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good experience with comfortable, inexpensive, self-made night splint
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06/25/2015 19:48
Stefan_K. 
06/25/2015 19:48
Stefan_K. 

good experience with comfortable, inexpensive, self-made night splint

For background, I had my first NA which fully extended the pinky of my right hand 10 months ago in September 2014 and I shared my experience at

http://www.dupuytren-online.info/Forum_E...ris-0_1890.html

At the time my doctor hadn't suggested any splinting.

About 4 months ago, 6 months after NA, my pinky felt tight again and started retracting, to the point where I again couldn't put my hand fully flat anymore. I also felt growing new and old nodules. So I started looking a) into RT (discussed in the above thread), and b) into night splints hoping I could halt progression. Before I found something I liked on the internet or went back to my doctor, and being something of a MacGyver, I had what turned out to be a rather good idea:

I inserted a wooden stick (from ice cream) into my cycling glove to block the pinky. I find this combination comfortable to wear at night, and above all, my finger was almost fully extended after the first night and was back to where it was just after the NA the second morning. I have now been wearing it for a week and will continue to do so as long as it works for me. Now, it is possible that the success was helped by the fact that my previously growing nodules for some reason seemed to recede again just before I started wearing my splint. But in any case I am happy with how this has worked out, and thought I'd share in case someone else wants to try it. Cycling gloves are easy to find and inexpensive. Mine are from neoprene and are cut at the tips. I may cut them more if during warmer nights I start sweating, and just get a new pair for my bike tours :-).



Edited 08/24/17 10:12

06/26/2015 13:04
JohnG 
06/26/2015 13:04
JohnG 
Re: good experience with comfortable, inexpensive, self-made night splint

Thanks, Stefan, for this useful hint, and also for sharing your experiences in your other thread.

Your splint is an especially helpful hint because the required parts are easy to find, as you said: a wooden stick from an ice cream, and a glove.

For those who do not have a bike glove at home, do you think that other types of gloves would also work, perhaps by cutting off the fingertip?

06/26/2015 14:04
Stefan_K. 
06/26/2015 14:04
Stefan_K. 

Re: good experience with comfortable, inexpensive, self-made night splint

You are welcome. I suppose many other gloves can do the job, too, as long as they are tight enough to hold the stiff piece in place but comfortable. I would indeed cut the fingertips of the glove for ventilation and increased comfort. As others test and share we should be able to perfect this approach.

07/11/2015 12:37
Stefan_K. 
07/11/2015 12:37
Stefan_K. 

Re: good experience with comfortable, inexpensive, self-made night splint

Update: I bought another pair of polyester bike gloves on sale, one size smaller than what I normally use for biking, and I find that still compfortable and the tighter fit probably more effective as a splint. Also, I finally came across the Fixxglove splint right now which I wasn't aware of and which is based on the same idea (would have been surprised nobody else had thought of it). Only that mine is less than 5$/€.

07/21/2015 18:21
DianeS 
07/21/2015 18:21
DianeS 
Re: good experience with comfortable, inexpensive, self-made night splint

I love this idea. Gonna try it. My pinky splint is kind of falling apart and tends to move around at night. There are lots of cool gloves at a sporting goods store. I have baseball batters gloves and there are gloves for every football position as well as weight lifters with padding. A glove with my custom splint built into it would work great! thanks for the good tip. diane

04/04/2016 07:59
Stefan_K. 
04/04/2016 07:59
Stefan_K. 

Re: good experience with comfortable, inexpensive, self-made night splint

Update: It has now been one year since I started to wear my do-it-yourself splint-glove nightly with rare exceptions and it has worked for me. My pinky still wants to contract during the day, there is definite tension and slight contracture in the evening, but I wake up to an almost straight pinky in the morning. The glove is comfortable to wear and for someone who cannot stand any pressure on my skin during sleep in general that is what surprised me as much as the effectiveness. The fact that I simply inserted the wooden stick and that it can move around a bit may help make it more comfortable and avoid pressure points. I do have slight stiffness in that pinky for a couple of minutes after removal until I flex it, but no pain or lasting inconvenience.

So I can recommend this approach for those who simply want to try how a split works for them on one finger, don't want to invest in a more expensive solution right away or don't have access to one. For those who can't find a cheap cycling glove, any old glove with the tips cut off should do. If more than one finger is affected, a more sophisticated splint-glove is probably more convenient and worth the investment. Or, the reinforcement could be easily sown to the outside of the glove fingers if someone wants to take it further.

If anybody tries my solution, please report back on your experience, good or bad.

Stef

[54 year-old male, DD diagnosis 2006, RH contracture and NA/PNF 2014, RT 2015, wearing night splint glove]

03/16/2017 12:49
kbr 
03/16/2017 12:49
kbr 
Re: good experience with comfortable, inexpensive, self-made night splint

Hi. Are you still using your homemade glove? Still working for you? I have Dupuytren's, but not much contracture. Just a little in my pinky. I've been wearing compression gloves at night with no added splint. (Wrist fracture/surgery Aug '16. Helped with swelling at first, then kept using it for contracture prevention--I hope.) I see and feel things happening in my palms. I think both thumbs will eventually be affected, so I may try your ice cream stick idea on my pinky and thumbs.

03/16/2017 14:02
Stefan_K. 
03/16/2017 14:02
Stefan_K. 

Re: good experience with comfortable, inexpensive, self-made night splint

Hi, yes. I am still wearing my glove religiously with very few exceptions and haven't had a relapse yet. What I like about it is that it is somewhat elastic and doesn't stiffen the finger too much, just straightening it enough to prevent it from curling, and it can move around so that there are no pressure points. It's ice cream season here again anyway, so no shortage of stick supply :-). Looking forward to hearing the experience of others.

11/30/2018 05:30
Cherrise 
11/30/2018 05:30
Cherrise 
Re: good experience with comfortable, inexpensive, self-made night splint

Been wearing fixxgloves every nite for 7 years. Also bought one for my son has help his DD and no contracture yet!

11/30/2018 06:01
Stefan_K. 
11/30/2018 06:01
Stefan_K. 

Re: good experience with comfortable, inexpensive, self-made night splint

Hi Cherrise, thanks for the feedback.
Does your son have cords that risk to pull on fingers, or actually a beginning contracture which could be halted?

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