A thickening of the connective tissue in the hand. I have this in my left hand, pinky finger. Right now it is just a thickening, no loss of mobility.
The doctor says heavy lifting in general is a factor, because genetically East Indians do not get this. A study in the UK showed a very significant number of rock climbers develop this as well.
Anyone else have it?
I’m only 34.
My father has this, as well, and it’s no fun. He will be 50 this year, but has had it for probably 15 years now. His started in the same place as yours, but he also got it across the palm, and small lumps of it near the ball of the thumb.
Take it seriously. His came from freezing his hands a lot, and abusing them on things like rachets and wrenches. It’s caused largely by impact to the hand, but pressure is also problematic. Hopefully you don’t get the overgrowths on the knuckles as well, but I’m not sure if that is a separate issue.
As for lifting, I haven’t given it up, though I have already had the first little lump appear on my own hand (hooray genetics) Start wearing gloves for any lifting that involves the weight sitting on your hand (bench, for example) If you can stand to have them on for all exercises, that would be even better, but I can’t manage DL with them on.
Choose a glove that has some sort of gel inserts to protect your hand (mechanics gloves often have this) and wear them any time you will be lifting/doing manual labour. Don’t fuck around, or your hand will end up curled into a fist permanently (which happened to my grandfather, the mechanic)
A sidenote on surgery: it can be done to remove the build-up, but typically removal of the tissue pads in your hand must happen at the same time, leaving you with no padding over your tendons. Also, if it isn’t completely removed, you may have it grow back bigger as a result of the trauma during the operation. Talk to your doctor about getting some sort of anti-inflammatory for post-surgery, as that may help keep it from coming back.
A sidenote on heredity: Yeah, it’s a little odd that you ended up with it…Typically it travels along specific bloodlines. You’re most likely to get it if:
a)your father/grandfather has it
b)you’re of scottish/irish descent
c)you genetically have large, broad hands
Sex doesn’t seem to matter, as both my aunt and my older sister have shown signs of it.
Be careful, and as gentle as you can with your hands. Best of luck.
Thanks for the info. I always thought gloves were for pussy’s, Now I’ll be wearing em. I guess 19 years of lifting has finally caught up to me.
Doctor said to use straps and gloves as much as possible. As far as I know, there is no way to reverse this without really doing more harm.
I don’t think I would personally agree with the need for straps, but your doctor undoubtedly has a more educated opinion than I do. It would also depend on where exactly you’re getting the build-up.
I understand how you feel about gloves. I don’t like them either, and I used to frown on them the same way. Now I get weird looks in the gym because I wear them and don’t have visibly messed up hands…yet.
Minimize the damage, but remember that you can’t stop living and doing what you love–hence why I ignored my doctor telling me I should probably just stop lifting heavy weights.
Again, best of luck.
My dad had this. His doctor told him that he had to have a pretty intesive surgury, and he would have to walk around with his hand stuck in the air in a salute position for like 4-8 weeks. Scared the heck out of him.
Anyhow, he began to research the issue, and he eventually found an alternative to surgury - it is an outpatient proceedure that is very new to the US. He did it around 6 months ago and was very happy with the results. I think the doctor’s office was in Oregon.
If anyone here is interested, I’ll see if I can gather some details. Just PM me or ask on the thread. If you have it you will eventually need to fix the problem, it is just a matter of when.
Yo how bad do you guys think this really is? I’m pretty sure this is what I have gotten from pulling. My bump is on my palm below my ring and pinky fingers. It is a littler sore after deadlift days but it doesn’t concern me yet…
That is exactly where my bump started. This is a very early stage, but when you are younger, it can often be more aggressive.
Google it up and read as much as you can.
There is a new experimental procedure that looks very promising.
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21122811-5003426,00.html