Double Bass Dupuytren's Contracture

[Bob Branstetter]

Bob...it's now October. Status report on your hand?? I'm going to a physical therapist I met on the gig last weekend to have her work on my hand and am in the process of seeing a specialist this week if I can get in.

My right hand has healed nicely and is probably at around 90-95% of what it was before the surgery. Some minor scar tissue has occurred at the edges of the areas where the 3 skin grafts are located, but I have no loss of feeling in the hand other than a very slight numbness in my little finger. I still have a little difficulty getting my little finger into a tight fist, but all of the fingers are remaining straight when extended. My strength and dexterity are close to what they were prior to the surgery in January.

I had a series of injections into the DC cords inside the palm of my left hand and so far, that has been very successful. The injections have softened the cords and there does not appear to be any further growth of the cords in this hand. I go back for checkups every 6 months and will probably be doing this the rest of my life. Unfortunately there is no cure for this disease. The best we can hope for is to control the symptoms well enough that we can continue to live more or less normal lives. That's good enough for me!

Have you been diagnosed with Dupuytren's?

 

[Jake deVilliers]

Its good to hear that you're in decent shape Bob and your DC is under control.

At some age, we realise that things just aren't going to be perfect any more and just try to keep our parts working well enough that we can accomplish the tasks we need to perform.

It certainly beats the alternative!

 

[christ andronis]

My right hand has healed nicely and is probably at around 90-95% of what it was before the surgery. Some minor scar tissue has occurred at the edges of the areas where the 3 skin grafts are located, but I have no loss of feeling in the hand other than a very slight numbness in my little finger. I still have a little difficulty getting my little finger into a tight fist, but all of the fingers are remaining straight when extended. My strength and dexterity are close to what they were prior to the surgery in January.

I had a series of injections into the DC cords inside the palm of my left hand and so far, that has been very successful. The injections have softened the cords and there does not appear to be any further growth of the cords in this hand. I go back for checkups every 6 months and will probably be doing this the rest of my life. Unfortunately there is no cure for this disease. The best we can hope for is to control the symptoms well enough that we can continue to live more or less normal lives. That's good enough for me!

Have you been diagnosed with Dupuytren's?

Glad to hear things are better.

No, I haven't been formally diagnosed but as I said, I'm going to a specialist and a physical therapist in the coming weeks. The PT is pretty sure that's what the growth on my palm is. All I know is that I did a gig Saturday and my hand curled up so bad that I couldn't finish the last two songs of the night. I was pissed off and embarrased. Fortunately, the leader was very cool about it.

 

[Bob Branstetter]

Glad to hear things are better.

No, I haven't been formally diagnosed but as I said, I'm going to a specialist and a physical therapist in the coming weeks. The PT is pretty sure that's what the growth on my palm is. All I know is that I did a gig Saturday and my hand curled up so bad that I couldn't finish the last two songs of the night. I was pissed off and embarrased. Fortunately, the leader was very cool about it.

If you are formally diagnosed with Dupuytren's, finding someone who is a specialist in Dupuytren's is essential. In the US, the traditional treatment used by almost all Orthopedic surgeons is to wait until you have at least 30 degrees of contracture before they do anything about it. If you follow this advice (as I did), you are making a big mistake. If you catch the disease early enough, there are alternative methods such as Needle Aponeurotomy and injections of Triamcinolone that are basically in office procedures with minimal recovery time. If you make the mistake I did and delay, the recovery time is months and there is always the risk of nerve damage in traditional hand surgery. Please contact me if you have any problem finding a surgeon that uses these non-evasive methods. The longer you wait, the greater the risk of needing to have the type of surgery that I had on my right hand.

 

[christ andronis]

Thanks Bob....will do.

 

[LeslieD]

I can't believe there's actually a thread about this!

My grandfather, mother and aunt had/have it, and I can see it starting in my left little finger. My right hand seems normal. I haven't had a formal diagnosis yet, but I'm keeping an eye on it.

I live in a back-water place and medical care is pretty lousy, so I'm not looking forward to addressing this problem.

I'm about 46, and wonder what the progression is for this problem. My left little finger is just starting to "curl" --though I can still sort of straighten it. Is there any way of knowing how long before it becomes a serious problem for playing music (playing the bass in particular).

 

[wateroftyne]

I can't believe there's actually a thread about this!

My grandfather, mother and aunt had/have it, and I can see it starting in my left little finger. My right hand seems normal. I haven't had a formal diagnosis yet, but I'm keeping an eye on it.

I live in a back-water place and medical care is pretty lousy, so I'm not looking forward to addressing this problem.

I'm about 46, and wonder what the progression is for this problem. My left little finger is just starting to "curl" --though I can still sort of straighten it. Is there any way of knowing how long before it becomes a serious problem for playing music (playing the bass in particular).

