretary Dr Muhammad Irfan said that the PMA has been effectively demanding and supporting the government in carrying out an operation against quack doctors. However, the crackdown has not been very successful.
On the contrary, the government's clampdown increased the practice of bribery among the staff and inspectors of the provincial health department.
"The entire staff of the health department has been backing quack doctors," Dr Irfan lamented, "Whenever the PMA announces to launch a crackdown against quack doctors, corrupt staffers and officers leak the information and intimate quack doctors beforehand because of which clampdowns have not been successful."
Dr Irfan added that Punjab's healthcare commission has also completely failed to curtail the rise of quack doctors while qualified doctors are being unnecessarily interrogated and harassed. The current government's negligence in this regard can be judged from the fact that the commission has been running without a permanent chairman for the past several months.
The Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) media coordinator Amir Waqas maintained that individuals who have registered with four councils of the health department cannot be classified under quackery. Those not registered at the councils are all quacks.
"The PHC launches operations against quack treatment centres throughout Punjab on a regular basis," Waqas said, adding that a PHC team carried out a crackdown operation at the Phelwano Wali Gali too but the news was not covered by media outlets.
Responding to a question regarding the healing shops still that are operating at the street, the PHC coordinator said that there is a possibility that shops have been illegally opened after the operation.
Repercussions of not seeking medical assistance
According to the president of Young Doctors Association Dr Adnan, the bone-and-muscle healers are not qualified to treat diseases and may worsen medical conditions before referring the patients to hospitals, where it takes twice the effort to help the victims recover from the ailments.
"If a patient directly reaches out to us, we can straighten fractured bones and apply a plate after which full recovery is possible within a span of a month or two. However, some patients – in order to save money – turn to unprofessional healers," Dr Adnan said.
Adnan explained that traditional healers usually fail in proper alignment of the bones and, even if they do it correctly, they apply bandages in such a way that the patient's blood supply to the affected area is stopped or the skin of the affected area starts shedding or dying.
Consequently, patients - with aggravated conditions - are brought to the hospital where physicians first address medical complications caused by the untrained healer and then proceed to their own treatment. The complications caused as a result of treatment from quack doctors' causes delays in patients' recovery by as many as six months.
"This is a serious issue, but the health department has not been playing its role in combating this malpractice," Dr Adnan lamented. "Those in the health department have long-held connections with quack doctors. The unqualified healers must be banned so that people can be treated in the correct manner and doctors can do their jobs."
The chief executive of the health department in Punjab, Dr Mushtaq Ahmed, was not available for a comment despite repeated attempts and reminders on phone and messages. However, deputy district officer for health Dr Aurangzeb said that action against quackery is being ensured on a daily basis, adding that two shops at the Pehlwano Wali Gali were sealed about a month-and-a-half ago.
"Most of the bone-and-joint healers have been carrying out their businesses in their residential premises and we are not permitted to enter their homes on the basis of speculation and without a search warrant. We are not even supported by the district administration and police in this regard which is why taking action against the quack healers is a challenging task," he concluded.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 29th, 2019.
Amid many historical and iconic places in the city, Faisalabad's "Pehalwano Wali Gali" – which literally translates to the Wrestlers' Street – is famous for its association with pehalwans. According to the popular belief, every house situated at the street has a wrestling ring in it. But as against the past, the street is no longer home to any indigenous wrestlers.
Instead, the few remaining retired pehalwans, together with their progeny, have resorted to another profession – traditional orthopaedics and rheumatology, fields in medicine concerned with treating anomalies related to bones and muscles. Surprisingly, they have been operating their 'clinics' without any formal education, license or training.
Unlike medical doctors, pehalwans use massages and oils to correct problems of muscles, tissues, joints and bones and also prescribe herbal medicines when needed. Despite the availability of advanced medical treatments at hospitals and private clinics, many people across the city prefer to go to the Pehalwano Wali Gali. What surprises many people is that the former wrestlers use some 'healing' techniques that leave the patients completely satisfied with the results.
"I had been suffering from back pain for a long time and have consulted an orthopaedic specialist before. However, the treatment was time-consuming and pricey so I, upon a friend's suggestion, decided to go to the pehalwans for treatment," a patient named Muhammad Ahmed told The Express Tribune.
"I think that the 'healers' at the Pehalwano Wali Gali have miraculous skills to treat bone-and-joint problems. I immensely benefited from the treatment and have seen tremendous improvement within a very short period of time," he said.
Muhammad Ahmed, however, stressed that the government should make laws in this regard and ensure that only genuine people with proven expertise in the craft are allowed to operate clinics.
He cited the example of China where traditional medicine and therapies like acupuncture and acupressure have not only been recognised by the state for their healing powers but also by the world at large.
"The pehlwan's treatment can also be legally recognised in the same way. Most patients turn to pehlwans for treatment because therapies offered by orthopaedic doctors are too expensive," Ahmed said.
The clinics at the Pehalwano Wali Gali have all the necessary medical tools, supplies and medicines needed for treatment. They also have special belts for back pain and oils for massages.
