How to Reverse Dupuytren’s Contracture

How to reverse Dupuytren’s contracture

Can Dupuytren’s contracture be reversed, really?  

Reverse Dupuytren's contracture to stop growth and development, by supporting ability to heal better.First, before answering this question, it is important to explain what it means to reverse Dupuytren’s contracture (DC).

Medical literature explains the usual progression of DC in detail.  It describes how growth of the palm lump, or finger cord, can stop and slow down as it develops.  Further, these changes can go so far that the Dupuytren’s contracture even self-heals in its early stages.  This can take place over a span of many months, or even years.  This variable development of DC occurs only because the body can affect the fibrous DC tissue.  That being the case, these minor and brief changes can go as far as being able to self-heal or reverse Dupuytren’s contracture.

It is reasonable to look upon this stopping, slowing and reversing of Dupuytren’s contracture as an incomplete or failed healing.  The body always tries to be well.  Accordingly, the body is programmed to heal itself to the best of its ability. It is how we survive. Sometimes the healing works, and sometimes it does not.  For this reason, the best and easiest way to reverse Dupuytren’s contracture is to help the body heal itself.  Using the DCI treatment strategy increases the odds for the body to do a better job of healing and repair. Think of it as a way of taking advantage of a natural process that needs a little help.

Body is smarter than science

There is a lot that science does not know.  Science still does not completely understand how the body does the thousands of common daily activities, like:

  • Making a red blood cell
  • Digesting food
  • Regulating blood pressure
  • Thinking a thought
  • Mending a broken bone

Specifically, medical science freely admits it knows little about DC.  It is not necessary for science to understand how the body self-heals DC.  The DCI encourages how the body reverses Dupuytren’s contracture, even if the process is a mystery.

Help the body reverse Dupuytren’s contracture, naturally

The DCI therapy method is simple and direct.  Supplying certain vitamins, minerals and enzymes floods the problem tissue with what it needs to heal most effectively.   A few dietary changes and external therapies support healing further. The idea is to assist the body to repair a little better than it is currently, and in this way reverse Dupuytren’s contracture.

DC is a tough and stubborn problem. A general going into war will use as many different weapons from different directions, as possible. DCI does something similar.  It is not a small effort to reverse Dupuytren’s contracture.  It requires intense and aggressive treatment effort, from different directions, to support successful healing.

Once you see how to stop Dupuytren’s contracture, it is not complicated, and makes sense.  Brief outline of DCI treatment method:

  1. Dietary avoidance – Strictly avoid those foods that give you digestive trouble. Keep your digestive tract happy. In this way, there is improved absorption of necessary nutrients for better healing.
    A.  Any specific food sensitivity.  Examples:
    1) Onions                                             2) Spicy, hot foods
    3) Pizza                                                4) Sea food
    5) Pickles                                             6) Nuts, etc.
    B.  General or broad food sensitivity.  Examples:
    1)  Gluten                                            2)  Carbohydrates
    3)  MSG                                              4)  Dairy
    5)  Caffeine                                         6)  Sulfites
    7)  Amines, etc.
  2. DCI treatment plans – more information about DCI treatment plans
    A. Vitamins, minerals and enzymes important to reversing Dupuytren’s contracture – used internally
    1) The key to using these DCI plans is to take them correctly in combination on a
    gradually increasing dosage schedule
    B. DMSO trio – used externally
    C. Ultrasound therapy – used externally
  3. DCI hand stretching exercises

Apply all these therapies at the same time.  Follow the specific instructions provided with each plan.

Effectiveness of DCI therapy plans to reverse Dupuytren’s contracture

DCI has been around since 2004.  It works with men and women to help them at least slow, and sometimes reverse, their Dupuytren’s contracture.  Reports we receive indicate 8-10 people see moderate to marked success over their DC, for every one report of failure.   Those who closely follow the DCI instructions they are given, and allow enough time for the tissue to respond, get better results. Please refer to Start Dupuytren treatment.

Not all DC gets worse

Not all cases of DC look, act, develop, or end up the same.  There are always minor differences between cases. All the experts agree on that.  One of these differences is whether there is improvement, or reversal, of the palm lump, especially during the early stages. This improvement or reversal can be minor or great.  The reversal can also be brief, followed by a return of the Dupuytren’s contracture palm lump.  On the other hand, permanent when the palm lump reversal never returns.

