Lump on palm of hand should be investigated

As a general rule, anytime you discover something new happening to your body you should be concerned enough to quickly determine if the new situation has important short- and long-term consequences.   In the case of a bump, nodule or lump on the palm of the hand that appears without reason, it could be important and should not be dismissed.

Of course, the first explanation for a palm lump or nodule is that it could be a simple callus.  If a callus makes sense based on new or greater manual work you have been doing recently, especially without the protection of gloves, then that is probably all the concern that is necessary.

However, if you have not been using your hands more than usual lately, then you should do a quick mental inventory of any other recent symptoms you have noted about your hand:

• Can’t extend or straighten one or more fingers
• Can’t open hand completely
• Can’t lay palm flat down on a table top
• Fingers won’t open up after being used
• Fingers won’t straighten
• Fingers are restricted in full movement
• Fingers curling in toward palm
• Pinky finger or ring finger won’t extend fully
• Lump, bump or nodule on the palm of the hand
• Can’t open hands without pain
• Stinging or burning pain in hand
• Feels like a swollen tendon in the palm of hand
• Feels like hand constricting and won’t open easily

If you note one or more symptoms that reduce your ability to use your hand and fingers, then you could have a fairly common condition known as Dupuytren contracture.

Lump in palm of hand common Dupuytren contracture finding

Dupuytren contracture is a problem of the soft tissue characterized by thickening and shortening of fibrous bands located in the deep tissue of the palm of the hand (palmar fascia), caused by an excess amount of a tissue protein called collagen.  As this progresses a cord of tissue will develop below the surface or a lump in the palm on the surface, resulting in reduced mobility and contracture of the hand and finger.  This involvement can affect one or both hands, and a variable number of fingers.  Dupuytren contracture presents in a wide variation, from a mild and slowly progressing contracture of a single finger, to severe and rapidly progressive involvement of several fingers of both hands, or many variations in between.

Alternative medicine treatment when combined into an aggressive assembly of natural therapies (vitamin E, PABA, acetyl-L-carnitine, massage, stretching, copper peptides, systemic enzymes, etc.) are often effective in reducing or eliminating the excess collagen cord or nodule formation and the subsequent finger contracture that so often prevents the 4^th and 5^th finger from being able to extend or open fully and keeps the involved fingers curled in toward the palm.   For information about using natural treatment methods to treat Dupuytren’s contracture, and to possibly avoid the need for Dupuytren release surgery, click natural Dupuytren Treatment Plan.

One or more dimpled and thickened bumps on the palm are most often caused by Dupuytren’s contracture.  This is especially true for any unusual small nodule or lump on the hand that appears on the palm at the base of the 4^th (ring) or 5^th (pinky) fingers, especially if the involved finger or fingers won’t completely straighten out.  Although it is always advisable to get a medical diagnosis of this kind of health problem, it is possible to develop a strong suspicion the problem is Dupuytren disease if several indicators and factors are present in your history:

• Ancestors who came from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, or a Scandinavian country
• One or more family members also have Dupuytren contracture
• Palm lump located immediately at the base of the ring and/or pinky finger
• Age 45 plus
• Male
• History of manual labor doing heavy or repetitive work, often with hands unprotected
• History of tobacco smoking
• Diabetes
• Alcohol abuse or liver disease
• Epilepsy

Dupuytren contracture will often return or recur within a few years after surgery that releases the finger contracture by removing the cords or lumps on the palm.  In fact, some forms of Dupuytren surgery have am 80% recurrence rate 3-5 years after the first operation, and even faster recurrence for a 2^nd or 3^rd surgery.  Hand surgery should not be seen as a solution or cure for Dupuytren’s contracture since recurrence is such a common problem not only for hand surgeons, but also the patients they serve.

Many surgeons voice the opinion that in many cases Dupuytren hand surgery seems to accelerate and worsen the development of cords and lumps on the palm.  For this reason it is suggested that a person who has Dupuytren cords and lumps should first attempt a therapeutic trial of aggressive Alternative Medicine to determine if the body is capable of reversing or even eliminating the tissue changes that makes the fingers curl in toward the palm and prevents the hand from opening completely. If after two or three months of natural treatment no change is seen, Dupuytren surgery can always be done at a later time.

Natural alternative therapies such as suggested by the Dupuytren Contracture Institute do not receive evidence-based research because of their limited profit potential and easy access by laypeople, and so have little support from the medical profession.  Even so, with a little independent research on this website it should be obvious that these natural healing ideas make sense and do not interfere with subsequent medical treatment.