Signs of Dupuytren’s Contracture

As published on EverydayHealth.com

March 22, 2021

In Dupuytren’s contracture, one or more fingers are pulled toward the palm. Here are six signs you may notice if you have Dupuytren’s contracture:

1. You feel a bump in your palm.
2. You can’t open your hand to perform everyday tasks.
3. You can no longer open your hand completely.
4. Your hand is tender and itchy.
5. Your hand doesn’t fit into gloves.
6. You’re having trouble with mobility.

A bump or a nodule in the palm is usually the first symptom people notice, according to hand surgeon Alejandro Badia, MD, an orthopedic hand surgeon at the Badia Hand to Shoulder Center in Doral, Florida, near Miami, and chief medical officer of OrthoNOW®. This is a sign that the palmar fascia, or connective tissue in your palm, is becoming diseased, he explains. “This almost always occurs on the ulnar (pinky side) of the hand,” Dr. Badia adds. He notes that patients often come in because they’re worried that the bump may be a cancerous tumor, but in Dupuytren’s contracture, the growth is benign. At this early stage, Dupuytren’s usually does not need to be treated, because it may or may not get worse.”

One complaint Badia frequently hears from his patients is that when they wash their face, they poke themselves in the eye. “This is the result of not being able to open your hand as you need to,” he says. The disease can impact any finger but most often affects the ring finger and pinky.

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Alejandro Badia, M.D., is an internationally renowned hand and upper-limb surgeon and founder of Badia Hand to Shoulder Center and OrthoNOW®, a network of immediate orthopedic care centers. Dr. Badia is the author of Healthcare from the Trenches.

Please call (305)227-4263 to request an appointment with Dr. Alejandro Badia.

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