Some experts say DC is permanent and constant, and never reverses itself.  Other experts report that DC will sometimes improve.  But then again, there are always differences of opinion, even among the experts.

Primarily, someone’s view about reversing Dupuytren’s contracture depends on his or her experience.  Those who talk only occasionally to a few DC cases might not hear much about self-correction.  DCI talks to people from around the world, and hears hundreds of stories about reversal.  For example, DCI records show 5-10% of people with DC report one or two brief periods of reversal or improvement of the palm lump in the early stages. This is a small percent, but significant when the reversals become permanent.  This is where DCI would like to see all people.

Reversal of Dupuytren’s contracture is great news for anyone with a palm lump or finger cord.  When a palm nodule or finger cord reverses, even a little, it is a small and imperfect variation of DC healing.  Reversal means a person has hope, a chance, to push it even further to complete healing.

Can you reverse Dupuytren’s contracture with hand surgery?

You might think, “Why do all this work?  I can have some kind of hand surgery, like needle aponeurotomy or a fasciectomy, to reverse my Dupuytren’s contracture.  Snip, snip, and it is gone, right?”

No. Hand surgery of any type, even the hand surgery of a Xiaflex injection, does not reverse Dupuytren’s contracture.  After DC hand surgery, the hand still has the tendency to over-produce fibrous tissue.  And it often does just that. The purpose of DC hand surgery is to do only one specific thing:  To improve finger movement as much as possible.  Not to get rid of Dupuytren’s contracture.

Dupuytren’s contracture surgery removes just enough fibrous palm tissue to allow the fingers to move better – for a while. However, some abnormal fibrous tissue remains behind after surgery.  Removal of it all is impossible. For this reason, too much fibrous tissue can still be created after  injury, or other reasons. Meaning, the palm lump and finger cord can grow back in time.  The term for this is Dupuytren’s contracture recurrence.

Dupuytren’s contracture recurrence

Reverse Dupuytren's contracture without hand surgery so their is no Dupuytren's contracture recurrenceCommonly, 2-4 years (sometimes as soon as 6 months, or as long as 10 years or more) after DC surgery, the palm lump or finger cord will return.  Because of this, half the people who contact DCI for advice have had one or more hand surgeries. These people often say the same sad thing. They thought their first Dupuytren’s contracture hand surgery would eliminate their hand problem. They thought their hand would be normal after their first surgery. The opposite happens.

When DC returns after hand surgery, the hand can become worse for three reasons:

  1. A little normal skin and muscle tissue is lost with each hand surgery.  After a few hand surgeries, those losses add up.  The hand becomes clumsy, weak, or achy.   In addition, each hand surgery damages normal and healthy nerves and blood vessels. This results in inevitable pain, numbness and circulatory issues.  Even excellent surgeries leave the hand less than perfect.
  2. Each surgery leaves behind some old DC fibrous tissue that can continue to cause problems, as it continues to grow larger. Think of pruning a bush to stimulate new growth.
  3. Each surgery can stimulate new Dupuytren’s contracture fibrous tissue that can further contract the palm and fingers.  The new DC naturally grows larger.  Think of stirring up a beehive.

This explains why so many patients with Dupuytren’s contracture have so many hand surgeries.  It is common for someone who develops DC in their 50s to have 2-5 hand surgeries by the time they are in their 70s.  The record number DCI has heard about is one person having 11 Dupuytren’s contracture hand surgeries. So, no, the idea you can reverse Dupuytren’s contracture with surgery is not true.

Conclusion

Everyone who has palm lumps, finger cords and contracted fingers wants to know how to stop Dupuytren’s contracture.  Medical science only thinks about drugs and surgery.

Would Dupuytren contracture massage be helpful or aggravate the problem?

I am in the very early stages of this problem and want to know about Dupuytren contracture massage.  My problem started 6 months ago and want to try to turn this around sooner than later…. Not sure I can afford or even want to take everything on your plans….so if you could list out the TOP 6 supplements to take, could you let me know…?  Would 6 even be enough?

Do you think massage helps Dupuytrens contracture? Or would it aggravate it?

I have one other question…..lets say I get the most expensive plan as well as the most expensive enzyme you sell…which would be a ton of money to maintain over the months….and I do get positive results…what is to stop it from coming back again like it might after surgery? I want to get to the UNDERLYING cause of this rather than treating the symptoms. I know some say it is genetic but I am wondering about diet etc. It makes no sense to spend thousands on supplements which it could end up costing that for the body to re absorb the tissue, which I believe the body is capable of doing…only to have it come back again…..

