I am 71 years old and I practice my guitar about 1 hour a day as a hobby in my retirement. I have been doing this for nearly 6 years almost on a daily basis. Sometimes my fingers have to be stretched to the maximum. I developed what appear to be cysts on both palms of my hands. I noticed this about 6 months ago but I did not put any attention to it hoping that they would go away and blaming it on the guitar practice viz.a.viz my fingers. The condition is not painful but uncomfortable. Please comment. Thank you.

Greetings,

The first thing you should do is to have your problem diagnosed by a competent hand surgeon or orthopedist.  It is not possible for me to comment about the possibility of what might be going on with your hands based on the limited information you have provided.

From my experience it is not uncommon for musicians, primarily guitar and piano players, to develop Dupuytren’s contracture – especially when they are genetically predisposed.  This is compounded when certain prescription drugs have been taken or other factors increase the odds of developing DC.

If it does turn out that you have Dupuytren’s contracture then you must decide what you wish to do about it.  The earlier you begin an aggressive conservative treatment approach to increase your ability to absorb this foreign tissue the better your response will be.  TRH