When asked, residents of the area revealed that in the earlier days, there used to be lots of pehalwans with the knowledge of treating bone and muscle diseases.
With time, however, most pehlwan healers – with the exception of a few – died without transferring the skills to their generations. However, the street still has two shops where the unusual orthopaedic healing services are offered by the sons and grandchildren of the phelwans. Seeing the looming business, many other people have also entered the profession and offering their services at economical rates.
The Express Tribune tried to reach out to different healers and clinics at the Pehalwano Wali Gali, however, they refused to speak to media at all.
The evolution of the 'healers'
Upon entering Pehlwano Wali Gali situated at Faisalabad's Ghulamabad Colony, one would see signboards advertising the traditional healing services on each side of the street. Interestingly, it appears that the same person has handwritten all the signboards. Every signboard portrays a picture of a young lad with a broken arm.
Healers offering the services at their so-called healing shops do not possess any formal education, and over the years, they have started openly admitting that. A look at the signboards and the visiting cards of the service providers show that the healing skills have been acquired through "family experience."
Most visitors to the healing shops comprise poor people suffering from orthopaedic diseases and bone or muscle injuries. The business has flourished to such an extent that some of the service providers have even equipped their shops with X-Ray machines.
The patients undergo x-ray examination at the healing shops while the pehlwans analyse the results of the diagnostic test on their own. A few healers have even built their own, full-equipped orthopaedic 'clinics.'
A few years ago, these healers also used to put the prefix 'Dr' before their names. However, after the government's crackdown against quack physicians, the phelwans no longer use the word doctor to refer to themselves and alternatively started using the term 'bone and joint expert' to refer to their occupation. Nonetheless, they continue to refer to their shops as 'clinics'.
According to Muhammad Anwar, a resident of the street, the most sought after bone-and-joint shop in the street was a milkman's shop a few years ago. He learned the craft from his father and is now a self-proclaimed bone-and-joint expert in the area. Another clinic in the area is operated by a man who used to run a small confectionary stall outside a government school. The business would not be bringing him good returns in profit so he switched professions and opened the 'clinic.'
Unsuccessful crackdowns
When approached, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) general secretary Dr Muhammad Irfan said that the PMA has been effectively demanding and supporting the government in carrying out an operation against quack doctors. However, the crackdown has not been very successful.
On the contrary, the government's clampdown increased the practice of bribery among the staff and inspectors of the provincial health department.
"The entire staff of the health department has been backing quack doctors," Dr Irfan lamented, "Whenever the PMA announces to launch a crackdown against quack doctors, corrupt staffers and officers leak the information and intimate quack doctors beforehand because of which clampdowns have not been successful."
Dr Irfan added that Punjab's healthcare commission has also completely failed to curtail the rise of quack doctors while qualified doctors are being unnecessarily interrogated and harassed. The current government's negligence in this regard can be judged from the fact that the commission has been running without a permanent chairman for the past several months.
The Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) media coordinator Amir Waqas maintained that individuals who have registered with four councils of the health department cannot be classified under quackery. Those not registered at the councils are all quacks.
"The PHC launches operations against quack treatment centres throughout Punjab on a regular basis," Waqas said, adding that a PHC team carried out a crackdown operation at the Phelwano Wali Gali too but the news was not covered by media outlets.
Responding to a question regarding the healing shops still that are operating at the street, the PHC coordinator said that there is a possibility that shops have been illegally opened after the operation.
Repercussions of not seeking medical assistance
According to the president of Young Doctors Association Dr Adnan, the bone-and-muscle healers are not qualified to treat diseases and may worsen medical conditions before referring the patients to hospitals, where it takes twice the effort to help the victims recover from the ailments.
"If a patient directly reaches out to us, we can straighten fractured bones and apply a plate after which full recovery is possible within a span of a month or two. However, some patients – in order to save money – turn to unprofessional healers," Dr Adnan said.
Adnan explained that traditional healers usually fail in proper alignment of the bones and, even if they do it correctly, they apply bandages in such a way that the patient's blood supply to the affected area is stopped or the skin of the affected area starts shedding or dying.
Consequently, patients - with aggravated conditions - are brought to the hospital where physicians first address medical complications caused by the untrained healer and then proceed to their own treatment. The complications caused as a result of treatment from quack doctors' causes delays in patients' recovery by as many as six months.
"This is a serious issue, but the health department has not been playing its role in combating this malpractice," Dr Adnan lamented. "Those in the health department have long-held connections with quack doctors. The unqualified healers must be banned so that people can be treated in the correct manner and doctors can do their jobs."
The chief executive of the health department in Punjab, Dr Mushtaq Ahmed, was not available for a comment despite repeated attempts and reminders on phone and messages. However, deputy district officer for health Dr Aurangzeb said that action against quackery is being ensured on a daily basis, adding that two shops at the Pehlwano Wali Gali were sealed about a month-and-a-half ago.
"Most of the bone-and-joint healers have been carrying out their businesses in their residential premises and we are not permitted to enter their homes on the basis of speculation and without a search warrant. We are not even supported by the district administration and police in this regard which is why taking action against the quack healers is a challenging task," he concluded.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 29th, 2019.