Weird Bump in Palm

I just ignore it and climb.
Maybe not quite as advanced as yours.

Matt Webster wrote: Sadly, looks like I've got early stage of Dupuytren's myself. The left hand started almost a year ago and is still just a nodule. The right started about 2 years ago and it now showing signs of turning into the rope. It's self-diagnosed at the moment, but the fact I've had it this long, that it's the ring finger on both hands, and that I'm of mostly Northern European ancestry makes me feel like it's Dupuytren's.

At the moment, the bumps are more tender than they are painful. I don't feel like my climbing is impeded much if at all. Given the length of time it takes for this disease to progress and that there are some new treatments, I'm not planning on doing anything about it medically until I'm forced too. Worst case with surgery would be damage to the tendon which could either temporarily or permanently put an end to my climbing.

In the meantime, I'm interested in knowing what strategies people have for managing Duputren's. I try to stretch each finger tendon out and manipulate the fascia in my palm every time before I climb. I try to avoid cranking on pockets as I feel like those are pretty risky. Some open hand crimps and slopers feel like they are stretching the fascia uncomfortably too. I'm a little nervous about hang boarding too...I do a little 3-4 finger 1/2 crimping but only once or twice a week.

Am I overthinking this? Being overly cautious? Would love to hear from other climbers with the problem.

I've had a nodule in my right hand for close to ten years. A nodule in my left hand just developed last year. They aren't painful - but occasionally "tender" as you describe - and not after climbing... only after activities that put pressure on them (mountain biking, yard work with hand tools, etc). Neither have gotten much larger since they initially developed and neither have caused even a slight contracture to occur.

I've seen two different hand surgeons over the years and both have said to ignore it and not worry about it until it actually causes contracture that interferes with activity. At that point you can consider treatments.

I do two things to manage it: Switched to padded gloves for longer MTB rides, and gently stretch - more to be aware of any contracture if it begins than to actually stretch. It's annoying and always there creating worry, but thus far it hasn't impacted my climbing or daily life much if at all so it's basically a "keep an eye on it and try not to worry too much" sorta thing.

I've had this on and off for a few years, both hands, middle finger, like Allen Sanderson. Can't give you any medical terms, but will tell you what helps me. ( 65 yr old, climb 3x a week )  Warm up slow and tape below the first knuckle before really stressing it on smallish holds. Since I started taping, bump has gone away. If I don't tape, it comes back. Even over-gripping a splitting maul or pole saw will cause it to return. I swear by this method. Good luck

I've had tendon bumps on my palms for at least ten years now (I'm over 50).  If anything they have reduced in size over that time.  They used to be more painful.  They have not become more contracted in that time.  Hopefully yours will follow this sort of progression.

Just noticed this thread. Coincidentally, I just had surgery a week ago to have a Dupuytren's contracture removed (base of right pinky).

So here's my experience in case it's helpful to anybody.

I first noticed the bump around mid 2015, at age 31. I assumed it was an injury of some sort -- climbing related presumably -- but it didn't hurt so I didn't do anything about it.

Eventually, it got worse, to the point where my pinky couldn't come remotely close to straightening. And various things made it hurt, including climbing.

So, consultation, MRI, followup consultation, etc. Surgery was last week. The days after surgery were painful, but nothing too bad at all. Was fine with just some ibuprofen; didn't touch the Vicodin they gave me. The occupational therapy exercises I've been given to restore mobility/strength are literally just the tendon glides that climbers often do already. Same exact thing. Only difference is that what used to feel like a gentle stretch now feels like a hot tearing sensation in that pinky.   

The stitches come out next week. I can already do a lot of normal day-to-day stuff. (I'm typing this with both hands -- pinky in question hitting the P key, etc.) And I've been told that I should be able to start biking pretty soon after that (i.e., 2 weeks post-op), with mountain biking maybe another week or so later (so ~3 weeks post-op). As far as climbing, neither the Doc nor Occupational Therapist seems very sure. But they're both saying it's a "whenever you feel ready" sort of thing, after the first few weeks (i.e., I won't damage anything by trying, but the pain may be such that I won't want to do it until several weeks of OT exercises). We'll see.

Possibly relevant point: my case was fairly severe (because I waited ~4 years, not realizing it was very gradually getting worse). So I think (?) recovery is normally supposed to be somewhat faster.

