If you are experiencing tightness, knotted tissue, poor mobility and pain in the palms of one or both hands, you may be suffering from a condition know as Dupuytren’s contracture.
Dupuytren’s contracture is a condition where the connective tissue under the skin of the palms becomes contracted, thickened and shortens over time.
This condition is inherited and tends to be more common in people of Scandinavian or Northern European descent, and more often in older people and in men . While there is no known cause, research has suggested correlations with other medical issues such as alcoholism, smoking, diabetes, seizure medications, and interestingly, hypothyroidism.
Symptoms of Dupuytren’s contracture include:
- inability to extend the hand flat on a table
- one or more small sore nodules on the skin of the palms
- nodules of hardened tissue that is most often seen to connect with the ring finger or middle finger
- the nodules tighten and thicken into bands and cause the fingers to fold forward
- difficulty using the affected hand
What are conventional treatments for Dupuytren’s contracture?
Surgery or steroid injections are the main forms of conventional treatment. Surgery I feel should be used a last resort. More conservative treatments can be tried first. Surgery in this case involves opening up the skin over the cords and removing fibrous tissue. Surgery is not curative and the condition may return at a later time. Steroid injections come with side-effects. Steroids are hormones that alter the delicate overall hormonal balance of the body.
Left untreated, this condition can cause inability to use the hands for certain tasks. Gripping objects and straightening the fingers becomes harder.
Thankfully, there are alternative treatments.
How does acupuncture treat Dupuytren’s?
A newer conventional form of treatment is needling into the cords to break the cord that is contracting the finger. This form on treatment is described on the Mayo clinic website. The main advantage of this treatment is that there are no large incisions to heal as with surgical treatment. It can be performed in an office on an out-patient basis.
However, conventionally-used needles are still large enough to carry risk of tendon and nerve injury. The advantage of having this done by an acupuncturist is that an acupuncturist’s needles are much smaller so there is no risk of injuring tendons or nerves in the hands and there is no need for any recovery time.
Acupuncture is applied along the cords. Healthy terrain is restored using electrical stimulation whereby electrical stimulator wires are attached to the base of the acupuncture needle. You will feel either nothing at all, or a mild tapping or pulsing sensation. The amount of voltage is always carefully done to your comfort level. As healing electricity flows through the wires it moves into the tissues to support faster healing than simple acupuncture alone.
From an acupuncture point of view, Dupuytren’s contracture is a tendon issue. The tendons are governed by the liver system. This would also explain why Dupuytren’s is correlated with other conditions where the liver is compromised such as alcoholism, and seizure disorders.
Dupuytren’s is found mainly along the Pericardium and Heart channels
of the hand. Treating these unbalanced channels is essential to treatment. When disease forms along a channel it signifies that healthy terrain has been lost.
Will acupuncture reverse the contractures and nodules?
If treatment is started in its early stages complete resolution is possible and does happen in a shorter period of time than if treatment is delayed. If treatment is started in later stages, Dupuytren’s may be stabilized and more treatments will be required.
Is there anything else I can do to heal the hands?
A great self-care tool you can use is guasha on the palms, over the contractures and nodules. You will need a guasha tool and these can be found on Amazon and sometimes in your local Chinese herb shop.
- Apply a small amount of massage oil of any variety on to the palm .
- With the guasha tool, use forceful strokes over the nodules and contractures to loosen up the tissues.
- Stop when it becomes too uncomfortable.
- Repeat this process daily.
Other self-care advice:
Soak hands in hot water or apply hot compress for 15-20 minutes daily.
Massage and stretching of the hand and fingers will also help soften the tissues.
Yours in health,
Cynthia McGilvray, R.Ac.
Systemic Lupus Erythmatosus (SLE) is an auto-immune disorder in which the immune system attacks its’ own tissues leading to chronic inflammation. Several or
gan systems may be affected such as kidneys, heart, skin, blood cells, joints, brain and skin. Western medicine explains the cause of lupus as essentially unknown but beyond that is believed to be a combination of genetics and environment where some people have a genetic predisposition to developing lupus and then various environmental factors such as sunlight, medications (anti-biotics, anti-seizure meds, blood pressure medications) can be the triggers that set off the lupus symptoms. Commonly used Western drugs such as NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), corticosteroids, anti-malarial drugs and immuno-suppressants are used to manage symptoms. Although these drugs may be able to control flare-ups to some extent, there are often side-effects with long-term use.
, constipation, excess thirst, a feeling of heat in the body or fever, and dark-coloured urine that may be scanty. The tongue is often red with a yellow coat, and the pulse is often rapid, and full. Heat symptoms tend to show up in the upper part of the body such as the face because heat rises. Lupus also shows up more often in younger people between the ages of 15 – 40 because young people are relatively more Yang than older people.
ive increase in Heat caused by a lack of Yin which shows up as low-grade fever and night sweats. Yin involves all the body fluids including blood and sinovial fluids. A Yin deficient tongue may be peeled (geographic, or cracked) and the pulse may be superficial, thin and fast. Since women are considered more Yin, and require a greater amount of blood and body fluids for healthy body functions (think of how women’s bodies must replace menstrual blood lost each month) , this helps explain why SLE tends to affect women more than men.
“opens” to the eyes) causing a lack of moistening fluids (Liver Blood) to the eyes resulting in light sensitivity and dry eyes. Hair loss is also indicated because in TCM hair is considered a surplus of Liver Blood. Discoid (small round) rashes are another symptom of Blood Deficiency as it is the function of Blood to moisten the skin so the lack of Blood causes red flaky rashes.
The goals of acupuncture treatment with Lupus will depend on how the individual presents. In general, points will be used to clear the Heat/Fire and strengthen Yin and Blood of the affected channels and organ systems. This is achieved by selecting the correct acupuncture points that will do those jobs. Each acupuncture point has its own functions and indications so the treatment will be tailored to the patient’s unique presentation. The treatment for Lupus tends to be longer than other conditions because Yin Deficiency takes a long time to develop and so a longer time to remove. With persistent treatment as well as the guidance I offer in self-care including diet there should be a lessening of flare-ups as well as better energy and quality of life.
reduce pain, strengthen immunity and get relief using natural therapies. A word of caution: if you are experiencing the shingles rash, pain or unusual symptoms in your face, eyes or ears, this symptom that can have serious consequences such as damage to the eyes or ears leading to loss of vision or hearing. Please visit your doctor immediately.
spine waiting for another opportunity. When the immune system is down, the virus may then reactivate, this time as shingles. Since the virus lives at the nerve root in the spine, it tends to affect one or multiple dermatomes or areas that the affected spinal nerve controls. Prior to the outbreak, the immune system could have been weakened by chemotherapy, radiation, HIV, fatigue, organ or bone marrow transplant, physical or psychological trauma or a very stressful life event. Shingles also tends to affect those over the age of 50 more than younger people.
for months, sometimes years. Getting started with acupuncture soon after the pain starts will cut down the amount of time the pain goes on for. Some patients have been told to try various rash ointments that are intended for another purpose such as eczema or psoriasis, but with little success because the pain is not about the skin. It is caused by the infection at the nerve. An excellent remedy for this type of nerve pain is St. John’s Wart oil rubbed onto the affected area.
Cynthia's Classical Acupuncture and Wellness 