Complications Linked To Muscular Dystrophy

Trouble Walking

Muscular dystrophy can cause trouble walking, though the amount of leg involvement varies depending on the type. Some patients might progress to the full use of a wheelchair, while others may only need mobility devices like braces. The condition can also cause difficulty standing up. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is the most commonly recognized subtype, and it tends to show symptoms in childhood. Patients with this form usually have such progressive muscle weakness they need to use a wheelchair before they reach their teens. 

Because of how rapidly the disease progresses and how it impairs the heart and lungs, children with this disease don't usually live past their twenties. Becker muscular dystrophy has similar symptoms to Duchenne, but it also occurs between eleven and twenty-five years old, and the severity is less pronounced. Patients with Becker muscular dystrophy might walk on their toes, fall frequently, experience muscle cramps and spasms, and struggle to get up from the floor.