this disease may be seem mild to you but my 66 year old mother has it and it is not mild to her, both her hands have it, affecting three fingers on one, with her little finger and the next pulled down to her palm on both hands. She had one hand operated on in 1999 but was a complete waist of time as her knuckles where already set in place. she gets very frustrated as her fingers get in the way all the time. Ever tried putting on gloves with your fingers pulled down, basically imposible.
Yes at least it not life threatening, but still not to be laughed at.

Hi this is my first post, i wouldnt even be here if it wasn't for the fact that my DC has appeared again (last monday) I had surgery on my right hand 20 years ago, which i would prefer not to go through again. I think it was triggered by stress on my fingers trying to climb a fence, slipping and left dangling by my hands on a T-shaped pole. 3days later both my hands have swelled up and i am in a lot of pain. DC is now affecting my little finger on right, ring finger on my left although it is slightly less overt.
Both my parents suffered from DC, my Father who is now deceased, never had his hands treated, they were both badly deformed. He was born in England but his father was Scottish. He died before i was born so I dont know if he had DC.
My Mother is now 76 and she has just recently had surgery on one hand having lived with it for as long as i can remember. Its quite interesting to hear about NA now, a few years back i recall my Mother picking at her fingers with a sewing needle. She didnt realise it at the time but she was on the right track! (i wouldn't recommend this) Her Grandfather was also Scottish, I dont know if he had DC, his death was due to Diabetes according to his Death Cert.
Both my parents were heavy drinkers but my Mother has stopped drinking now. I am aheavy drinker and also smoke, my Father was also a smoker.
Now i have been thinking about this Viking theory, could it have appeared as an early form of RSI? Rowing possibly for days on end must have put a lot of strain on the oarsmens hands.
I am 55 now but when i was a young boy i would help the Milkman every weekend, carrying a dozen bottles in a thin handled crate. Then would knock hundreds of doors every week with the same righthand finger (the one first affected by DC) this went on for 3 years or so until i was old enough to become a newspaper boy.
My Father worked on the Tugs, for years he was a Milkman and a merchant seaman before that. My Mother spent many years working on assembly line in an electronics factory (she thinks this has affected her hands).
Well for me, its been 7 days of severe pain so far but today the pain seems to be becoming more tolerable. Have been using Tiger Balm.
Best wishes to all, this forum has been very helpful for me. Will definately consider NA treatment.

Best wishes SteveX

Hi Wolfgang, thanks for your info, I will certainly check it out. I have already seen one Doctor (three days after trauma to both my hands) he even X-rayed them. Unfortunately he couldnt diagnose anything and just provided me with swelling/pain reducing tablets.

When the small finger on my right hand began to bend towards my palm the next day, I realized it could be Dupuytren's Contracture, as you said probably triggered by the trauma. The knuckle is painful and may be because of a torn ligament. I intend to see another Ortheopedic Doctor this week. Am currently working in Asia so have prepared documents relating to DC in case he's never heard of it.

I have already been diagnosed with this disease by a UK hand surgeon back around 1978. Had OS on my middle finger (PIP)and have not had any pain or problems until now. The finger operated on started to bend back around 4/5 years later but didnt hurt and didn't cause too much concern as I was still able to function with it ok. I have a prominent cord running from this finger down to my palm. Also knots at base of fingerand top of palm.

As for the pain I think you may be right that I have another problem perhaps, caused by the stretching of my hands.... I hope to address this if that's the case. The ring finger on my right hand is actually being pulled towards my small finger, not my palm...there is still swelling to the knuckle but the pain is not as great.

Many thanks SteveX

p.s. I fractured my right and broke my left wrists in a motorcycle accident just over a year ago...but DC didn't reappear in other fingers until now.

Dupuytren is often considered a Viking's disease but maybe predominantly because it sounds adventurous and romantic. You point out the high percentage in Spain which has no Viking heritage (maybe it is rather a Gothic disease?) but Dupuytren's disease also has been documented in China and Japan where no Vikings, Celts or Coths ever came to. Also Dupuytren's disease was not described before the 17th century while a lot of other hand diseases and their cures had already been described in medivial times. My guess is that it wasn't that frequent in earlier times.

Do you possibly have a link that gives some statistics about Spanish Dupuytren patients? My impression is that in Spain there is neither NA nor radiotherapy available for Dupuytren.

You might might also have a look at www.dupuytren-online.info for some more background info.

Wolfgang

Galego, thanks for the reference, those percentages sound pretty typical.

With regard to Dupuytren in former times you are probably right and what I had posted was wrong. McFarlane wrote in J Hand Surg [Am]. 2002 May;27(3):385-90
"On the origin and spread of Dupuytren's disease":

"Dupuytren's disease is currently called a Viking disease on the assumption that the disease was spread to Europe and the British Isles during the Viking Age of the 9th to the 13th centuries. From a literature search, it is proposed that Dupuytren's disease existed in Europe earlier than the Viking Age and originated much earlier in prehistory."

I can't judge whether this is correct but anyway, it dosn't really matter. The Genom people will eventually be able to locate where this disease comes from (some progress has been made already) and then they can track it back.

Wolfgang