I was told by someone that their mother had dups and was treated by a Physical Therapist with ultra sound. Her treatement was like that used to break up kidney stones, I assume. He said it broke up the cord and she was able to open her hand. Anyone heard of this?

Shock waves are frequently used to break kidney stones. We have reports of applying shock waves to Ledderhose but not for Dupuytren. For Ledderhose some claim good results ("becomes softer, less pain") while others report that the treatment just hurt and did not help at all. We only found a single paper on that subject: Abstracts of the 2nd International Congress of the European Society for Musculoskeletal Shock Wave Therapy (ESMST), 27.-29.05.1999, London, Great Britain, p 55. It states: "As conclusion of our results we can not advice the shock wave therapy in the therapy in the Dupuytren's or Ledderhose's contracture". See also "Other Therapies" on www.dupuytren-online.info.

I am not sure if the ultra sound treatment is the same as shock waves but even if not, I would assume that the above statement still holds.

Wolfgang

Ultrasound is often used during Physical Therapy. It is a quick way to warm muscles and scar tissue before working on the affected area. I would have my doubts about the strength of the Ultrasound used at PT offices being able to break kidney stones or nodules.
That said, we've read on this forum about PT being helpful to some and harmful to others. Some people feel better with stretching and massaging, others have the opposite.
It sounds as though she had some luck with the PT treatment, not so much shock waves breaking up the nodule.

Just my humble opinion.

Bob