I'm 73, and first noticed a thickening in the palm of my left hand. Much to my surprise, when massaging the spot hard, it changed in form over several months. I didn't know it was the start of Dupuytren's contractures. In November of 2012, I noticed “clicking” in my fingers, and actually heard it, especially in the middle finger of my left hand and second finger of my right hand. This changed after several days, and I ended up having trouble bending those fingers. It was worse in the morning and I 'd try to remember to go to sleep with my hands open to avoid that. With a hot morning bath, I could limber up the fingers and not notice it during the day. Now I have some pain, especially in the right finger, and I no longer can straighten it out because I have too much pain in my knuckle. It has a slight, permanently bent look. Sometimes when my left hand finger gets folded, I can't open it, and then I can. I can see the possibility of this happening as it progresses. A nurse friend has the same condition and she gave me the name for it, as I knew it was different than my aunt's severe arthritis with deformed feet and hands. My dad has this condition in one finger and never knew what it was--that generation didn't talk much about those kinds of things.