JohnG:

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Radiation-induced nerve damage is one of the risks of radiotherapy.

It's hard to find much info about the risk of cancer, and even harder to find info about the risk of nerve damage, for radiotherapy of Dupuytren's. But for cancer treatment I think there's some info out there. The nerve damage appears months or years after the treatment. I've read that in general, neuropathic pain is usually sharp or burning in character, although I don't know if that's so for the radiation-induced kind.

Other treatments like surgery and those that involve sticking needles in your hand can also damage nerves, but they do so more immediately.

Cindy, I'm not saying that the discomfort you are experiencing is definitely due to the radiation-induced nerve damage, but there is a small possibility of it. My radiologist told me that this risk is comparable to that of cancer -- tenths of a percent, for the typical 30 Gy treatment of a man in his 50's.

I have always had tight hands after RT in the summer. I live in Missouri and in hot and humid heat it made hands feel like i was wearing boxing gloves. My hands felt huge and swollen and very tight but know they feel like this and we still have cold weather and snow on the ground. I 'm very glad to this day i had RT and my doctor used bolus on my hands. And i'm very glad i have no nodules and no contractors but i'm getting tired of the aching and swelling and tightness and cramps. My cramps are on the same place of both hands. Very painful. I do not work and do not do any repetitive motions. I was feeling so good about my hands and still do but for 3 years i didn't really think about it unless i did something i shouldn't have. I do have osteoarthritis but that isn't it because have had that for years. Sometimes i feel like there is a catch between my thumb index finger and middle finger and yes i still have cords that are visible. Confused.

I fell pain and tightness and reading what you wrote i'm wondering if i need to do a coupe NA in my palm.