For what it's worth, it's two-and-a-half years since I noticed the knot forming in my hand and mentioned it earlier in this thread. Touch wood, I've not had any ill-effects yet, and nothing seems to be imminent!

Sorry to hear about your symptoms. I hope it all goes OK!

 

[LeslieD]

It's good to know that this progresses pretty slowly, and that you're doing okay. I'm pretty bummed that my problems would have to be on my left hand.

My mom's fingers are closing up on her right hand. DC usually just affects the little and ring finger, but my mom is also having problems with her thumb (she has it pretty bad). She's in her 70s, and it didn't become a real problem until the last few years. She plays violin, and fortunately it's not too much of a problem for her bow hand, but is hard for writing and everything else. I think she's looking into a new kind of treatment (non-surgical) that uses a needle (like accupuncture) to break up the fibrous tissue. She knows someone who had it done, and it was quite successful.

 

[alariv8]

Hello, people!

I went to see a hand therapist and he told me that I might be experiencing the first phase of this illness, but.. I'm only 23. I have some soft tissue under the finger tendons, fascia palmares.

I find it very hard to believe that I am among the very few in the world who might notice the symptoms so early! I live in Estonia, in a small country in North-Eastern Europe, but my parents told me they don't believe this illness runs in my family tree. I think I should start do some investigation on it and start finding the right place for early treatments as Cortisone and the needles?

 

[Jake deVilliers]

I'm sorry to hear about your hand. There's a naturopathic Doctor in North Vancouver who has had success in treating Depuyture's. His name is Dr. Jonn Matsen - he has a book out and a website. Perhaps if you emailed he might have some helpful suggestions.

Good luck!

 

[chief108]

short introduction from yet another bassplayer with Dupuytren's...
I'm 42 years old and first diagnosed with DC 2 years ago in both hands
now I've had 3 surgical procedures with 14 months on my left hand only
I'm a BIT/ Musician's Institute graduate from 1991 (or was it 90? damn I'm getting old...) and played professionally 'till 2000
I quit playing because of personal stuff and being really fed up with musicians and the business in general

after my first surgery things really got worse
within 6 months my whole hand was filled with new Dupuytren places and both my little and index finger were cramped in a claw
people said it was good that I quit playing, 'cause I would never ever be able to play with these hands

that got me thinking...
I found a "new" thing where they inject it with your own platelets and guess what?
besides being painful it really worked
I could use my fingers again!!

so I bought an acoustic bass

my hands will never be "normal" again
and yes, it will get worse
probably might lose my little finger one day as well

so be it

I'm just so happy to be playing the bass again
a whole other approach this time
and I think better
no need to show off
no need to impress people

just playing my bass
all by myself

 

[al70]

I hope you all are doing OK, I just discover Ihad that condition on my left hand (ring Finger). By now is not that painful and I can play my bass with no problem, but as a 50 Y/O guy i know its gonna get worse. And at least there is a treatment or surgery. I just hope it does not affect my Bass playing, I love playing my bass.

 

[Bob Branstetter]

It has been 18 years since I had Dupuytren's surgery with skin grafts on my right hand. After a few weeks of recovery time, I was able to return to playing with no recurrence. My only advice is to find a doctor who specializes in the treatment of Dupuytren's Contracture and not just a regular orthopedic surgeon who has done a few. The doctor who did mine was a skilled plastic surgeon at a major hospital prior to specializing in Dupytren's Contracture in private practice.

 

[Eric Rene Roy]

Nice to hear Bob!

I've not shown any signs of Dupuytren's, although 2 of my brothers do (there are 4 of us, Im the oldest at 46 and the youngest is 38). One shows it in his hands, and the other in his foot. I think my dad only had it in his hands.

Anyway, nice to hear from you!

 

[Fretless55]

Glad to see this thread was resurrected.
I’ve been aware of my right hand nodes and contracture for about a decade with slow but steady curling of my middle finger. My Dad had it as well (and he was an orthopedic surgeon, albeit a knee man). Lately I’ve noticed a node developing in the palm of my left hand...

I’m certainly interested in hearing from others as to recent treatments.
Just the other day I saw a TV ad with John Elway touting a new injection.

 

[Steve Freides]

There are now procedures for dealing with this that didn't exist a few years ago, and my wife had this, so I thought I'd post what I know.

She had an injection and then, 24 hours later, they basically forced the joint to be straighter. The injection, one assumes, softens whatever it is that needs to be longer. The treatment, as my wife described it, reminded me of how they used to treat what they call a Bible cyst. (Look that up if you're interested ...)

Interestingly, her hand doctor is one of the better known in our area, and one of my piano students also has this condition, and saw the same doctor, but apparently before the new procedure existed, so he elected not to have the surgery. When I told him my wife's story, he went back to the same doctor, had the new procedure done, and is enjoying the results. My wife is happy with the outcome as well.

Good to ask if you haven't investigated this in a few years and you have this condition.

-S-