Fingers that gradually contract without an injury

You place your hand on a worktop and notice that your little finger will not straighten fully: your hand no longer lies flat on the table. In winter, you can no longer put on gloves because your fingers do not fit into them.

Earlier, you felt a hard, painless lump in your palm and ignored it. Now a clearly palpable, hard cord runs from the lump toward your finger. This is not ‘joint stiffness with age.’ It is Dupuytren’s disease.

What is actually happening?

Under the skin of the palm runs a thin, strong layer of tissue—the palmar aponeurosis—which is normally elastic and helps stabilize the skin during gripping. In Dupuytren’s disease, the cells that build this tissue begin producing too many collagen fibers. Parts of the aponeurosis harden and accumulate into nodules, then cords that act like a string tied too tightly around the finger: they cause a gradual contracture so severe that the finger can no longer be straightened.

The exact cause is unknown, but heredity plays a strong role: the disease often runs in families and more often affects men over forty. Diabetes, smoking, alcohol, and work involving vibration or prolonged strain on the hands also increase the risk.

How can you recognize it?

  • a hard, painless lump in the palm, most often at the base of the ring or little finger,
  • a palpable, hard cord running from the palm toward the finger that gradually causes it to contract,
  • increasing difficulty fully straightening the finger, for example putting the hand into a glove,
  • the palm no longer lies flat on a tabletop and the finger remains slightly bent.

Why you should not wait

Over time, the cords of the aponeurosis only thicken further and cause finger contracture, which eventually also affects the joint and may become permanent. The longer the disease progresses, the more joints in the finger lose their full range of motion. The extensor and flexor tendons, nerves, and vessels gradually lose elasticity and do not always regain it after treatment.

Once the tissue has scarred, surgery is the only effective solution, and its outcome is harder to predict than when treatment is provided at an early stage. The disease cannot be cured; it can only be treated symptomatically. Removing the cords at an early stage of contracture can provide much better finger mobility than removing them when the contracture is severe.

How we help

We begin with a consultation and a palpation examination to assess how advanced the contracture is and how many fingers are affected. If the lesion is unclear or we are planning a procedure, ultrasound shows the exact course of the thickened aponeurotic cord and its relationship to the finger’s tendons and nerves.

At an early stage, if the nodules and thickenings are not bothersome, observation is sufficient.

When the contracture is advanced and interferes with everyday activities, we surgically remove the cords contracting the aponeurosis, releasing the joints and improving finger extension.

There is one goal: fingers that can fully straighten again.

Book a consultation

If you recognize these symptoms in yourself, do not wait until the finger contracture becomes advanced. Make an appointment for a consultation. We will assess the stage of the disease and tell you which treatment will provide the best result.