Of all of the activities I do with my hands, my rowing machine probably has the most significant impact. I think indoor rowing might have been a trigger for my DC. Anyone with a similar story?

Not a rower, but in addition to those mentioned by Callie we do hear similar from weightlifters, (rock) climbers, musical instrument players especially guitar, cyclists. I play tennis, single right handed and have some signs there, but my left hand is the one that has really kicked off. I now use a glove to play tennis! I get some funny looks from people who don't know me but don't care.

lori:

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What kind of glove do you use for tennis? I have not found one that is really confortable. I am right handed and have DD on that hand.

Thanks,

Lori

Hi,

I'm not a rower but a kayaker. I hammered my hands from an early age kayaking daily (or more).

First noticed it two years ago at 35 (which seems young as a female). Two years on I've had surgery to release a 60 degree contraction in my left hand and developed numerous nodules in that hand and a 45 degree contraction in the MCP joint of my little finger in my right hand.

L

With my own hands I have the most problems the tighter I grip the oars or when gripping something that is small in diameter. I visited friends in the east recently and used their mountain bike with the straight handle bars and had to grip it tightly on some sandy stretches of the road. This bothered my hands a great deal while riding on my road bike which does not require a tight hold on the handle bars does not bother my hands.

With rowing a loose grip should help with the impact on your hands. The standard oars have a small handle and it might help to get larger custom handles so your grip can be more open.

Duration is also important for me and I keep these hand stressing activities to a maximum of one hour a day. Not going to work for many but for my recreational activities it minimizes the side effects with regard to my hands.

Stretching exercises also are important and this applies to even my off days. It feels like my hands get more stressed from 8 hours at a computer keyboard than they do with 1 hour of hard physical activity. I try to avoid activities which stress my hands whether it be from impact or holding tightly onto something for long periods of time whether it be a hammer, a handlebar, or a steering wheel, or a heavy camera. I dislike having to do this but I also want to minimize the overall impact of the Dupuytren's as much as is practical.