Symptoms of Becker Muscular Dystrophy

List of symptoms of Becker Muscular Dystrophy:

The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Becker Muscular Dystrophy includes the 5 symptoms listed below:

• Muscle weakness
• Gait problems
• Lumbar lordosis
• Arrhythmias
• Eye problems

Note that Becker Muscular Dystrophy symptoms usually refers to various symptoms known to a patient, but the phrase Becker 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 Becker Muscular Dystrophy

Do I have Becker Muscular Dystrophy?

• Becker Muscular Dystrophy: Introduction
• Treatments for Becker Muscular Dystrophy
• More about Becker Muscular Dystrophy

More about symptoms of Becker Muscular Dystrophy:

More information about symptoms of Becker Muscular Dystrophy and related conditions:

• Symptoms that may be caused by complications of Becker 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.

• Arrhythmias - see all causes of Arrhythmias
• Eye problems - see all causes of Eye symptoms
• Gait problems - see all causes of Walking symptoms
• Lumbar lordosis - see all causes of Lordosis
• Muscle weakness - see all causes of Muscle weakness

Medical Books Online about Becker Muscular Dystrophy

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

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

Related videos for Becker Muscular Dystrophy

Patient Surveys for Becker Muscular Dystrophy

• Patient Profile Survey
  Take Survey  View Results
• Survey about the symptoms of your Becker Muscular Dystrophy
  Take Survey  View Results

Symptoms of Becker 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 Becker 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.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Becker Muscular Dystrophy as a Cause of Symptoms or Medical Conditions

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

• Dilated cardiomyopathy
• Muscle weakness
• Muscular hypertrophy
• Myopathy

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:

• More about Becker 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 Becker Muscular Dystrophy:

The symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible signs and symptoms of Becker Muscular Dystrophy. This signs and symptoms information for Becker Muscular Dystrophy has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of Becker Muscular Dystrophy signs or Becker Muscular Dystrophy symptoms. Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Becker 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 Becker Muscular Dystrophy symptoms.