What makes Dupuytren's contracture worse, and do exercises help?

In short

Dupuytren's contracture is linked to heredity, ancestry, age, diabetes, seizure disorders and alcohol use rather than to hand use, and there is no good evidence that overusing the hand causes it. Forceful stretching of a contracted finger does not help and can injure the hand, so the thing to track is whether the finger still straightens.

Written for patients by The Hand and Wrist Institute. Prepared for review by John T. Knight, MD. Last updated September 5, 2026How we write and review

Call (817) 382-6789 to have this looked at, or book online with Dr. Knight.

What Dupuytren's disease actually is, so the rest makes sense

Dupuytren's happens in the sheet of tough tissue under the skin of the palm, or what we call the palmar fascia, that anchors the skin of the palm and lies over the tendons and nerves.¹ That sheet thickens into lumps, the lumps thicken into cords, and a cord pulls a finger toward the palm. The tendons themselves are not part of it,¹ which is the first thing worth knowing before anyone starts stretching anything.

The distinction people get wrong: this is not an overuse injury

Almost every other hand problem people search for is about use. Trigger finger, tennis elbow, de Quervain's tenosynovitis and carpal tunnel syndrome all have a repetitive-use conversation attached to them. Dupuytren's does not.

The cause is not completely known, and most of the evidence points toward genetics as the most important factor. There is no convincing evidence that it is caused by overuse of the hand.¹

That matters practically. Changing your grip, buying a different tool, or resting the hand will not change the course of the disease the way it can change a tendon problem, and blaming your job for it sends you looking in the wrong place.

What is actually associated with getting it, or with it worsening

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons lists the factors believed to contribute to Dupuytren's developing or worsening:¹

Factor	What is said about it
Heredity	Dupuytren's often runs in families
Ancestry	More common in people of northern European and Scandinavian ancestry
Sex	More common in biologic men than in biologic women
Age	Incidence increases with age
Diabetes and seizure disorders	Both are associated with a higher likelihood of Dupuytren's
Alcohol use	Drinking alcohol may be associated with the condition
Trauma to the hand, including surgery	May appear or worsen afterward, though the reports of injury causing it are anecdotal

One more thing about worsening, and it is the one that decides timing rather than blame: as a contracture gets worse, the fascia is more involved, and treatment becomes less likely to give a complete correction.¹ The cost of waiting is not pain. It is how much straightness you get back.

Do exercises or stretching help?

No, and the honest version of this answer has a warning in it. Forceful stretching of a contracted finger is not helpful and could injure the finger or hand.¹ Splinting, which is the other thing people ask about, is not known to prevent a contracture from progressing.¹ Splints do have a role after surgery, to protect the site while it heals.

There is a place where movement genuinely matters, and it is after an operation rather than instead of one. Dr. Knight puts the emphasis on getting the hand bending straight away once the wound has been checked, so the grip you already have is not lost while the finger is being held out straight.²

So what should you do instead of stretching? Watch the measurement. Put the hand flat on a table once a month. If a finger that used to reach the table no longer does, that is the change worth an appointment, whether or not anything hurts.

When to call us

• A finger that no longer lies flat when your hand is on a table.
• A finger that reached the table three months ago and does not now.
• Any loss of straightening at the middle joint of a finger, however small.
• A cord in the palm that is reaching further into the finger than it used to.
• A hand you have been stretching that is now painful or swollen.