There are multiple types of muscular dystrophy. Some cause more problems than others, including trouble walking, sitting upright, breathing easily, and controlling arm and hand movements. Nemours’ experts in neuromuscular disorders (problems with the nerves and muscles) provide compassionate, family-friendly care for kids with all types of muscular dystrophy:
- Becker muscular dystrophy — begins during the teen years with muscle weakness in the pelvis, then moves into the shoulders and back
- congenital muscular dystrophy — muscle weakness that’s often diagnosed at or near birth
- distal muscular dystrophy — includes atrophy or reduced size and weakness in the muscles in the forearm and lower part of the legs
- Duchenne muscular dystrophy — the most common and severe form, when the muscles break down and a child becomes weaker, usually starting in the pelvic muscles around age 5
- Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy — atrophy in the shoulders, upper arms and calves, as well as stiff joints in the elbows, neck and heels
- facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy — symptoms first affect the muscles of the face, shoulders and back
- limb-girdle muscular dystrophy — mainly affects the pelvic, shoulder and back muscles
- myotonic dystrophy (also known as “Steinert's disease”) — the most common adult form of MD, although half are diagnosed in kids and teens, with muscles that keep contracting (tightening)
- ocular (or oculopharyngeal) muscular dystrophy — affects the muscles of the upper eyelids and the throat, most often noticed after age 40 (but can be found in kids too)
We also diagnose and treat kids with all kinds of neuromuscular disorders.