10 Muscular Dystrophy Symptoms

By dr. okoye

Reviewed: Dr. Gromatzky

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Muscular dystrophy is defined as a group of genetic diseases indicated by progressive weakness and loss of muscle mass. There are about 30 types of muscular dystrophy whose symptoms and severity vary from one condition to another. Each kind of muscular dystrophy is caused by a genetic mutation specific to that type of disease.

Although both men and women can develop muscular dystrophy, the most common type, called Duchenne, affects young boys primarily. The CDC reports that 1 in every 7250 males ages 5-24 has Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy (DBMD). This article focuses on the most common muscular dystrophy symptoms.

Symptom #1: Frequent Falls

Patients with muscular dystrophy experience weakness and loss of their muscles, as mentioned above. This is the reason why they fall frequently. For example, one in three patients with facioscapulohumeral disease (a third most common type of muscular dystrophy) fall at least once a month.

The problem becomes even more serious if you bear in mind that 7 out of 10 patients who fall also injure themselves. The frequency of falls correlates with severity of the condition. Patients with greater muscle loss tend to fall more often compared to those with lesser loss of muscle mass.