Ally McCoist reveals incurable hand condition
Getty Images Ally McCoist is holding a microphone and talking into it at a sport event. He is moving his hands in front of his face while he is talking.Getty Images
McCoist said he suffers from an incurable hand condition that stops him from straightening his fingers
Scottish football legend and TV pundit Ally McCoist has revealed he is living with an incurable hand condition.
The footballer, who played for Rangers and Scotland, announced on his radio show that he has been living with the condition for years – and both his parents had it.
The condition, which is called Dupuytren’s contracture, is a genetic disorder that causes a person’s fingers to bend towards their palm.
The 62-year-old former footballer said he previously had two operations to straighten his fingers but the issue has not been fixed.
‘Hereditary thing’
Speaking on Talk Sport Breakfast, McCoist described how the condition had affected him for a number of years.
He said: “I have got Dupuytren’s. It’s a hereditary thing where your fingers close in.”
The former Rangers striker said having the condition meant it could sometimes take him up to five minutes to send a text message on his phone as he had to use one finger.
The condition affects the skin and muscle in the palm of the hand, causing it to thicken and become less flexible.
Over time this can cause the fingers to bend towards the palm. The condition can be painful and there is no cure.
Treatment, such as surgery, can help straighten the fingers but it will not get rid of the condition.
McCoist said he had undergone two operations to attempt to straighten his fingers but the condition returned.
He said: “The bizarre thing with Dupuytren’s is when I went to see the doctor he said ‘I will operate on it but it will come back in roughly nine years’.
“And I swear to God, nine years later it came back.”
‘My dad had it’
The inherited condition is named after the French surgeon Baron Guillaume Dupuytren, and typically effects more men than woman, usually occurring later in life.
It can get worse over time and make daily activities like buttoning a shirt difficult.
McCoist said his father and mother also suffered from the condition.
When a doctor asked him if his grandfather had it, he told him: “I don’t know because I never met any of my grandfathers, sadly they passed before I was born.
“I said to him ‘But my dad had it’. He lifted his head up and said ‘You’re unlucky because it normally skips a generation’.
“I said ‘That’s good news because I have got five boys’.”
The condition has also been given the name “the Viking disease” as it is more common in those from northern Europe, or of northern European descent.
Other well known people who suffered with the condition include Margaret Thatcher and actor Bill Nighy.
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