Regards, Catherine

 

Greetings Catherine,

Your thoughtful questions bring up many broad and interesting topics to explore that I believe will not only help you, but others as well.

The first point is that you do not need  to “take everything” found in the DCI plans.  These various plans are well rounded and balanced examples of what a person might need to use to enhance their healing ability against the foreign fibrous tissue of Dupuytren’s contracture.  No one knows what you might need to make this happen, or even if it will happen.  The idea is to do as much, and to take as much of a variety of nutrients, as you think reasonable and appropriate to get the job done.   The problem is that no one knows what you will need to get the job done.  Because of this DCI recommends that you use a broad and diverse array of possible therapies, while monitoring the size, shape, density, surface features and degree of adhesion of the deep and superficial fibrous tissue in your hand plus the range of motion of the involved fingers, to determine the effectiveness of the therapy you are using.

As a second point, there are no top six therapies in terms of those that are most effective because the therapies are not used this way.  They are all used in groups and combinations, and it is never recommended that any one therapy be used by itself as a solo therapy.   Besides, if I could give you a top six list it would not mean that they would necessarily help you.  What works for one person will not necessarily work for the next person in the same way.

Dupuytren contracture massage

Thirdly, Dupuytren contracture massage can be helpful, but extreme caution and care must be followed.  I have seen internet discussions in which people have recommended deep and forceful pushing and gouging of the internal fibrous tissue to “break it up.”  This is a mistake that can lead to aggravation and spreading of of the initial problem.   The best kind of soft tissue work is extremely light and passive manual stretching – so light that while you are doing it you think that it is too light to be effective.  Dupuytren contracture massage must be done with grave caution since it can easily be misused, and you only realize you have overdone it when it is too late

Lastly, you ask about recurrence of Dupuytren contracture after DCI treatment.  Dupuytren recurrence is a constant problem that has plagued surgeons for centuries and even to today.    Please see Dupuytren Surgery and Recurrence of Hand Contracture.   Even so, in almost 12 years of doing this work of helping people to deal with their hand contracture using Alternative Medicine I have never had the occasion of someone coming back who got good results to say that their problem recurred after using the DCI concepts of treatment.  Perhaps there is someone out there who had their DC return, you never know, but no one has told me so.  I suppose it is possible, but I have no knowledge of it.

Even if the DC did recur after DCI style treatment, the consequences would be far different than if the DC did recur after hand surgery.  When a hand is operated on for Dupuytrens, normal healthy tissue is removed along with the diseased tissue.  As a result of that hand surgery the hand is vastly different than it was before surgery; it has been diminished and is less structurally strong; not only are some tissues now missing, many are shortened and altered by the surgeon.   When –not if – Dupuytren contracture recurs after the first hand surgery, the next surgeon will have less tissue to work with for the second hand surgery.  If the second hand surgery is done then the next recurrence will be all the more difficult for the third hand surgery.  For this reason many people find that after the 2nd or 3rd surgery – and sometimes even after the 1st surgery – that no more surgeries can be performed.  These people face the possibility of either allowing the hand to develop full blown contracture or amputation.

All I can tell you is that it makes most sense to me to be as conservative as possible and to try as many non-surgical options as make sense to you before submitting to DC surgery.   I am not against DC hand surgery, just very conservative about its use because of the dire results I encounter on an almost daily basis.

If I can help you in any way please let me know.  TRH

Why not perform hand surgery before my Dupuytren contracture gets worse, while it is still small?

Hello: I have just recently been diagnosed with Dupuytren’s contracture. I noticed a small hard bump/lump appear in the palm of my right hand, as well as one on the bottom of my right foot. I have just turned 50 and I am female. If the outcome is ‘black and white’, why not perform hand surgery to remove the bump BEFORE it grows into a long band deforming the fingers / toes?  Why wait ?

 

Greetings,

The answer is simple:  Dupuytren contracture recurrence after surgery. For more discussion of this topic see Dupuytren Surgery and Recurrence of Hand Contracture.

You are a little younger than average to develop Dupuytren’s contracture (hand) and Ledderhose disease (foot), and for this reason you are more likely to have an ongoing problem with Dupuytrens; the earlier in life it starts, the more aggressive and difficult the palm lumps and cords tend to be.  Your doctor is trying to delay your surgery for Dupuytren’s contracture to delay the time when your first recurrence starts.

