Fracture healing in India: Available therapies, indications, and protocols

The availability of fracture healing therapies to the general public is limited in India. The infrastructure of the health system in India, involving both public and private sectors, does not provide adequate opportunity for rural and low-income inhabitants to access needed care. Also the lack of funding from the government and the overall lack of physicians place a large strain on the system. This paper will take an in-depth look at the state of the current health care system and how it affects bone stimulation therapy in India. The Indian Journal of Orthopaedics was used as a reference for the bone stimulation therapies currently utilized in India. A general search of the therapies and technologies was performed to determine protocols and indications. A table of fracture healing therapies and technologies was composed which provides a description of each therapy, as well as its specific indications and protocols. This information was then used by the authors to hypothesize the most feasible methods of fracture healing to meet the Indian demographic. Based on an assessment of the health system of India, the most practical methods of bone stimulation therapy were determined. It was also determined that nearly all forms of therapy could be made available if sufficient resources were set aside for it. Bone stimulation therapy in India remains a large void in the health care system.