I have a contracture affecting my "pinky" finger on my right hand. I let it go until it got to the point where I had difficulty putting on gloves or putting my hand in a pocket. In July 2018 I received a Xiaflex injection and physical therapy for 1 month. The contracture went from 50 degrees to 5 degrees and I was a happy camper. In the past 6 months the contracture has come back and actually seems more aggressive. The hand splint they gave me at PT no longer fits. I continue to use the finger strut but it is not helping. I have read articles on DMSO, boron, magnesium, and vitamin E. Has anyone had good results with any of these or combinations of these? The co-pay on medical treatments is so expensive and if anyone has had luck with alternative treatments I would love to hear.

People on this forum have in the past posted about using topical application of magnesium or other oil, dmso/sski, etc. They usually say it ‘helps’. But no one ever comes back and says it straightened a contracture. I suspect it helps soften the skin and some of the oils ease dryness giving the illusion it is improving their hand DD. The gentle massage might help with pain, but be careful not to throw money at false hope. There was a publication where as I recall, and this may be faulty, post surgery using a silicone scar sheet with a splint overnight helped improve a modest remaining contracture.

My RH pinkie was contracted almost all the way to the palm last year. I had two injections of Xiaflex--the initial one into several points of my upper palm near the base of the ring and little fingers which reduced the large cords that were causing the little and ring fingers to contract. Then 2 months later the doc injected just my little finger. Those two events were painful--both physically and financially. However I was able to get use out of my little finger again, although now it's developed a bad case of boutonniere deformity. Still, the finger tip aligns with the rest of my fingertips, so in that regard I guess I'll take the bad with the good (not sure if the deformity was related to the DD, the process, or the doc for that matter).
I have developed a similarly large cord that is growing upward toward my LH pinkie now, so I started a treatment of brushing on some Vitamin E followed by a coat of DMSO to the area. I have not been religious about doing that however, so my observations concerning the efficacy of such treatment are probably skewed, but I've experienced no change whatsoever, either in the texture of the cord or its increase/decrease. I am guessing that homeopathic treatment options such as this are generally not going to provide any measurable relief from the symptoms of this horrible disease. I am hoping--like most others inflicted by DD--that medical advances will produce a treatment option that's either less invasive than either surgery or Xiaflex--one that can be used repeatedly as the disease reappears, which seems to be a common characteristic.

Edited 06/06/19 20:24