Garrod’s Pads Treatment 

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Garrod’s pads and Dupuytren’s contracture treatment

Since 2002, Dupuytren’s Contracture Institute has worked with over 800 people whose primary complaint was Garrod’s pads. In addition, DCI notes that Garrod’s knuckle pads occur in combination with Dupuytren’s contracture in 20-30% of people who come to DCI for help.  Combined, these two groups total of over 2,000 people with Garrod’s pads who have used DCI treatment. They totally eliminated or significantly reduced their knuckle deformity, or at least eliminated all pain and limitation it causes.

Based on the reports of natural treatment progress from people DCI works with, the results are very good to excellent.  DCI receives 8-10 reports of moderate to marked improvement of palm lumps and cords for each failure reported, when using the DCI large treatment plan. Improvement of dense and painful knuckle pads is even better. In fact, we often tell people that Garrod’s pads typically improve before they notice a change in their DC.

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Usually, people who use a large DCI treatment plan report that their Garrod’s pads respond faster than their Dupuytren’s contracture.

The typical Garrod’s knuckle pad responds to the large DCI treatment plan by becoming smaller, softer, less painful, less dark, as well as the fingers feeling less stiff and painful, in a few weeks. Rarely do we work with someone whose Garrod’s nodules show some degree or type of improvement.  How long treatment takes to reach complete and final improvement depends on a variety of factors like genetic predisposition, severity, age of the individual, duration, if hand surgery was used previously, etc.

While a few got a small amount of improvement, most benefitted to a moderate to great degree. Of course, all treatment was safe and natural. Without drugs or surgery, and no side effects.

About Garrod’s knuckle pads

Typically, Garrod’s knuckle pads are well-defined and smooth lumps or thickening on the dorsal (back) of one or more finger joints.  Garrod’s nodules or pads are a form of fibromatosis (excess collagen and fibrin production), just like Dupuytren’s contracture (palmar fibromatosis), Ledderhose syndrome (plantar fibromatosis) and Peyronie’s disease (penile fibromatosis).

Our records show every person with Garrod’s pads benefitted in some way by our natural treatment methods.

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Clinical features

A history of repetitive injury to this part of the hand from work or sports activity is often present.  However, it sometimes happens that Garrod’s knuckles develop without any physical explanation.

Knuckle pads can look like calluses on the skin, where the skin thickens and loses its elasticity. The cause of Garrod’s pads is excess fibrous tissue (collagen and fibrin) in or under the skin. Because this problem is a fibromatosis of the fingers, it usually runs in families, but can also appear as a sporadic occurrence.

Garrod’s pads can appear in one or both hands, at any or all fingers, one joint or many.

They mainly affect the PIP finger joint (joint closest to the hand).  Less often they appear at a knuckle (MCP or metacarpophalangeal/first joint) or distal interphalangeal (DIP/third) joint of a finger. In severe cases, this dark, raised and rough tissue can also appear away from the knuckles, on the sides of the hand or elsewhere on the upper extremity.  Some clinicians even apply the name to other parts of the body.  Although the hands are by far most commonly affected, other areas and joints, such as the feet and knees, may be involved.

When appearing along with Dupuytren’s contracture, Garrod pads usually suggests a more aggressive form of the Dupuytren disease problem.

In the U.S and the rest of the world knuckle pads are a common occurrence.  The prevalence of knuckle pads is difficult to determine because this problem often does not cause physical symptoms.  Thus, people do not often seek medical care for them. Knuckle pads can be present in any age group, with the most common in adults 40 years of age and older, especially males who engage in heavy manual labor.

Pain associated with knuckle pads

Pain associated with Garrod’s pads is greatly variable. For some people there is no pain.  Most, and for others the pain is intense and constant.  Further, for some, pain is only when touched or when the finger moves. This suggests a connection between the Garrod’s pad and the tendon sheath of the finger.

When firm, the knuckle pads or nodules may be only tender to palpation, otherwise they do not cause pain or other symptoms.   These nodules are closely adherent to the skin in Dupuytren contracture while movement of the nodule during finger flexion/extension suggests an association with the tendon sheath.

Treatment for Garrod’s pads  

Treatment for Garrod’s pad makes sense when knuckle pads cause pair or otherwise affect the use of the hand.  Surgery can be considered after safer conservative natural DCI treatment has not been successful.  Please read about the DCI treatment protocol.

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