Update Aug 11, 2019:
Stitches came out on schedule.

Tried short bike ride (1.5 miles, paved) 2 weeks post-op. Was possible but still pretty painful. The vibrations in my hand hurt quite a bit.

The wound finally closed up around 3 weeks post-op. Going to try biking again tomorrow. Think I might also be OK to belay at this point, with belay glove on that hand, but haven't tried yet.

Update Aug 19, 2019:
Have full mobility and full usage for day-to-day activities. It's still quite sensitive, but no pain at all.

Still have to do tendon glides (just once per day, and they no longer hurt at all) to maintain mobility. Doing lots of desensitization exercises everyday. That's supposed to take 6-8 weeks total before it's back to normal.

Biking is no big deal anymore, including mountain biking -- not painful at all.

Belaying with a belay glove is fine.

OT recommended waiting until 6 weeks post-op to try climbing. She said it would be unlikely to do any damage, but inflamation/swellling would be likely. So I'm planning to patiently wait another 1.5 weeks.

I've also been given some "theraputty" exercises for restrengthening. I had figured I'd have slight atrophy from not having used the pinky really for the last month or so. Holy moly it's way more atrophy than I'd realized. That pinky can hardly apply any force at all. Probably because I wasn't actually using it for the last few years -- that hadn't occurred to me at all. Anyway, it's getting stronger.

Update Aug 29, 2019:
I've tried climbing twice in the last week. Both times took it super easy (both in terms of quantity and difficulty), because I wasn't sure how things would feel. The finger seemed a little more irritated/swollen the next day, but no big deal at all really.

Yesterday I had the final followup with the hand specialist who did the surgery. I'm completely OK'd for any activity. She said no need to baby this finger at this point. Everything is fully healed, and I'm no more likely to injure that finger than any other finger.

So basically the only issue remaining at this point is simply that I've lost some strength after almost 3 months with no climbing (1.5 pre-surgery, because the contracture was so bad, and 1.5 post surgery for recovery). But that will come back surely. :)

Update Dec 2019 (final update, probably):
Have been climbing harder than ever for the last few months. The ongoing joke is that now I have a "bonus finger" -- being able to use all 10 fingers after only having use of 9 for the last few years.

Mike P wrote: I just had surgery a week ago to have a Dupuytren's contracture removed (base of right pinky).

Wow. That sounds really tough, Mike. Sorry to hear that.

I'm a little surprised they recommended the surgery route. From the online research I've been doing, it looks as if there are less invasive alternatives (needles, injections). I'm curious if those weren't an option or wouldn't have had equivalent results.

The silver lining, I guess, is that it's the pinky. The kids at my gym 3-finger open drag everything...you'll be following the trend.

Anyway, please keep us posted on any developments.

For me, the good news is I haven't seen any worsening over the past month. The worst thing is I've been dealing with abrasions and cuts on my bumps...can't really tape the palm!

Matt Webster wrote:

Wow. That sounds really tough, Mike. Sorry to hear that.

I'm a little surprised they recommended the surgery route. From the online research I've been doing, it looks as if there are less invasive alternatives (needles, injections). I'm curious if those weren't an option or wouldn't have had equivalent results.

We did discuss those options. The doctor's recommendation was surgery because of how advanced it had gotten -- though I don't remember if the idea was that surgery was more likely to be effective, or if surgery made it less likely to come back, or something else.

I trusted (and still do trust) that she was not recommending surgery simply because it's most expensive/profitable. (I had seen her in the past about a wrist injury, and she had counseled simply waiting and wearing a brace, as there was a good chance that it would improve without treatment. I saw her again after several weeks since it hadn't improved, and she again counseled just waiting. Eventually, it did in fact improve. I would have happily paid for some sort of treatment, and she was explicitly recommending that I do nothing.)

I'll update my prior post with how things are going.

Mike P, Nice to have a doc you can trust! Could you tell us a couple things? Did the doc say what the success rate is for this type of surgery (I didn't realize Dupuytren's could be treated, even)? Also did she say what the chances are that this would return in the same area?

I’ve had Dupuytren's for probably 25 years. Hasn’t been an issue climbing at all - rock or ice. I’ve done nothing to manage as I forget I even have it. I’m almost 60 for age reference.

dragons wrote: Mike P, Nice to have a doc you can trust! Could you tell us a couple things? Did the doc say what the success rate is for this type of surgery (I didn't realize Dupuytren's could be treated, even)? Also did she say what the chances are that this would return in the same area?

