I have just been diagnosed with a contracture problem in my left palm and now have a small nodule in my right hand between the thumb and forefinger. What products would you suggest I try at this stage of the game, since my fingers have not started bending inward yet? I prefer to try natural remedies, especially since not much is being done about this problem in the medical field. Thank you.
Greetings,
I suggest that you spend some time on the DCI website learning how this process of using Alternative Medicine might be able to assist your recovery by increasing your response against the presence of this foreign fibrous tissue in your hand. When you do you will understand how this process can work to boost your immune response, as it has in many people who have followed this concept.
In the meantime I can tell you that the large DCI plan is the most aggressive and tends to generate a better response when followed faithfully than smaller plans. I can also tell you that the medium DCI plan is the most popular because of the lower cost.
If you follow either of these plans as instructed or a few months there is a good chance you will see reduction of the size, shape and density the palm nodules and increase of your finger movement to open your hand. If not, then I suggest that you consult with a surgeon for additional evaluation. TRH
Dear Dr Herazy,
I had surgery last year for “trigger finger” in my right middle finger. Minthes later I now have dupuytrens. I am a musician
And my piano playing has been severely compromised . My surgeon said he did not recommend xiaflex yet because my finger is still somewhat mobile. I can flex but not straighten fully. The lump is what bothers me the most most uncomfortable.
My question is what treatment would you suggest. I am 63 female in good health on no medications.
Greetings Kim,
Sorry to hear of your Dupuytren’s contracture hand problem.
Since your Dupuytren’s contracture is early and not sufficiently advanced for surgery, what the surgeon is suggesting is that you wait until your problem worsens enough that you need him/her. I think it would be best to try to do whatever you can to keep from getting worse; try getting so healthy and internally strong that your body rids itself of the DC fibrous tissue. Makes sense, doesn’t it? The body heals itself of all kinds of problems – even cancer – why not DC? It can be done. It has been done. Why not you? All you need to do is to try. If it does not work, as sometimes does happen, you can always have surgery later. But if you can avoid the risks of surgery, why not?
Ask the surgeon about the Dupuytren’s problem recurring worse than before the Xiaflex procedure – it always does. No one tells you that the ordeal of a Xiaflex procedure only provides but a brief respite (maybe a year or two) from Dupuytren’s contracture. Some people have as little as a few months of relief before their Dupuytren’s contracture comes back with a vengeance. For a temporary relief you will pay by having your recurrence DC worse than the original due to the tissue destruction that takes place when the collagenase enzymes destroy both abnormal and normal tissues and your cord is snapped. Lately I have been receiving many more emails and phone conversations from people who have had nightmare experiences with Xiaflex, so I am particularly sensitive to the idea. I am sue there are some people who have happy and ideal Xiaflex responses – I just do not hear from any of them. All I hear about are the sad stories of lives by Dupuytren’s contracture, useless hands and lost musical careers.
My opinion is that it is far better to attempt a natural cure using Alternative Medicine. I get reports of 8-10 successes for every one report of failure I receive when people use the DCI method faithfully, correctly and aggressively. It is never an easy or fast recovery because we attempt to figure out what nutrients the body needs to jump-start a healing response to the DC fibrous tissue. But when it is done correctly the results can be dramatic. I have never heard of a recurrence of DC in 15 years of doing this work when the recovery was done using the DCI method.
If you need any further information I suggest you study the DCI website a bit about Dupuytren’s contracture, or contact me directly via the phone, 847-873-8888.
I had a Dupuytren’s contracture nodule removed from my right hand three months ago. I am having pain from the scar and my middle and ring finger are still stiff, tingling, numb, joints swollen and painful. I still cannot make a full fist or have any grasping power in those three fingers. I am doing therapy, but as soon as I walk out the door my fingers seem to stiffen up.
My doctor says time. I did not have a contracted finger before surgery, only a nodule that pained upon contact with anything.
What kind of natural Dupuytren’s contracture treatment will help? The doctor put an injection in my wrist a month ago to help calm the nerve, but it didn’t do anything. Would my hand return to normal? Frustrated!!!
Greetings PCW,
I am not a hand surgeon, and I do not have the advantage of having examined your Dupuytren’s contracture pre- or past-surgery, so I cannot comment about your new complaints or lack of progress. However, on the face of your report, you make it sound like there is something fundamentally wrong going on. Perhaps you are being understandably overeager to see recovery and progress, perhaps not. Because failed Dupuytren’s contracture surgery does happen, I suggest you sit down today and make extensive detailed dated notes about your hand before and after surgery, and especially make notes about what your surgeon said each time you spoke. Add weekly dated notes to document everything you can about your hand. Everything. You never know when you will need these details.
Natural Alt Med treatment can and does help in some post-surgical Dupuytren’s contracture cases, but results are variable and dependent on the faithfulness and intensity of care. The limitation to self-treatment and healing of your Dupuytren’s contracture is dependent, amongst other things, on how much tissue has been removed and if nerves were cut. The larger and more diversified the therapy base the more effective results tend to be. There is no way to undo surgery; surgery to undo surgery often just digs the hole deeper; “you cannot unboil a boiled egg.” Be wary of your next move. Get a second opinion from someone far far away from your doctor; a second opinion from someone down the hall tends to be clouded.
Dupuytren’s contracture sometimes goes away on its own in the early stages; the body can and does heal DC as it heals other health problems. The Dupuytren’s Contracture Institute studies how that process of self-healing works and how that process might possibly be assisted. DCI’s efforts are intended to encourage and support self-healing in any way that makes sense. Your hand surgery makes that self-healing more complicated and probably somewhat limited, but not necessarily hopeless. Sometimes the DCI Alt Med alternative treatment works and sometimes it does not help. Our success rate with Dupuytren’s contracture is that we get 8-10 reports of improvement (from moderate to marked) for every one report of failure we receive. As we learn how to use the natural vitamins, minerals, enzymes and other therapies better perhaps the reports of improvement will increase.
Please review this website for ideas that might help your Dupuytren’s contracture. Good luck. TRH