Luba,

I have knuckle pads on all of the PIP joints on my left hand. They are painful and cause stiffness but I do not have DC. When I had one of the pads biopsied however, the pathology report read "abnormal tissue consistent with Dupuytren's". The first hand specialist I saw back in 2006 told me that he considers knuckle pads to be "part of the Dupuytren's progression" and this biopsy, performed just this year, seems to support his conclusion. The dermatologist who performed the biopsy also agreed with the hand specialist.

For this reason, I get frustrated with the commonly used term "Dupuytren's Contracture" or DC. I prefer to see this nasty condition referred to as "Dupuytren's Disease" or DD since there are many of us who suffer greatly from it but do not exhibit contracture.

I get cortisone injections periodically to alleviate the stiffness and I stretch the pads every morning under hot water by forcing my left hand into into tight fist. After the pads and joints are stretched, I run them under cold water. Creams and ointments do nothing for me but the cortisone injections work well. Cortisone doesn't work for everyone however...