I don't have figures for either question.

I was told that the surgery was very likely to be successful, and if it wasn't successful, it was almost certain that it would be at least partially successful. (That is, even if it didn't fully restore mobility, it should at least improve it.) As it happens, in my sample size of 1, it has fully restored mobility.

As far as chances of recurrence, I've been told by the doctor and the OT that because it came on pretty early for me (age 31, whereas it's much more common at age 50+) that means it's more likely that it will come back at some point. But still not certain, and even if it does come back it may not be for many years. Again though, sorry I have no actual figures.

Just updated the prior post with a recent/probably final update. Hopefully my experience will be helpful/informative for somebody else considering the surgery.

Cheers and good luck.

Hi Fellow Climbers!

Here is a YouTube video that was super helpful to me in addressing a similar nodule I had in the palm of my hand. The techniques described had an almost immediate impact for me and I hope they do for you as well if you run into this issue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyRt6pKZE-Q&t=48s

Have a good day everyone!

Matthew Chiappetta wrote: Hi Fellow Climbers!

Here is a YouTube video that was super helpful to me in addressing a similar nodule I had in the palm of my hand. The techniques described had an almost immediate impact for me and I hope they do for you as well if you run into this issue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyRt6pKZE-Q&t=48s

Have a good day everyone!

Interesting. He does later say in the comments that this is different from Dupytren's Contracture and that this obviously isn't a cure for that. But stretching and whatnot certainly can't hurt.

Hey Matt,

I have the same bump on my letf hand in the same spot. I slapped a slopper pretty hard about six months ago and it hasn't gone away. Have you figured out anything to get rid of it? Mine isn't really geting worse, but definitely not getting better. 

I'm aware that a lot of us live in a nation with a third-world healthcare system so we can't all go to a doctor. But if going to a doctor is at all an option, go to a damn doctor. The medical advice you're going to get here ranks in validity somewhere between faith healing and chiropracty.

Michelle Kinny wrote:

Hey Matt,

I have the same bump on my letf hand in the same spot. I slapped a slopper pretty hard about six months ago and it hasn't gone away. Have you figured out anything to get rid of it? Mine isn't really geting worse, but definitely not getting better. 

Hi Michelle,

I haven't had any meaningful changes with my hands...a bad or a good thing depending on how you look at it. I'm pretty much resigned to living with it for now and hoping that there will be better and better treatment options over time.

The good news is that I pretty much climb normally--I hangboard once or twice a week too--always making sure to warm up my fingers a bit beforehand.

The worst is feeling like there's a pea under my palm every time I'm try to hold a sloper...not the best sensation.

Good luck and good health!

FOLLOW UP:

I still have these bumps/scar tissue/whatever it is in BOTH hands. I've seen three hand doctors since making this thread and each one told me something different, ranging from "I don't know" to "It's Dupuytren's Contracture." 

On a possibly related note, I recently ruptured my ring finger's A2 pulley. Ugh. Just got MRI results and looks like it will require surgery. MRI of hand didn't show anything related to the "bumps" in my palm. So still no clue what it is lol.

FourT6and2 ... wrote: Anybody ever get something like this? I was climbing at the gym earlier in the week (bouldering). And strained my bicep a bit. But kept climbing as it wasn't super bad. At the end of the night I noticed a marble-sized bump in my palm. I hadn't noticed it while climbing really. I thought maybe it was a bruise/swelling from hitting my palm on a hold while doing a dyno or something? But it's been about 5 days and no bruise. Still just a bump. It's hard to describe. But it's almost like a tendon or ligament is inflamed, but in a really specific spot. There's no swelling really. It feel like a mass. But it's either attached to or part of a tendon/ligament. If I press on it, it doesn't really hurt. But if I try to do a pull up, for example, then it hurts because it feels like a marble getting pressed into my palm. I scheduled a consultation with an orthopedist. But curious if anybody else has come across this? It appeared, literally, instantly. Not something that came on slowly. And it hasn't changed at all since.

Me too get the same issue. Mine bump was due to pressing hard substance while working.

I am curious that what is happening to your bump?