Dupuytren hand and finger contracture common in elders

If you are a member of the baby boomer generation and have never heard of Dupuytren contracture, you are not alone.  However, if you are a male baby boomer with a history of liver disease, you are in the prime age group to experience a problem you know nothing about.  This is so because Dupuytren contracture primarily affects men between 50 and above, although women can also develop the problem, especially if you have ancestors form the Scandinavian countries and Northern Europe or have immediate family who have this  problem.

Few people know about the problem until they need Dupuytren treatment.   This is why it is important for all baby boomers to know about it because this health problem can easily make your life miserable.

Dupuytren contracture is a condition of the hand in which the deep tissue becomes thick and contracted, ultimately causing one or more fingers to flex and contract toward the palm, greatly reducing finger and hand movement and functionality.  Most everything about this condition (cause, progression, symptoms, age distribution, response to treatment) is variable and unique to the person who has it.  The great variability of Dupuytren contracture that  makes it difficult to study and to understand also makes it extremely difficult to treat like other medical conditions.

Treatment of Dupuytren contracture

At this time there is no standard or accepted medical treatment for the hand contracture that develops, other than Dupuytren surgery which usually has to be repeated after five years or less after the first surgery and then even sooner after each subsequent hand surgery.  Eventually, no surgery can be performed because the available tissue for repair has been used up in prior surgeries.   Given enough time after Dupuytren surgery the condition will only re-appear in a worsened presentation.

The Dupuytren Contracture Institute has specialized since 2002 in the use of Alternative Medicine therapies and techniques that are found to be successful in perhaps 60-80% of cases of Dupuytrens without risk of worsening or side-effects.  For more information about the Alternative Medicine approach, learn how to start Dupuytren contracture treatment.