Dupuytren’s contracture – Causes and Symptoms

Dupuytren’s contracture is a hand deformity that affects the physical movement of the hand. In this condition, the layers beneath the skin of the hand get affected. The tissues underlying beneath the hand gets knotted and this results in the bending of the fingers. This bending of the fingers affects daily activities.

If a person suffers from Dupuytren’s contracture, he faces difficulty in holding items, shaking hands, wearing gloves or even putting hands in the pocket. This disorder is very rare and it only happens to the farthest 2 fingers from the thumb. This disorder only happens to aged men especially those who are gorm European descent.

Once a person is completely affected by Dupuytren’s contracture, then it becomes very difficult to straighten the affected finger. But there is no need to worry anymore as there is numerous Dupuytren’s contracture treatment that can slow down the process of Dupuytren’s contracture and relieve the symptoms.

Symptoms

Dupuytren’s contracture does not appear overnight. It takes years and months to form and affect the patient. Dupuytren’s contracture usually starts when the skin on the palm becomes hard and it thickens. Slowly, as the skin on the palms thickens, a lump on the palm forms. This lump is sensitive when it is touched; otherwise, it is not that painful.

As the symptom increases, the lump and the tissues beneath the palm begin to form a knot. This knot affects the nerves of the fingers, thereby, pulling the fingers towards the palm. Something the pull of the knot is very strong.

When the knot pulls the fingers to the palm, it is mostly the farthest 2 fingers from the thumb which gets affected, i.e., the ring finger and little finger. It is very rare to see that the index or the middle finger is affected due to Dupuytren’s contracture. This disorder to not limit to one hand and it can occur in both hands.

Causes

Till date, doctors have failed to identify the cause of such a problem. There have been tests conducted to see if the disorder is related to any hand injury, but all research ended up in a negative note. Therefore, doctors concluded that this disorder can be a result of hereditary.