Who Else Has This Problem?

Gene Sharp · Post by **Gene Sharp** » 31 Jul 2003 4:24 pm

Does anyone else have a problem with one or more fingers closing? What is the name of this affliction or disease and is there a cure for it?

[This message was edited by Gene Sharp on 31 July 2003 at 05:25 PM.]

Tony Orth · Post by **Tony Orth** » 31 Jul 2003 6:13 pm

Gene,

I don't know if this is what you mean, but I had developed a "trigger" finger, the middle finger on my right hand, from playing the bass for several years. It "clicked" as I flexed it for a while and finally just about clean locked up. Very painful. I finally had to have surgery to free it up.

It works fine now but I still find it get's a little stiff once in a while. You can search the web and learn about trigger fingers as they are fairly common among musicians.

Following the surgery, I had to lay off the playing for 2-3 weeks. It takes about 4-6 months to fully recover.

Best Wishes
Tony

Steven Welborn · Post by **Steven Welborn** » 31 Jul 2003 7:41 pm

Hi Gene, say....do you happen do be a coffee caffein addict? I've been struggling for years with this addiction. It's a matter of the straw that broke the camels back according to my doctor. Starting to cause muscle contractions (spazms).[This message was edited by Steven Welborn on 31 July 2003 at 09:14 PM.]

Gene Sharp · Post by **Gene Sharp** » 1 Aug 2003 5:48 am

The tendon of my middle finger on my right hand is shortening and pulling my middle finger in toward my palm. I can still open the othr fingers all the way but I can only open the middle finger about 80%.
I can still pick because I can move my middle finger in a picking motion, but sometime in the future my middle finger will touch my palm and I will be unable to use it at all. Hope this clarifies my problem.
Thanks,
Gene

Bob Carlson · Post by **Bob Carlson** » 1 Aug 2003 7:49 am

I had this happen to me also. I had surgey on both hands to fix them.

The surgen said nobody knows why...but your brain sends a signal down to your tendon that it needs healing so it grows scar tissue around it. He also said it doesn't matter what you do for a living, it can happen to anyone.

He cut my hand open and cleaned the tendons off and now they are ok. Of course he did one first then the other after the first had healed up.

Bob[This message was edited by Bob Carlson on 01 August 2003 at 08:56 AM.]

Mike Baxter · Post by **Mike Baxter** » 1 Aug 2003 9:00 am

Gene,

It sounds very much like Dupuytren's contracture.

Refer to: http://www.pncl.co.uk/~belcher/dupuytrn.htm http://www.indianahandcenter.com/med_dup.html http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/fact/thr_report.cfm?Thread_ID=140&topcategory=Hand http://www.eatonhand.com/hw/hw009.htm

Most of the above state that surgery is the only option and not a cure.
Surgery will stop the contraction of the fingers for a while (5 years?).
However, the second surgery is more problematic because of the scar tissue from the original surgery.

Because of this, I have been investigating needle aponevrotomy (a much less invasive option - but currently available mainly in Europe): http://perso.wanadoo.fr/f.badois-dupuytren/html/gbsommaire.html

There is also a forum: http://www.biospecifics.com/forum/listthreads.asp?forumID=1

I am trying mild self massage as well. Good luck.
Mike

Bob Carlson · Post by **Bob Carlson** » 1 Aug 2003 9:45 am

Mike, thanks for the info. Both my Father and Mother came over from Norway which gives me Viking blood. Also my father had this very bad but back then in rural Iowa nobody knew what it was.

Bob

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 1 Aug 2003 11:49 am

Gene:A good friend of mine passed away recently,He had Dupuytren's contraction.the first two fingers of his right hand were curled up,and he would have to pull them open.Although he did'nt play music there were many things he could not do with his hand in that position.He was getting ready to have surgery on it.He had told me that it was mostly people of scandinavian descent that were prone to it,as he was.Hope you get it takin care of.Stu

Gene Sharp · Post by **Gene Sharp** » 1 Aug 2003 5:46 pm

Thanks to all for the information. I have read on the web that vitamin E in large doses slows down the progress. I take 1000 mg of Vit E d-Alpha a day.

Thanks,
Gene

George Keoki Lake · Post by **George Keoki Lake** » 1 Aug 2003 6:23 pm

I may be out in left field in suggesting this, but would acupuncture aleviate the condition ? Might be worth checking out...?