Symptoms of Muscular Dystrophy

List of symptoms of Muscular Dystrophy:

The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Muscular Dystrophy includes the 10 symptoms listed below:

• Gait problems
• Waddling gait
• Falls
• Difficulty standing up
• Difficulting climbing stairs
• Difficulty descending stairs
• Lordosis
• Firm-looking muscles
• Enlarged muscles
• Enlarged calf muscles

Note that Muscular Dystrophy symptoms usually refers to various symptoms known to a patient, but the phrase Muscular Dystrophy signs may refer to those signs only noticable by a doctor.

More ways to research these symptoms: To research other symptoms use the symptom center, or to research causes of more than one symptom in combination, try our multi-symptom search.

Research More About Muscular Dystrophy

Do I have Muscular Dystrophy?

• Muscular Dystrophy: Introduction
• Muscular Dystrophy: Diagnostic Testing to confirm diagnosis
• How serious is it?
• Treatments for Muscular Dystrophy
• More about Muscular Dystrophy

More about symptoms of Muscular Dystrophy:

More information about symptoms of Muscular Dystrophy and related conditions:

• Tests to determine if these are the symptoms of Muscular Dystrophy
• Symptoms that may be caused by complications of Muscular Dystrophy
• Risk factors for Muscular Dystrophy

Other Possible Causes of these Symptoms

Click on any of the symptoms below to see a full list of other causes including diseases, medical conditions, toxins, drug interactions, or drug side effect causes of that symptom.

• Difficulting climbing stairs - see all causes of Walking symptoms
• Difficulty descending stairs - see all causes of Walking symptoms
• Difficulty standing up - see all causes of Standing symptoms
• Enlarged calf muscles - see all causes of Muscle symptoms
• Enlarged muscles - see all causes of Muscle symptoms
• Falls - see all causes of Falls
• Firm-looking muscles - see all causes of Muscle symptoms
• Gait problems - see all causes of Walking symptoms
• Lordosis - see all causes of Lordosis
• Waddling gait - see all causes of Waddling gait

Medical Books Online about Muscular Dystrophy

Medical Books Excerpts Excerpts of published medical book chapters related to Muscular Dystrophy are available from published medical books for more detailed information about Muscular Dystrophy.

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

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Symptoms of Muscular Dystrophy: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the symptoms of Muscular Dystrophy.

Muscular dystrophy: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Although all four types of muscular dystrophy cause progressive muscular deterioration, the degree of severity and age of onset vary.

Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy begins insidiously, between ages 3 and 5. Initially, it affects leg and pelvic muscles but eventually spreads to the involuntary muscles. Muscle weakness produces a waddling gait, toe walking, and lordosis. Children with this disorder have difficulty climbing stairs, fall down often, can’t run properly, and their scapulae flare out (or “wing”) when they raise their arms. Calf muscles especially become enlarged and firm. Muscle deterioration progresses rapidly, and contractures develop. Some have abrupt intermittent oscillations of the irises in response to light (Gower’s sign). Usually, these children are confined to wheelchairs by ages 9 to 12. Late in the disease, progressive weakening of cardiac muscle causes tachycardia, electrocardiogram abnormalities, and pulmonary complications. Death commonly results from sudden heart failure, respiratory failure, or infection.

Signs and symptoms of Becker’s muscular dystrophy resemble those of Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy, but they progress more slowly. Although symptoms start around age 5, the patient can still walk well beyond age 15 — sometimes into his 40s.

Facioscapulohumeral dystrophy is a slowly progressive and relatively benign form of muscular dystrophy that commonly occurs before age 10 but may develop during early adolescence. Initially, it weakens the muscles of the face, shoulders, and upper arms but eventually spreads to all voluntary muscles, producing a pendulous lower lip and absence of the nasolabial fold. Early symptoms include the inability to pucker the mouth or whistle, abnormal facial movements, and the absence of facial movements when laughing or crying. Other signs consist of diffuse facial flattening that leads to a masklike expression, winging of the scapulae, the inability to raise the arms above the head and, in infants, the inability to suckle.

Limb-girdle dystrophy follows a similarly slow course and commonly causes only slight disability. Usually, it begins between ages 6 and 10; less commonly, in early adulthood. Muscle weakness first appears in the upper arm and pelvic muscles. Other symptoms include winging of the scapulae, lordosis with abdominal protrusion, waddling gait, poor balance, and the inability to raise the arms.

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Muscular Dystrophy as a Cause of Symptoms or Medical Conditions

When considering symptoms of Muscular Dystrophy, it is also important to consider Muscular Dystrophy as a possible cause of other medical conditions. The Disease Database lists the following medical conditions that Muscular Dystrophy may cause:

• Facies abnormality - Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy
• Muscle weakness - Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy
• Muscular hypertrophy - Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy

Medical articles and books on symptoms:

These general reference articles may be of interest in relation to medical signs and symptoms of disease in general:

• Diagnostic Testing for a Diagnosis of Muscular Dystrophy
• How serious is Muscular Dystrophy?
• More about Muscular Dystrophy
• Online Diagnosis
• Self Diagnosis Pitfalls
• Pitfalls of Online Diagnosis
• Symptoms of the Silent Killer Diseases
• Lesser known silent killer diseases
• Books on signs and symptoms

Full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis

About signs and symptoms of Muscular Dystrophy:

The symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible signs and symptoms of Muscular Dystrophy. This signs and symptoms information for Muscular Dystrophy has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of Muscular Dystrophy signs or Muscular Dystrophy symptoms. Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Muscular Dystrophy may vary on an individual basis for each patient. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they are indeed Muscular Dystrophy symptoms.