Have you ever taken the time to sit down and appreciate just how much your hands can do? Not many of us do. After all, we use our hands to make coffee, type out emails, and hammer down nails—all without putting too much thought into how our hands can do these things. It is time we appreciate our hands a little more because as we get older, our hands will lose their dexterity, making us realize just how much we took our hands for granted.
That being said, our hands are at risk of many types of issues—trigger finger, carpal tunnel, syndrome, and the like. However, one of the most common diseases that occur as we age is Dupuytren’s disease. The disease causes the fingers to contract, stopping you from straightening them. If you or someone you know is dealing with this disease, here are the home remedies you can try to help deal with it:
Get a massage
A massage can be helpful after your hands have been through rigorous activity. You can either do this yourself, have a friend do it for you, or even have a professional massage therapist treat your hand. Regardless, a gentle massage can delay the progression of the contractures and reduce the risk of them occurring.
Do some exercise
Exercising does help with the contractures that the disease causes, and there are a few exercises you can try out. One of the best exercises is the finger spread. All you do is place your palm flat on the surface and try to stretch them wide, and also draw them back. Another thing you can do is palm raises, which involve placing your hand palm-side down and lift only your palm with the fingers still touching the flat surface.
Start eating healthy
You may think that what you eat does not really matter as it does not affect your hands, but you would be wrong. What you eat does affect your hands in more ways than one. For example, if you have diabetes, you are at higher risk of Dupuytren’s disease. As such, controlling the food you eat along with portion sizes can help your body fight diseases that can facilitate Dupuytren’s disease.
Reduce the pressure
The skin on your palm is where the disease starts, and if you constantly use the affected hand to do various things, it will only worsen. As such, you should do whatever it takes to reduce the pressure in the palm. This includes practicing a looser grip or even wearing gloves.
Conclusion
The above tips are great for people dealing with Dupuytren’s disease, but understand that they’re just home remedies. For a more thorough treatment, we always recommend going to a professional. The progression of the disease may be slow, but once it starts, you will want to make sure you get the right treatment started immediately. This way, you can reduce the severity of the disease and increase the likelihood of a full and successful treatment.
North Florida Hand & Wrist is a hand and wrist center offering highly-trained hand and wrist surgeons to give the best care to patients possible. Reach out to our hand specialist today and treat your Dupuytren’s disease.