Let’s say you had hand surgery the way that you propose.   If you had your first Dupuytren’s operation at age 50, it is possible to have your first recurrence start within two years.  Following your idea of early surgery to prevent progression of the problem, let’s say you had your  second hand surgery as soon as the recurrence appeared, and the next Dupuytren’s recurrence again appeared within the next two years.   Following your idea of early surgery to prevent progression of the problem, let’s say you had your  third hand surgery as soon as that next recurrence appeared,  and the next recurrence again appeared within the next two years.   Again, you would theoretically have another surgery for Dupuytren’s recurrence, with another recurrence, and so on. 

The above example does not work for three reasons:

  1. Recurrence of Dupuytren’s contracture tends to accelerate with each surgery, so that if the first recurrence did take two years to eventually develop, the net recurrence would be a little faster or sooner; maybe 18 months.  And if you had another hand surgery after that recurrence, the next recurrence would theoretically be even faster or sooner; maybe 12 months.   Of course, all these numbers are just made up, and could be faster or slower depending on your individual characteristics, family history, life history, clinical information and luck.   Some people wait 10 years for their first recurrence of Dupuytren’s contracture, but some people wait just a year – or even less for their first recurrence to appear.  Once the surgery starts, the process of recurrence starts; it is inevitable.   
  2. Each Dupuytren’s surgery “uses up” or removes normal hand tissue.  You cannot have too many hand surgeries without soon having little normal tissue remaining.  Depending on your individual circumstances you might only be able to have one, two or three hand surgeries in your life before your surgeon would inform you that you cannot have any more.   What do you do at that point?  You allow it to get worse, and perhaps become so bad in terms of pain that amputation is your only option. 
  3. No good surgeon would perform an early Dupuytren surgery, such as you have proposed.  Hopefully you would never find a surgeon who would agree to cut early, because he/she would know that this would be a terrible decision that would lead to a terrible result.  

There are drugs that have risks that can be used, and there is surgery as an option for you to consider. I suggest that you should consider trying to avoid Dupuytren’s hand surgery completely.  Since your problem is early and small at this time you are in a good position to try to reverse this process naturally.  I suggest you do some reading to see if this makes sense to you.  You can always try it for 2-3 months of intense natural therapy while you are waiting for your Dupuytren’s to progress.  If it work, fine – look at what you have gained.  If it does not work, as sometimes happens, you can always have your hand surgery when your surgeon thinks you are ready for it.  

For further information about treating Dupuytren’s contracture naturally you can read What is the best therapy to treat Dupuytren contracture?    TRH

My 25 year-old son has Dupuytren’s contracture. What treatment would you recommend?

Hi Dr. Herazy,
I came across your website while searching for more information on Dupuytren Contracture. My son had intricate surgery on his finger in June and recently noticed a small lump on the palm of his hand. It’s not painful, but the doctor said it looked like Dupuytren Disease. He is only 25 years old and I am very concerned about the future. Have you seen this before in someone his age and can he stop the progression of this disease with your products? What treatment would you recommend for someone his age? There also may be a predisposition to this as I have a painful lump on the bottom of my foot that I will be checking out with a doctor. Thank you very much.
PG

 

Greetings PG,

You are a good parent.  Once a parent, always a parent.  My youngest one of three is soon to be 38, so I know how this goes.

My guess is that you have a genetic predisposition to this excessive fibrous tissue response that your son has inherited from you.  This is made even more so if both you and your husband/wife are also genetically predisposed with families coming from Northern Europe or Scandinavia.  If this is true it would explain why some one who is so young has developed this problem.  Perhaps your son has unknowingly made himself susceptible with other factors that increase the odds for Dupuytrens:  diabetes, cigarette smoking, alcoholism, and prolonged hand stress  like with manual labor.  I also notice that many serious musicians who play piano or guitar seem to develop DC more than the average population.  Any of these might explain this problem developing so early in his life. 

I have seen this before in people in their mid-20s and it is usually accompanied by factors as I have explored above.

