Hi Jennie

Welcome to the forum. There's lots of information on this site that should help you, from approved and recognised treatments and other things that have been tried by patients with varying degrees of success.

There are also a number of risk factors but then often none apply to people who get the disease. A trauma or injury does come up regularly. Are you sure it's a nodule and not a ganglion? I have both in the palm and they're very similar.

One of the risk factors is genetics, so it would be worth finding out if your parents have/had it.

Many cases do not progress to a debilitating contraction of the hand and fingers, but you're doing the right thing by finding a way now to protect your hand, and also start watching for further symptoms, changes, then you can consider if early treatment is needed.

Find out who your nearest hand specialist is, not a hand surgeon, but maybe a therapist (they may also be a surgeon though) and make friends with them. But do not if they say come back to me when you have x degrees of contraction. There's treatment you can consider before that via radiotherapy.

There is a page on the site that discusses massage of the nodules, also this has come up with nodules on the feet where a special spiky massage ball has been used to give some relief. This may be similar to the balls you mention with the MELT program.

Explore, then come back again if you have more questions.

Edited 06/10/11 22:18

sg0620:

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Hello; I have been told that I have DD, the hand specalist told me that until I have 40 degrees of contractures. The problems I have with that is I work in the medical field as a plebomtist and naturally use my hands all day. I don't want to wait until I can't perform my job. any suggestions

susan

Thanks.

There is no history of Dupuytren's in my family

I have been looking around the site for treatment options as I feel that doing something before I lose strength and flexibility in my hand to be preferable to waiting until I can't use it. The chord that extended from the nodule across my palm seems to be almost gone - so I will definitely continue the MELT exercises. It definitely won't hurt any way.

Callie,

My cord got smaller and regressed into my palm after RT. If you go back to 9/09 and look under "pictures of my hand from MRI to now, you can see how much the cord regressed and became smaller.

Lori

I am still learining about this disease and radiation therapy is something I may consider if the chord starts progressing again - Since I work at a school for the deaf, I need to be able to have hand flexibility in order to sign effectively. Right now, the MELT program seems to be helping - it definitely doesn't hurt. I'll know more when I go back to my doctor in a few months. Objectively, he would be able to say if there is any significant change.