I was told i have Dupuytren’s contracture but i have my doubts. Symptoms of a very very painful middle finger in my non-dominant hand. If i touched or banged it, it could bring me to my knees. After the major acute pain stopped i had burning and tingling back of hand and palm side of finger. My finger curves and i can only straighten it manually. The finger triggers if i suddenly grab for something. It hurts like hell and i have to manually snap the finger up. It does not bend down at the proximal palm joint like most pictures show. the finger is swollen. made worse by weight gain. Now my right middle finger is starting to bother me although not as painful. My thumbs trigger though getting better, my right thumb has limited range of motion, and my left ring finger triggered in past. I cannot bend my middle fingers past 90 deg from proximal or middle knuckle making it difficult to grasp, open jars etc. I manually straighten my fingers daily. Diet does seem to make a difference, i have cut out sugar and wheat, salt, restaurant food aggravates.

I work full time at a job where i use computer. my other job is as a massage therapist, (no brainer, this is a lot of hand use). I am able to compensate to do massage and typing accentuates the curve as does driving (no power steering). I think i am going to start your dietary supplements but i still doubt the DC diagnosis… sorry this is so long trying to be clear and thorough. Does it sound like Dupuytrens contracture to you?

I have on one or two occasions i have  felt tightening in my foot and my wrists and forearm tendons seem to be involved. I can see the tendon in the hand is prominent, but no nodules. The finger bones close to the palm are sore. Upon manual manipulation i can feel popping in the middle phalanx joints of the affected fingers.I was diagnosed by a neurologist as having a slight nerve problem in the left forearm between the bones…interosseous nerve syndrome? I think, it is not very common. He is very good but didn’t see this as a nerve issue.

I am of Scandinavian descent, my father did have a contracture after breaking his hand in a jackhammer accident.

ANY ides, brief or otherwise would be helpful. I live in Hawaii and it is like a rural community. Very informed. Specialists are not the norm.

If needed i will call for a paid consult and can send pictures of my hand. I’m so happy to have found this site after a year of no meaningful information.

Thank you sincerely, Aloha, Dawn Matney

Aloha to you Dawn,

Thank you for the detailed description of your problem with finger and hand pain, and for the complement. My intention with the Dupuytren’s Contracture Institute is to offer meaningful information and suggestions while under the limited circumstance of not being able to see and examine the problems for which people need help. As  you can imagine I am only able to offer an educated guess as to what is going on with your hand problem.Ultimately you have to decide what is the truth of your situation and if you feel it is appropriate to seek out another opinion for a diagnosis and treatment.

Based solely on the description you offer, your problem does not sound as much like Dupuytren’s contracture.  My impression is that it is more likely an inflammation of the palmar tendon sheaths due to the trauma of extended overuse. 

Using your hands rather continuously as you do now between full time work with a computer plus massage therapy is more than your hands can tolerate.   In that last sentence I would like for you to consider the operative phrase, “as you do now.”   What I am suggesting to you is that you evaluate exactly how you are typing on the keyboard and the way you use your arms and hands for body work. I suspect that you are using bad habits that are stressing your shoulders, arms forearms and hands, and this is the cause of most – if not all – of your current hand pain.  I tend to be far too aggressive when I type; by the end of the day, if I have not controlled my hand action, I can make the tips of my fingers sore to the touch.  You too are probably not working to your best mechanical advantage.  Observe yourself while at work and see what you can do differently, or not at all, that might help your situation.              

While trigger finger and pain are sometimes a component of Dupuytren’s contracture, no the primary problem as you have presented your current situation.  Also, while you are of Scandinavian descent (and hereditary factors favor those of Scandinavian descent for Dupuytren’s contracture) you made your father’s hand problem sound more like a hand problem that arose from one particular work accident, so my impression is that you probably do not have DC in your immediate family history.  You do not report a palm nodule nor cords and these are almost mandatory to establish a diagnosis of Dupuytrens.   Lastly, you report that your diet seems to make an impact on your hand symptoms; this would not likely be true for a pure Dupuytren problem.  Put all these things together  and to me it does add up as a case of Dupuytren’s contracture.

I suggest that you look around your island to see if there is a good chiropractor or naturopath who can work with you from a dietary, structural and soft tissue basis to control and eliminate your upper extremity problem.