Hand therapy:
Hand therapy is commonly recommended after surgery for Dupuytren contracture, and is generally believed to help speed recovery and improve long term outcome 10050252, particularly after PIP release 10050247. The role of hand therapy prior to other treatment for Dupuytren contracture remains to be established.
Hand splints or braces are also commonly recommended after Dupuytren contracture is treated with a procedure, but the exact benefit of post-treatment splinting is controversial. Proper splint construction and supervision of use requires special training and experience, best provided by a hand therapy specialist. Different mechanical versions of splints include static splints (most common), static progressive splints 9399181, tension-free splinting after surgery 12449347 , dynamic extension splinting 10900632, and passive motion splinting 1564284. There is ongoing work toward the goal of reversing contractures with splinting alone, but favorable results have required long term splinting nearly 24/7, which so far has limited its usefulness.