The Role of Traditional Healers in Musculoskeletal Care for Hispanic and Latino/a Americans: A Systematic Review

Hispanic and Latino/a Americans face barriers to musculoskeletal (MSK) care. Given disparities in trust in and access to mainstream care, traditional healers (THs) may provide an alternative option. Little is known about how this population uses THs for MSK care. We aimed to describe the types of conditions treated, treatments employed, and reasons for using THs for this type of care.

For this systematic review, we queried PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science for the literature published between 2000 and 2025. We included studies focused on MSK care provided by THs in Hispanic or Latino/a communities in the United States. Search terms included various TH types. We collected data on study design, participants, types of THs, diagnostic and treatment practices, and reasons for using THs. Descriptive statistics were calculated and are reported following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

Our search yielded 4,837 articles of which 19 met inclusion criteria (21.1% quantitative, 78.9% qualitative or mixed methods). The majority focused on TH use for MSK care in adults (89.5%) and dual allopathic and TH use (73.7%). Curandero/a/x (78.9% of all articles), sobadores (52.6%), and yerberos/herbalists (36.8%) were the most frequently studied THs. The most frequently mentioned MSK conditions were atraumatic/general MSK pain (57.9% of articles), back pain (42.1%), and acute limb/joint injury (36.8%). Palpation (26.3%) and observation (21.0%) were common diagnostic practices, while physical manipulation/massage (57.9%) was the most common treatment. Dissatisfaction with allopathic medical care (57.9%), accessibility (31.6%), and affordability (26.3%) were the most frequently reported reasons for using THs.

THs treat a variety of MSK conditions and are used by Hispanic and Latino/a American patients due to accessibility, affordability, and dissatisfaction with allopathic care. Understanding the role of THs allows allopathic clinicians to provide more culturally insightful care and consider opportunities for engagement, collaboration, and integration. This may result in more holistic, equitable orthopaedic care.

Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.