I would recommend the largest and most aggressive treatment he can sustain for at least 3-4 months of faithful and diligent work.   If this problem is to respond at all to Alternative Medicine methods the treatment approach must be significant to make an impact on his condition.  Please read Can I treat Dupuytren’s contracture naturally without surgery or drugs?       Dupuytrens is a tough problem.  Half efforts are usually a waste of time.  Allow me to explain why I think someone such as your son should be extremely interested – far more than most all other people – in avoiding surgery and getting natural conservative treatment to increase his ability to eliminate his hand nodule.  

Hand surgery for Dupuytren’s contracture is not a cure; any good surgeon will tell you that needle aponeurotomy, palmar fasciectomy or Xiaflex injection are just a temporary measure; the Dupuytren’s contracture problem will always recur – it is a matter of when the recurrence will develop, not if.  When someone in his 60s or 70s develops DC and has surgery, the Dupuytren recurrence factor is not as important because frankly at that age this person might not live long enough to develop the recurrence and have it evolve over a few years to the point that a second surgery is important to them.  Many elderly people get their first DC surgery and just ride out the effects of the recurrence as they try to ignore a growing hand problem.  But with a 25 year old person all of this strategy is changed.

A young person has a lifetime to not only develop one recurrence of Dupuytren contracture, but several or many.   Some people can have a recurrence in just just 2-3-4 years and a few have recurrence in a year or less.  With each surgery recurrence usually is made to come more quickly; with each hand surgery the rate of recurrence increases.  It is as though the irritation and instability created by the surgery speeds up the recurrence phenomenon.    Many times after a few surgeries are done it does happen that eventually amputation is the only viable option that remains. 

With someone in his mid-20s this can be a great problem, since there are so many wonderful years that lay ahead.   For this reason it is my opinion your son should do absolutely everything possible to avoid entering upon this slippery slope.  I suggest that your son start as soon as possible to see if he can increase his natural ability to remove this foreign fibrous palm lump.  As with anything in healthcare (like Dupuytren’s hand surgery) there are no guarantees this will work, but when you consider the fact that his approach is without side effects, that in almost 11 years we have not had one report of recurrence after successful treatment, and that surgery can also be used at a later time if  necessary.

I suggest he does some reading on the DCI site to learn how this approach is done.  Let me know if you have any questions.  TRH

Can this natural Dupuytren treatment reverse the bad effects of needle aponeurotomy and Xiaflex injections?

I was diagnosed with Dupuytren’s in 1994. I had a palmar fasciectomy in 2005 on the left hand which failed and resulted in amputation of my little finger in 2008. In 2011 I had a more extensive palmar fasciectomy on the right hand which has also failed. The little and ring finger of my right hand are fully contracted and the ring finger on my left is about 30% contracted and all are getting worse. Do you have data on how your treatments can reverse this condition and that of surgery, needle treatments and Xiaflex?

Are your treatments accepted by insurance companies? Mine, Molina, even denied covering Xiaflex, which I am fighting.

Thank you.

PS: I am very familiar with DMSO having used it on horses for years and would be open to trying it.

 

Greetings,

Sorry to hear of your bad results with Dupuytren’s hand surgery and Xiaflex injections.  Unfortunately, your experience is more common than what you might imagine.  Please see Dupuytrens Surgery Did Not Go Well   and When to have Dupuytren surgery?     Worsening of Dupuytren’s contracture is not uncommon after DC hand surgery, regardless if your Dupuytren’s surgery was initially successful or not.

As I have repeatedly written here on this DCI website, I am not able to produce data and research results like a multi-billion drug company that controls patient drug intake and has the ability to monitor outcomes.   I can only report what people tell me after they have been on their program for a while.

For every 10-12 reports of success and positive results while following a reasonably aggressive DCI treatment plan I get one report of failure or lack of positive results.  This is a good ratio, especially when you consider how people like to complain as opposed to give compliments and offer thanks.

However, you ask about reversal of bad results of Dupuytren surgery.  That is something you should have asked your various surgeons before they removed so much normal tissue from your hands, and injected enzymes to dissolve tissues in your hand.  Unfortunately you are asking too much of your body to think that taking any kind of superior nutritional program could possibly make new tissue grow back after a surgeon removed it.  It simply cannot be done.  At this point I think you should be interested in simply making the best of a very bad situation.

Since you have had such poor results with what you have tried so far I suggest that you be most conservative from this point forward.  I have never had anyone tell me of any adverse or unexpected results from the work we do here.  Please consider trying this approach to see if you can at least slow down some of the contraction that is going on in your hands.  At this time I think you do not have much to lose.  TRH