
Muscular dystrophy is a group of diseases that cause progressive muscle weakness, resulting from defects in the gene responsible for muscle formation.
There are different types of muscular dystrophy, and they differ from each other in terms of their symptoms and the type of gene involved. Some of these types also progress and lead to the development of heart disorders.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) has some of the most severe outcomes and is associated with decreased lifespan. According to the appearance and progression of symptoms, this type of muscular dystrophy can be divided into 3 general stages, although some experts describe the stages of DMD in 4-5 stages.
It is important to know what care is needed during each stage, and parents will need to work with a team of doctors from different specialties for a treatment plan.
Stage 1: Early ambulatory stage
Symptoms of DMD usually appear between 2-5 years of age. The child lags in achieving their developmental milestones, which include walking, crawling, and talking, although they eventually catch up. In some cases, there may be a delay in reaching other developmental milestones such as speaking.
A child with DMD will have large calves and difficulty getting up from a sitting position, taking more time than other children of the same age. Climbing stairs also becomes a huge task for them. Between 6-9 years of age, the child may walk on their toes or have a wobbly, abnormal gait. They may seem awkward and clumsy and also get tired easily compared to their peers.
Stage 2: Late ambulatory stage
Signs of the late ambulatory stage appear during the late childhood or adolescence. As the disease progresses, muscle weakness and wasting (atrophy) start to affect the lower legs, forearms, neck, and trunk. Difficulty walking becomes more pronounced at this stage and is often accompanied by fatigue when walking long distances.
The affected child or adolescent will not be able to maintain the same pace when walking as their healthy peers. They will need physical therapy treatment to help them with walking and other routine physical activities.
Leg braces may be needed by the time the affected child turns 8-9 years old to assist them in walking. By about the age of 10-12 years, most affected children require a wheelchair. Curvature of the spine may increase (scoliosis) because of the weakening of muscles in the trunk. Children with DMD have weak bones and may develop fractures of the hip and spine easily after falls.
Most children with DMD manage to write or use a computer. However, many may display intellectual impairment and learning disabilities.
Stage 3: Nonambulatory stage
The nonambulatory stage is often seen during the teenage years, which worsens as the teen transitions to adulthood. In this stage, most affected teens experience difficulty using their hands and legs. They become dependent on power wheelchairs at all times.
Affected teenagers in their late teen years are also at high risk of developing complications, including weakness and deterioration of the heart muscle (cardiomyopathy). Cardiomyopathy decreases the ability of the heart to pump blood effectively to other organs of the body. It also causes a condition called arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeats. Muscle atrophy of the ribcage can lead to infections, such as pneumonia, as well as a life-threatening complication called respiratory failure.

SLIDESHOW
Childhood Diseases: Measles, Mumps, & More See SlideshowHealth Solutions From Our Sponsors
Acsadi G. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. National Organization for Rare Disorders. https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/duchenne-muscular-dystrophy/
Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy. What is Duchenne: Progression. https://www.parentprojectmd.org/about-duchenne/what-is-duchenne/progression/
Top What Are the Stages of Muscular Dystrophy? Related Articles
Baby's First Year: Milestones Month by Month
When do babies learn to crawl? Start teething? Learn about major milestones in your baby's first months. Get tips on how to help baby learn, grow, and develop into a healthy toddler.Baby's 1st Yr Slideshow
What developmental milestones can you expect to see during baby's first year? Find out when babies learn to smile, laugh, crawl, and talk.Healthy Aging: Causes of Muscle Weakness
From aging to illness, many things can cause your muscles to get weaker. Learn about the causes and what you can do to make it better.How Do You Identify Developmental Delays in Children?
According to the CDC, about one in six children in the United States has one or another kind of developmental delay or developmental disability. Possible signs of developmental delay include a baby not being able to hold their head up by 4 months of age, can't sit well by 10 months of age, doesn't move their arms or legs, having an unusual cry, doesn't want to stand up, and other signs.How Long Can you Live With Muscular Dystrophy?
What is muscular dystrophy? Learn the signs of muscular dystrophy, what causes it, how doctors diagnose it, and how to treat it.How Many Types of Muscular Dystrophy Are There?
Muscular dystrophy is a genetic disease that weakens and wastes away skeletal muscle. There are 30 different types of muscular dystrophy that fall into nine major categories. Learn what the symptoms of muscular dystrophy are, how you get muscular dystrophy, and what treatments there are for muscular dystrophy.What Is Muscular Dystrophy?
There are more than 30 types of muscular dystrophy that cause progressive muscle weakness, including Duchenne Becker (DMD), Becker (BMD), and more. Muscular dystrophy symptoms also include scoliosis (sideways curved spine), difficulty in walking or running, dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), muscle pain, breathing problems, and others.Parenting
Good parenting helps foster empathy, honesty, self-reliance, self-control, kindness, cooperation, and cheerfulness, says Steinberg, a distinguished professor of psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia. It also promotes intellectual curiosity, motivation, and desire to achieve. It helps protect children from developing anxiety, depression, eating disorders, antisocial behavior, and alcohol and drug abuse.What Is Scoliosis?
Scoliosis causes an abnormal curvature of the spine. When the cause of scoliosis is unknown the disorder is described based on the age when scoliosis develops (infantile, juvenile, or adolescent idiopathic scoliosis). In functional scoliosis, curvature develops due to a problem somewhere else in the body. With neuromuscular scoliosis, there is a problem when the bones of the spine are formed. Treatment typically involves observation, bracing, and surgery and is dependent upon the severity of the curvature.What Are the Symptoms of Myopathy?
The most common symptoms of myopathy are weakness and impaired daily functions or activities, as well as muscle pain and tenderness. General signs and symptoms of myopathy include symmetric proximal muscle weakness, fatigue and malaise, motor delay, bulbar muscle dystrophy (dysfunction of the swallowing and speech muscles), myoglobinuria (dark-colored urine) and/or fever, no paresthesia (sensory impairments), atrophy and hyporeflexia, consciousness at normal levels, and Gottron papules (dermatomyositis) over the knuckles, elbows, and knees.What Is the Best Treatment for Muscular Dystrophy?
Learn what medical treatments can help with your muscular dystrophy symptoms and speed up your recovery.What Is the Main Cause of Scoliosis?
Scoliosis is an abnormality of the spine in which the spine curves abnormally to the side (laterally). In almost 80% of cases, the cause of scoliosis is unknown. This type of scoliosis is known as idiopathic scoliosis and is most common in adolescent girls.At What Age Does Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Develop?
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or HCM is a medical condition that causes thickening of the heart muscles (the myocardium). It is a serious disorder that adversely affects the pumping of the heart and makes it prone to an abnormal rhythm. HCM is the most common cause of sudden cardiac death in individuals aged less than 30 years.